MOTION CORRECTION IN TOMOGRAPHIC IMAGES

• US 20100046821A1
• Filed: 08/31/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Thielemans, Kris Filip Johan Jules, Manjeshwar, Ravindra Mohan, Asma, Evren
• Granted Patent: US 8,472,683 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5235 combining images from the same or different ionising radiation imaging techniques, e.g. PET and CT
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5247 combining images from an ionising-radiation diagnostic technique and a non-ionising radiation diagnostic technique, e.g. X-ray and ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/541 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/005 Specific pre-processing for tomographic reconstruction, e.g. calibration, source positioning, rebinning, scatter correction, retrospective gating
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/008 Specific post-processing after tomographic reconstruction, e.g. voxelisation, metal artifact correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10084 Hybrid tomography; Concurrent acquisition with multiple different tomographic modalities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10104 Positron emission tomography [PET]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20201 Motion blur correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20221 Image fusion; Image merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30048 Heart; Cardiac
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30061 Lung
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2211/412 Dynamic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/30 Determination of transform parameters for the alignment of images, i.e. image registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/33 using feature-based methods

Abstract

An imaging method comprises reconstructing gated emission tomography images for a region of interest, adjusting a mismatch between the gated emission tomography images and a computed tomography image of the region of interest, registering the gated emission tomography images, and combining the registered gated emission tomography images to generate motion corrected images.

Claims

1. An imaging method, comprising:

reconstructing gated emission tomography images for a region of interest;

adjusting a mismatch between the gated emission tomography images and a computed tomography image of the region of interest;

registering the gated emission tomography images; and

combining the registered gated emission tomography images to generate motion corrected images.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting a mismatch comprises adjusting the mismatch in a feature of the region of interest between the computed tomography image and the gated emission tomography images.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein adjusting the mismatch in a feature of the region of interest, comprises adjusting the mismatch in the feature in the gated emission tomography images.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the feature comprises a location of the region of interest comprising a centre of mass.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprises applying an attenuation mismatch correction to the gated emission tomography images.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the computed tomography image comprises gated computed tomography images.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprises segmenting the computed tomography image and the gated emission tomography images.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprises displaying the region of interest after registering the gated emission tomography images.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprises generating and displaying a fused computed tomography-emission tomography image.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the emission tomography images comprise positron emission tomography (PET) images or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the computed tomography image comprises X-ray computed tomography image.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein reconstructing comprises reconstructing the gated emission tomography images for the region of interest using keyhole computed tomography.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein weight factors are used in combining the registered gated emission tomography images.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein super-resolution algorithms are used in combining the registered gated emission tomography images.

15. An imaging method, comprising:

acquiring computed tomography and emission tomography images;

identifying a region of interest for quantification;

reconstructing gated emission tomography images for the region of interest;

adjusting a mismatch between the gated emission tomography images and a computed tomography image of the region of interest;

applying an attenuation mismatch correction to the gated emission tomography images;

registering the gated emission tomography images; and

combining the registered gated emission tomography images to generate motion corrected images.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein adjusting a mismatch comprises adjusting the mismatch in a feature of the region of interest between the computed tomography image and the gated emission tomography images.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein adjusting the mismatch in a feature of the region of interest, comprises adjusting the mismatch in the feature in the gated emission tomography images.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the feature comprises a location of the region of interest comprising a centre of mass.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprises segmenting the computed tomography image and the gated emission tomography images before adjusting the mismatch and applying the attenuation mismatch correction.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprises displaying the region of interest after registering the gated emission tomography images.

21. The method of claim 15 further comprises displaying a generating and displaying a fused computed tomography-emission tomography image.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the emission tomography images comprise positron emission tomography (PET) images or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the computed tomography image comprises X-ray computed tomography image.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein reconstructing comprises reconstructing the gated emission tomography images for the region of interest using keyhole computed tomography.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the computed tomography image comprises gated computed tomography images.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein weight factors are used in combining the registered gated emission tomography images.

27. The method of claim 15, wherein super-resolution algorithms are used in combining the registered gated emission tomography images.

28. An imaging system, comprising:

at least one receiver to acquire computed tomography and emission tomography images; and

a processing system to reconstruct gated emission tomography images for a region of interest, adjust a mismatch between the gated emission tomography images and a computed tomography image of the region of interest, apply an attenuation mismatch correction to the gated emission tomography images, register the gated emission tomography images, and combine the registered gated emission tomography images to generate motion corrected images.