Ecocardiografía aumentada basada en una estrategia computacional híbrida
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Fecha
2021
Autores
Vera, Miguel
Bravo, Antonio
Del Mar, Atilio
Vera, María
Huérfano, Yoleidy
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Editor
Saber UCV, Universidad Central de Venezuela
Resumen
El ultrasonido (US) es el principio físico básico que, en el contexto imagenológico médico, permite la generación de imágenes ecográficas de diversas estructuras del cuerpo humano. Usualmente, la ecocardiografía transtorácica bidimensional (ET2) es una técnica disponible en la mayoría de centros de atención médica y puede generar, de manera no invasiva y económica, imágenes de casi todas las regiones del corazón. No obstante, la información contenida en estas representaciones gráficas se ve afectada por imperfecciones que afectan su calidad, entre las cuales destaca el ruido ultrasónico moteado. Tales imperfecciones, por una parte, constituyen un verdadero desafío para quienes deben analizar las imágenes ET2 y, por la otra, abre la posibilidad para la búsqueda de alternativas tendientes a elevar la calidad de la información obtenida en la ecografía recurriendo a variantes de modalidades de US, así como al uso de otras técnicas imagenológicas más complejas ó técnicas de procesamiento digital de imágenes (PDI). En el presente artículo se considera la aplicación de una PDI híbrida basada en similaridad y transformada de copa de sombrero blanco que acondiciona, adecuadamente, imágenes de ET2 posibilitando una mejor visualización de las estructuras anatómicas presentes en ellas. Este hecho puede contribuir, preliminarmente, en dos direcciones: a) Reducir la necesidad de considerar variantes de US como, por ejemplo, el US de contraste o emplear otras modalidades de imagen que si bien es cierto mejoran la apariencia de las imágenes, constituyen opciones más costosas que afectan los recursos económicos de los pacientes y de los centros de salud. b) Proporcionar a los cardiólogos imágenes de mejor aspecto cualitativo que les permitan obtener descriptores útiles en el diagnóstico de diversas enfermedades del corazón.
Ultrasound (US) is the basic physical principle that, in the medical imaging context, allows the generation of ultrasound images of various structures of the human body. Usually, two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (ET2) is a technique available in most health care centers and can generate, non-invasively and inexpensively, images of almost all regions of the heart. However, the information contained in these graphic representations is affected by imperfections that affect its quality, among which the speckled ultrasonic noise stands out. Such imperfections, on the one hand, constitute a real challenge for those who must analyze the ET2 images and, on the other, open the possibility of searching for alternatives aimed at increasing the quality of the information obtained in ultrasound by resorting to variants of imaging US modalities as well as the use of other more complex imaging techniques or digital processing images (DPI) techniques. This article considers the application of a hybrid DPI based on similarity and a white hat-top transform that adequately conditions ET2 images, allowing a better visualization of the anatomical structures present in them. This fact may contribute, preliminarily, in two directions: a) Reduce the need to consider US variants such as, for example, contrast US, or use other imaging modalities that, although they do improve the appearance of the images, are more expensive options that affect the economic resources of patients and health centers. b) Provide cardiologists with better-looking images that allow them to obtain useful descriptors in the diagnosis of various heart diseases.
Ultrasound (US) is the basic physical principle that, in the medical imaging context, allows the generation of ultrasound images of various structures of the human body. Usually, two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (ET2) is a technique available in most health care centers and can generate, non-invasively and inexpensively, images of almost all regions of the heart. However, the information contained in these graphic representations is affected by imperfections that affect its quality, among which the speckled ultrasonic noise stands out. Such imperfections, on the one hand, constitute a real challenge for those who must analyze the ET2 images and, on the other, open the possibility of searching for alternatives aimed at increasing the quality of the information obtained in ultrasound by resorting to variants of imaging US modalities as well as the use of other more complex imaging techniques or digital processing images (DPI) techniques. This article considers the application of a hybrid DPI based on similarity and a white hat-top transform that adequately conditions ET2 images, allowing a better visualization of the anatomical structures present in them. This fact may contribute, preliminarily, in two directions: a) Reduce the need to consider US variants such as, for example, contrast US, or use other imaging modalities that, although they do improve the appearance of the images, are more expensive options that affect the economic resources of patients and health centers. b) Provide cardiologists with better-looking images that allow them to obtain useful descriptors in the diagnosis of various heart diseases.
Descripción
Palabras clave
Ultrasonido, Imagenología médica, Ecocardiografía 2D, Procesamiento digital de imágenes, Similaridad, Ultrasound, Medical imaging, 2D echocardiography, Digital image processing