Computer-assisted tumor response assessment and evaluation of the vascular tumor burden

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for determining and evaluating an objective tumor response to an anti-cancer therapy using cross-sectional images includes accessing an identification of a target lesion in one or more cross-sectional images at a computing system, determining a computer segmentation of the target lesion, and, based upon the computer segmentation, automatically determining one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion. The one or more lesion metrics includes at least a target lesion length. The target lesion length includes a short axis measurement when the target lesion is a lymph node, and the target lesion length includes a long axis measurement when the target lesion is not a lymph node. The computer-implemented method further includes generating a summary display including at least the target lesion length.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more computer-readable hardware storage devices, wherein the one or more computer-readable hardware storage devices comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the computer system to perform at least the following:
 access an identification of a target lesion in one or more cross-sectional images at a computing system; 
 determine a computer segmentation of the target lesion; 
 based upon the computer segmentation, automatically determine one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion, the one or more lesion metrics comprising at least a target lesion length, wherein the target lesion length comprises a short axis measurement when the target lesion comprises a lymph node, and wherein the target lesion length comprises a long axis measurement when the target lesion does not comprise a lymph node; and 
 generate a summary display comprising at least the target lesion length. 
   
     
     
         2 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to present the computer segmentation on a user interface to enable user adjustment to the computer segmentation. 
     
     
         3 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion further comprise anatomic location information for the target lesion. 
     
     
         4 . The computer system of  claim 3 , wherein the summary display further comprises the anatomic location information for the target lesion in combination with the target lesion length for the target lesion. 
     
     
         5 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion further comprise an area for the target lesion. 
     
     
         6 . The computer system of  claim 5 , wherein the summary display further comprises the area for the target lesion in combination with the target lesion length for the target lesion. 
     
     
         7 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to determine a lesion type for the target lesion. 
     
     
         8 . The computer system of  claim 7 , wherein the lesion type for the target lesion comprises an indication of metastasis, mass, or lymph node. 
     
     
         9 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the summary display further comprises the lesion type for the target lesion in combination with the target lesion length for the target lesion. 
     
     
         10 . The computer system of  claim 8 , wherein the target lesion length comprises the long axis measurement when the lesion type for the target lesion comprises the indication of metastasis or mass. 
     
     
         11 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein summary display further comprises a key image depicting the target lesion images in combination with the target lesion length for the target lesion. 
     
     
         12 . The computer system of  claim 1 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to present the summary display on a user interface. 
     
     
         13 . A computer system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   one or more computer-readable hardware storage devices, wherein the one or more computer-readable hardware storage devices comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, cause the computer system to perform at least the following:
 access an identification of a target lesion in one or more cross-sectional images at a computing system; 
 automatically determine anatomic location information for the target lesion; 
 generate a summary display comprising at least (i) the anatomic location information for the target lesion and (ii) a key image depicting the target lesion; and 
 present the summary display on a user interface. 
   
     
     
         14 . The computer system of  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to determine a computer segmentation of the target lesion. 
     
     
         15 . The computer system of  claim 14 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to automatically determine one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion based upon the computer segmentation of the target lesion. 
     
     
         16 . The computer system of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion comprise a target lesion length, wherein the target lesion length comprises a short axis measurement when the target lesion comprises a lymph node, and wherein the target lesion length comprises a long axis measurement when the target lesion does not comprise a lymph node. 
     
     
         17 . The computer system of  claim 16 , wherein the summary display further comprises the target lesion length for the target lesion in combination with the anatomic location information for the target lesion and the key image depicting the target lesion. 
     
     
         18 . The computer system of  claim 13 , wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors, further cause the computer system to determine a lesion type for the target lesion. 
     
     
         19 . The computer system of  claim 18 , wherein the lesion type for the target lesion comprises an indication of metastasis, mass, or lymph node, and wherein the summary display further comprises the lesion type for the target lesion in combination with the anatomic location information for the target lesion and the key image depicting the target lesion. 
     
     
         20 . A computer system comprising:
 accessing an identification of a target lesion in one or more cross-sectional images at a computing system;   determining a computer segmentation of the target lesion;   based upon the computer segmentation, automatically determining one or more lesion metrics for the target lesion, the one or more lesion metrics comprising at least a target lesion length, wherein the target lesion length comprises a short axis measurement when the target lesion comprises a lymph node, and wherein the target lesion length comprises a long axis measurement when the target lesion does not comprise a lymph node; and   generating a summary display comprising at least the target lesion length.