Imaging Device and Method

• US 20080242980A1
• Filed: 05/12/2006
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University of Leicester
• Original Assignee: University of Leicester
• Inventors: Lees, John Ernest Wyper, Perkins, Alan Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 9,037,220 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/436
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4258 for detecting non x-ray radiation, e.g. gamma radiation A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/161 Applications in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting apparatus for radiation diagnosis A61B6/00

Abstract

A device (1) for use in imaging a subject using both light and gamma rays emanating from the subject, the device including: a first sensor means (2) responsive to light received thereby from the subject to generate first signals (6) for use in forming a first image (10) of the subject; a second sensor means (3) responsive to gamma rays received thereby from the subject to generate second signals (7) for use in forming a second image (11) of the subject and arranged to receive gamma rays from the subject which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before reaching the second sensor means.

Claims

1-26. -26. (canceled)

27. A device for use in imaging a subject using both light and gamma rays emanating from the subject, the device including:

a first sensor means responsive to light received thereby from the subject to generate first signals for use in forming a first image of the subject;

a second sensor means responsive to gamma rays received thereby from the subject to generate second signals for use in forming a second image of the subject and arranged to receive gamma rays from the subject which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before reaching the second sensor means.

28. A device according to claim 27 wherein the first sensor means is dimensioned and arranged to impart substantially no attenuation of gamma rays which are incident thereupon from the subject and propagating towards the second sensor means in the field of vision thereof.

29. A device according to claim 27 in which the first sensor means and the second sensor means are arranged to receive light and gamma rays, respectively, which propagate from the subject upon substantially coincident paths such that the first sensor means has a field of vision at least a part of which corresponds with at least a part of the field of vision of the second sensor means.

30. A device according to claim 27 in which both the first and the second sensor means has a field of vision wherein the second sensor means and the first sensor means are co-aligned so as to share substantially a common field of vision.

31. A device according to claim 27 in which the second sensor means has a field of vision and an aperture delimiting the field of vision thereof, and the first sensor means substantially covers the whole of the aperture.

32. A device according to claim 27 in which the first sensor means is attached to the second sensor means.

33. A device according to claim 27 in which the first sensor means includes a solid-state pixel sensor device.

34. A device according to claim 27 including a collimation means arranged between the first sensor means and the second sensor means to collimate gamma rays which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before reaching the second sensor means.

35. A device according to claim 27 in which the second sensor means includes a solid-state pixel sensor device having pixel sensors responsive to the direct receipt of gamma rays to produce said second signals.

36. A device according to claim 27 in which the second sensor means includes a scintillator means responsive to gamma rays from the object by scintillation, and a scintillation sensor means arranged to generate said second signals in response to said scintillation.

37. A device according to claim 36 in which the second sensor means includes a collimation means arranged between the first sensor means and the scintillator means of the second sensor means to collimate gamma rays which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before reaching the scintillation sensor means of the second sensor means.

38. A device according to claim 27 including control means for controlling the first and second sensor means to simultaneously generate respective first and second signals in response to concurrent light and gamma rays from said subject, signal processing means to generate image data from the concurrent first and second data signals representing an image composite of both the image of the subject according to light and concurrently according to gamma radiation.

39. A device according to claim 27 in which the second sensor means includes a solid-state pixel sensor array, and processing means arranged to receive an input from the pixel sensor array being configurable to operate in a photon counting mode to generate said second signal according to said input.

40. A stereoscope for use in imaging a subject stereoscopically including:

a first device according to claim 27 for imaging the subject;

a second device according to claim 27 for imaging the subject concurrently with the first device being separate from the first device and arranged such that the field of vision of the second sensor means of the second device differs from the concurrent field of vision of the second sensor means of the first device by a finite predetermined parallax;

signal processing means to generate image data from the concurrent first and second signals of both the first and second device representing a three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic composite view of the image of the subject both according to light and concurrently according to gamma radiation.

41. A method of imaging a subject using both light and gamma rays emanating from the subject, the method including:

detecting light from the subject with a first sensor means and therewith generating first signals for use in forming a first image of the subject;

detecting with a second sensor means gamma rays from the subject which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before reaching the second sensor means and therewith generating second signals for use in forming an image second image of the subject.

42. A method according to claim 41 including arranging the first sensor means and the second sensor means to receive light and gamma rays, respectively, which propagate from the subject concurrently upon substantially coincident paths such that the first sensor means has a field of vision at least a part of which corresponds with at least a part of the field of vision of the second sensor means.

43. A method according to claim 41 including co-aligning the first and second sensor means so as to share substantially a common field of vision.

44. A method according to claim 41 including providing the second sensor means with an aperture delimiting the field of vision thereof, and substantially covering the whole of the aperture with the first sensor means.

45. A method according to claim 41 in which the first sensor means is attached to the second sensor means.

46. A method according to claim 41 including detecting said gamma rays with the second sensor means by generating said second signals in response to the direct receipt of gamma rays by solid-state pixel sensors of the second sensor means.

47. A method according to claim 41 including detecting said gamma rays with said second sensor by detecting scintillations within a scintillator means thereof responsive to gamma rays from the object by scintillation, and generating said second signals in response to said scintillation.

48. A method according to claim 41 including collimating gamma rays which have passed from the subject through the first sensor means before being detected by the second sensor means.

49. A method according to claim 41 including controlling the first and second sensor means to generate respective first and second signals in response to light and gamma rays from said subject, and generating image data from the first and second data signals representing an image composite of the image of the subject both according to light and concurrently according to gamma radiation.

50. A method of imaging a subject stereoscopically including:

in a first step generating said first and second signals according to the method of claim 41 for imaging the subject;

in a second step generating said first and second signals according to the method of claim 41 for imaging the subject such that the field of vision of the image associated with of the second step differs from the field of vision of the image associated with the first step by a finite predetermined parallax;

generating image data from the first and second signals generated in both the first and second steps representing a three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic composite view of the image of the subject both according to light and concurrently according to gamma radiation.