SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING COLORED PERSISTENCE IMAGES IN NUCLEAR MEDICINE IMAGING

• US 20110152679A1
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Morag, David
• Application Number:
  US12/640,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20110152679A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/431
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/469 for selecting a region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/2985 In depth localisation, e.g. using positron emitters; Tomographic imaging (longitudinal and transverse section imaging; apparatus for radiation diagnosis sequentially in different planes, steroscopic radiation diagnosis); using external radiation sources A61B6/02

Abstract

Systems and methods for generating persistence images in nuclear medicine (NM) imaging are provided. One method includes acquiring a nuclear emission image of a patient injected with a radiopharmaceutical in a persistence data acquisition mode. The method further includes determining an assigned display color corresponding to NM persistence image information including detected nuclear activity from the radiopharmaceutical for each of a plurality of event count values. The method also includes color mapping the acquired NM persistence image information using the assigned display colors and generating with a processor a color NM persistence image based on the color mapping. The method additionally includes displaying the generated color NM persistence image.

Claims

1. A method for providing nuclear medicine (NM) persistence images, the method comprising:

acquiring a nuclear emission image of a patient injected with a radiopharmaceutical in a persistence data acquisition mode;

determining an assigned display color corresponding to NM persistence image information including detected nuclear activity from the radiopharmaceutical for each of a plurality of event count values;

color mapping the acquired NM persistence image information using the assigned display colors;

generating with a processor a color NM persistence image based on the color mapping; and

displaying the generated color NM persistence image.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising assigning a display color to at least one range of event count values.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the mapping is performed on a pixel by pixel basis of a detector acquiring the NM persistence image information.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the NM persistence image information is acquired over a time period of not more than two seconds.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising changing the count values for assigning the display colors based on a user input.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising changing the display colors to assign to the count values based on a user input.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising scaling the count values prior to assigning the display colors.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the count values are determined based on a linear scaling from a highest count value.

9. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising adjusting a color temperature for the assigned display colors.

10. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the NM color persistence image comprises a hot/cold colored image map.

11. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising adjusting a contrast ratio of the mapping by subtracting a scaling factor from each of the count values prior to the color mapping, wherein an extended time period is used for determining the count values.

12. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the display colors comprise a full scale of colors and further comprising automatically determining the color scale.

13. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising continuously updating the color NM persistence image.

14. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the nuclear emission image is a two-dimensional nuclear emission image acquired by a nuclear camera of an NM imaging system, and further comprising positioning a region of interest of a patient within a field of view of the nuclear camera using the color NM persistence image.

15. A user interface for nuclear medicine (NM) persistence phase imaging, the user interface comprising:

a settings portion including at least one selectable element that is selectable by a user interface selection device to initiate generation of a color persistence image based on color mapping using NM event counts in a persistence image phase; and

an image display portion displaying the color persistence image.

16. A user interface in accordance with claim 15 wherein the settings portion comprises at least one other selectable element that is selectable by a user interface selection device to modify a color mapping used to generate the color persistence image.

17. A user interface in accordance with claim 15 wherein the color persistence image comprises a hot/cold colored image map.

18. A user interface in accordance with claim 15 wherein the at least one other selectable element comprises a slider bar configured to adjust a range of NM event counts for the color mapping to generate the persistence image.

19. A nuclear medicine (NM) imaging system comprising:

at least one imaging detector configured to acquire image information in a persistence imaging phase, the acquired image information including event count information;

a color mapping module configured to map display colors based on the event count information; and

a color persistence image generating module configured to generate color persistence images based on the mapping of the display colors.

20. An NM imaging system in accordance with claim 19 further comprising a user input configured to receive a user input to change the color mapping.