System For The Noninvasive Determination Of Tracer Concentration In Blood

• US 20110060205A1
• Filed: 05/20/2005
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Spies, Lothar, Paulus, Timo, Peligrad, Dragos-Nicolae
• Granted Patent: US 8,617,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/368
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/40 for data related to laboratory analysis, e.g. patient specimen analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

The invention relates to a general composite compartmental model and a compartmental analysis procedure to extract non-invasively the concentration (C_p) of the imaging agent in plasma (301), in metabolites (304, 504) and in blood elements (303) (like red cells, platelets, plasma protein etc.) from time signal curves measured within a reference tissue region (200). This is made possible by deploying an injection function (S_INJ(t)) as input which models the amount of imaging agent administered to the patient as a function of time. The invention allows the presentation of the plasma input function to the medical practitioner without the need for invasively drawing blood samples.

Claims

1. A data processing system for the evaluation of image data (S_meas(t)) that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume, wherein the system is adapted to estimate the distribution of the imaging agent in blood (300) or parts thereof from a measured injection function (S_INJ(t)) that describes the injection of the imaging agent into the body.

2. A data processing system, particularly according to claim 1, for the evaluation of image data (S_meas(t)) that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume, wherein the system is adapted to evaluate a compartment model of a reference region (200), the reference region (200) comprising blood (300) and reference tissue (500) as subsystems.

3. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that it is adapted to calculate the plasma input function (C_p).

4. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that the compartment model comprises compartments (304, 504) for metabolites of the imaging agent in blood (300) and/or in reference tissue (500).

5. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that the compartment model comprises compartments (303, 503) for the binding of imaging agent in blood elements (303) and/or in the reference tissue (500).

6. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that it is adapted to evaluate a target region, in which the imaging agent is specifically bound, based on information obtained from the reference region (200).

7. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that it is adapted to calculate errors associated with the evaluation of the image data based on different compartment models.

8. The data processing system according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a display unit for the display of evaluation results.

11. Examination apparatus, comprising

an imaging system (1) for the generation of image data, particularly a PET, SPECT, CT, MR, or US system.

a data processing system according to claim 1.

9. A record carrier on which a computer program for the evaluation of image data that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume is stored, wherein said program is adapted to estimate the distribution of the imaging agent in blood (300) or parts thereof from a measured injection function (S_INJ(t)) that describes the injection of the imaging agent into the body.

10. A record carrier, particularly according to claim 9, on which a computer program for the evaluation of image data that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume is stored, wherein said program is adapted to evaluate a compartment model of a reference region (200), the reference region (200) comprising blood (300) and reference tissue (500) as subsystems.

12. A method for the evaluation of image data (S_meas(t)) that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume, comprising the estimation of the distribution of the imaging agent in blood (300) or parts thereof from a measured injection function (S_INJ(t)) that describes the injection of the imaging agent into the body.

13. A method, particularly according to claim 12, for the evaluation of image data (S_meas(t)) that represent the concentration of at least one imaging agent in a body volume, comprising the evaluation of a compartment model of a reference region (200), the reference region (200) comprising blood (300) and reference tissue (500) as subsystems.