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JP-7855627-B2 - Diagnostic scan acquisition support method and system

JP7855627B2JP 7855627 B2JP7855627 B2JP 7855627B2JP-7855627-B2

Inventors

  • ブライアン・イー・ネット

Assignees

  • ジーイー・プレシジョン・ヘルスケア・エルエルシー

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20240418
Priority Date
20230504

Claims (15)

  1. A method for operating an X-ray imaging system (100) that operates in either an automatic mode that can start scanning without operator input, or an assist mode that starts scanning upon input from the operator, A step of generating a difference image (600) from a first image (400) of the subject and a second image (500) of the subject collected after the first image (400), The steps include displaying the difference image (600) on the display device (232), Step (1114) of detecting the movement of the subject outside the region of interest (ROI) (402) based on the analysis of the difference image (600) , When the aforementioned movement is detected, the operator is prompted to switch to the automatic mode and to the support mode. Includes, The first image (400) is obtained before the contrast agent is delivered to the subject. The second image (500) is obtained after the contrast agent has been delivered to the subject. The difference image (600) is displayed before the contrast agent reaches the ROI (402) (1122), according to the method.
  2. The difference image (600) is continuously updated (1112) in response to the acquisition of a new image which becomes the second image (500), according to claim 1.
  3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the contrast agent reaches the ROI (402) , the difference image (600) is no longer displayed (1128).
  4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first image is a mask image (400), the second image is a contrast image (500), both the first and second images are displayed on the display device (232), and the difference image (600) is generated by subtracting the first image from the second image.
  5. If distortion (702) exists around the ROI (402) in the difference image (600), the motion is detected. The method according to claim 1, wherein the distortion (702) arises from a displacement of the anatomical features of the subject captured in the first image and the second image.
  6. The method according to claim 2, comprising the step of displaying the new image.
  7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: presenting a notification on the display device (232) when the motion is detected (1118); and presenting an option to switch the operation of the X-ray imaging system (100) to the support mode.
  8. The method according to claim 1, wherein when no motion is detected and the X-ray imaging system (100) is operating in the automatic mode, scanning is automatically started when it is determined that the contrast of the difference image (600) has reached a threshold.
  9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the motion is detected using a machine learning model trained to identify the motion in the difference image (600), or by the operator visually observing the difference image (600) .
  10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a graph (900) plotting the contrast at the ROI (402) in the difference image (600) against time is also displayed on the display device (232).
  11. An X-ray imaging system (100) that operates in either an automatic mode that can start scanning without operator input, or an assist mode that starts scanning upon input from the operator, An X-ray source (104) and an X-ray detector (108) are positioned on opposite sides of the gantry (102), A processor of a computing device (216) consisting of memory for storing executable instructions, Includes, The subject (204) is placed in the gantry between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector. When the aforementioned executable instruction is executed, the processor will: An X-ray imaging system that performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.
  12. The first image is a mask image (400), and the second image is a contrast image (500). The X-ray imaging system (100) according to claim 11, wherein the mask image is a first cross-sectional image (400) acquired by the X-ray imaging system, the contrast image (500) is a cross-sectional image acquired after the mask image, the contrast image is acquired at a predetermined frequency and displayed on the display device (232) together with the difference image (600).
  13. The display of the difference image (600) and the contrast image (500) is refreshed according to the predetermined frequency until the contrast of the ROI ( 402 ) in the difference image (600) reaches a threshold contrast, and the threshold contrast indicates that the contrast agent has reached the ROI (402) , according to claim 12, X-ray imaging system (100).
  14. If distortion (702) exists around the ROI (402) in the difference image (600), the motion is detected. The distortion (702) arises from the misalignment of the anatomical features of the subject captured in the first image and the second image. The X-ray imaging system (100) according to claim 12, wherein the motion is automatically detected in the difference image (600) by a machine learning model trained to detect the motion in the difference image (600) based on the presence of the distortion.
  15. The X-ray imaging system (100) according to claim 14, wherein the machine learning model determines a new position of the ROI (402) based on the difference image (600) and is further learned to reposition the ROI (402) within the contrast image when the display of the contrast image (500) on the display device (232) is updated.

Description

The embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein relate to the acquisition of X-ray images, particularly computed tomography images. Computed tomography (CT) can be used as a non-invasive medical imaging technique. Specifically, CT imaging data acquisition can involve passing an X-ray beam through an object, such as a patient, in a way that attenuates the beam, and then collecting the attenuated X-ray beam with an X-ray detector array. This allows for imaging of various tissues, including bone and soft tissue, as well as high-contrast detection, which enables the visualization of contrast agents in CT imaging systems. In cases where contrast agents are used, the CT imaging system may be configured to automatically detect changes in image contrast within a monitored region of interest (ROI). In response to a contrast change exceeding a threshold, acquisition of a diagnostic scan may be automatically initiated. In some embodiments, movement in and/or near the ROI may trigger early or late acquisition of a diagnostic scan in response to an instance of an actual change in contrast reaching a threshold. In one embodiment, the X-ray imaging system includes generating a difference image from a first image and a second image in response to the operation of the X-ray imaging system in automatic mode, and displaying the difference image on a display device. By displaying the image on the display device, motion outside the region of interest (ROI) may be detected based on the analysis of the difference image. The difference image can be displayed before the contrast agent reaches the ROI. In this way, an optional process for triggering diagnostic scan acquisition when motion is present outside the ROI can support the automatic initiation of diagnostic scan acquisition. This makes the initiation of diagnostic scan acquisition more robust against motion that might otherwise cause false triggering of scan acquisition. As a result, diagnostic information about the subject can be obtained more efficiently while reducing the subject's X-ray exposure. It should be understood that the above brief explanation is provided to simplify and introduce some of the concepts further described in the detailed explanation. It is not intended to identify any significant or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is independently defined by the claims that follow the detailed explanation. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to embodiments that address any of the defects pointed out above or in any part of this disclosure. The present invention will be better understood by reading the following description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. This is a diagram illustrating an imaging system according to one embodiment. This is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary imaging system according to an embodiment. The image shows a scout image acquired by a CT imaging system according to an embodiment. Figure 2 shows a first cross-sectional image acquired by a CT imaging system based on the scout image according to the embodiment. A second cross-sectional image, obtained by a CT imaging system based on the scout image in Figure 2, is shown according to the embodiment. The first difference image according to the embodiment is shown. A second difference image according to the embodiment is shown. This document illustrates a high-level workflow for assisting scan acquisition in a CT imaging system, according to an embodiment. This is a graph plotting the contrast in the region of interest of the difference image according to the embodiment. This shows a display that is presented to the operator during scan acquisition support in a CT imaging system, according to one embodiment. This document describes a method for acquiring CT images using a CT imaging system configured with assisted scan acquisition according to one embodiment. This document describes a method for acquiring CT images using a CT imaging system configured with assisted scan acquisition according to one embodiment. The following description relates to various embodiments of diagnostic scan acquisition assistance in X-ray imaging systems. More specifically, diagnostic scan acquisition may be automatically triggered and modified in a CT system based on the detection of motion in a region of interest (ROI). An example of a CT system is shown in Figure 1, and a block schematic diagram of the components of the CT system is shown in Figure 2. During a diagnostic event, a scout image, as shown in Figure 3, may be acquired first to orient the CT system. Next, the scout image may be used as a guide to obtain a cross-sectional image focused on the region of interest (ROI) (examples of which are shown in Figures 4-5). A difference image may be generated to determine whether or not there is motion around the ROI in order to determine the mode of scan acquisition initiation performed by the CT system. Exam