US 12,350,093 B2
Apparatus and method for tracking blood vessel cross-section
Julio Agustin Isla Garcia, Irvine, CA (US)
Assigned to Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ (US)
Filed by EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION, Irvine, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 9, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/181,235.
Application 18/181,235 is a continuation of application No. PCT/US2021/049355, filed on Sep. 8, 2021.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/076,155, filed on Sep. 9, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0277157 A1, Sep. 7, 2023
Int. Cl. A61B 8/08 (2006.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/0891 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4477 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for tracking a cross-section geometry of a blood vessel, comprising:
at least one sensor having a plurality of ultrasonic transducers configured to non-invasively sense a blood vessel and provide signals representative of the blood vessel; and
a controller in communication with the at least one sensor and a non-transitory memory storing instructions, which instructions when executed cause the controller to:
control the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to periodically sense the blood vessel and produce signals representative of an ultrasonic image of a plurality of features of the blood vessel; and
track the plurality of features of the blood vessel, using the signals representative of the plurality of features to determine a cross-section geometry of the blood vessel as a function of time;
wherein the tracking includes assigning a first plurality of windows to a first feature of the plurality of features within a first frame, and a second plurality of windows to the first feature within a second frame, wherein the second frame is subsequent to the first frame, and performing a two dimensional cross-correlation between the signals representative of the first feature within the first frame and the signals representative of the first feature within the second frame using at least one convex constraint.