Method and CT unit for taking x-ray CT pictures of a patient's beating heart
First Claim
1. A method for taking X-ray CT pictures of a patient'"'"'s beating heart using at least one X-ray source located relative to and around the patient to scan the patient, comprising:
- detecting, via at least one detector, an attenuation of the X-rays and outputting detector output data to a control and arithmetic unit;
outputting a synthetic clock signal at a frequency that corresponds to a typical heart rate of the patient;
reconstructing, during each cycle phase of the synthetic clock signal, test volume data records of the heart at a number of different phase instants of the synthetic clock over the complete scan, each test volume record being associated with its phase instant and its z-position;
calculating, over a prescribed image area, correlation values between test volume data records that are temporally neighboring and spatially identical or at least belong to the same slice plane, entering the calculated correlation values in a spatiotemporal matrix, and searching for maxima of the correlation values; and
subsequently calculating final volume data records from the detector data records from which the test volume data records, that led to correlation maxima, originate.
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Abstract
A method and a CT unit are disclosed for taking cardio X-ray CT pictures, in the case of which a synthetic clock signal is used to display a clock, during each cycle phase of the synthetic clock signal. Test volume data records of the heart are reconstructed at a number of different phase instants of the synthetic clock over the complete scan, which are respectively associated with their phase instants and their z-position. Subsequently, a correlation calculation between test volume data records that are temporally neighboring and spatially identical or at least belong to the same slice plane are used to determine maxima of the correlation. Finally, imaging volume data records are subsequently calculated from the spatiotemporally associated detector data.
25 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for taking X-ray CT pictures of a patient'"'"'s beating heart using at least one X-ray source located relative to and around the patient to scan the patient, comprising:
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detecting, via at least one detector, an attenuation of the X-rays and outputting detector output data to a control and arithmetic unit;
outputting a synthetic clock signal at a frequency that corresponds to a typical heart rate of the patient;
reconstructing, during each cycle phase of the synthetic clock signal, test volume data records of the heart at a number of different phase instants of the synthetic clock over the complete scan, each test volume record being associated with its phase instant and its z-position;
calculating, over a prescribed image area, correlation values between test volume data records that are temporally neighboring and spatially identical or at least belong to the same slice plane, entering the calculated correlation values in a spatiotemporal matrix, and searching for maxima of the correlation values; and
subsequently calculating final volume data records from the detector data records from which the test volume data records, that led to correlation maxima, originate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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11. A computed tomography unit for taking X-ray CT pictures of a patient'"'"'s beating heart, comprising:
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an apparatus for rotating scanning of the patient having at least one X-ray source and at least one detector that continuously detects attenuation of the X-rays and outputs detector output data to a control and arithmetic unit;
means for generating a synthetic clock signal with a frequency that corresponds to a typical patient'"'"'s heart rate;
means for reconstructing test volume data records of the heart during the complete scan and during each cycle phase of the synthetic clock signal at a number of different phase instants of the synthetic clock, each test volume record being associated with its phase instant and its z-position;
means for calculating correlation values between temporally and spatially neighboring test volume data records over a prescribed image area and insertion in a spatiotemporal matrix for searching for maxima of the correlation values; and
means for calculating final volume data records from the detector data records from which the test volume data records that have led to correlation maxima originate, and for outputting the calculated final volume data records as a three-dimensional pictorial illustration. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification