DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20110166440A1
• Filed: 09/21/2009
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Harvey, Paul Royston
• Granted Patent: US 8,483,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/411
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0013 Medical image data A61B1/00011, A61B6/56, A61B8/56 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/566 involving communication between diagnostic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

The invention relates to a diagnostic imaging system. The system encompasses a plurality of scanning apparatuses (60, 70, 80). Each scanning apparatus (60, 70, 80) comprises scanning hardware, a data acquisition system (42) connected to the scanning hardware for generating raw image data representative of an object disposed in an imaging region of the scanning apparatus (60, 70, 80), and a reconstruction unit (50) processing the raw image data for reconstructing an image representation therefrom. The invention proposes that subsets of the raw image data generated by the data acquisition system (42) of one of the scanning apparatuses (60, 70, 80) are distributed via a communication link (90) among the scanning apparatuses (60, 70, 80) for parallel processing by the reconstruction units (50) of the respective scanning apparatuses (60, 70, 80).

Claims

1. Diagnostic imaging system comprising:

a plurality of scanning apparatuses each comprising scanning hardware, a data acquisition system connected to the scanning hardware for generating raw image data representative of an object disposed in an imaging region of the scanning apparatus, and a reconstruction unit processing the raw image data for reconstructing an image representation therefrom;

a communication link distributing subsets of the raw image data generated by the data acquisition system of one of the scanning apparatuses for parallel processing by the reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses connected via the communication link.

2. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the communication link transfers the processed subsets to one of the scanning apparatuses or to a central image data base.

3. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein each scanning apparatus comprises a host computer controlling the scanning hardware and the reconstruction unit.

4. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 3, wherein the host computer of each scanning apparatus is arranged to perform at least one of:

decomposing the raw image data generated by the data acquisition system of the scanning apparatus into subsets;

sending at least one of the subsets of the raw image data via the communication link to another scanning apparatus;

recombining the subsets processed in parallel by the reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses into an image representation of the object.

5. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, further comprising a reconstruction server connected to the communication link, which reconstruction server coordinates the distribution of the subsets of the raw image data among the available reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses connected via the communication link.

6. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the communication link is a local area network connection or an Internet connection.

7. Diagnostic imaging system of claim 1, wherein the scanning apparatuses are MRI scanners, CT scanners, PET scanners or ultrasound scanners.

8. Method of diagnostic imaging comprising:

generating raw image data representative of an object disposed in an imaging region of one of a plurality of scanning apparatuses, each of the scanning apparatuses comprising scanning hardware, a data acquisition system connected to the scanning hardware for generating the raw image data, and a reconstruction unit for processing the raw image data for reconstructing an image representation therefrom;

decomposing the raw image data generated by the data acquisition system into subsets;

distributing the subsets of the raw image data via a communication link among the plurality of scanning apparatuses for parallel processing by the reconstruction units of the respective scanning apparatuses;

recombining the subsets processed by the reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses into an image representation of the object.

9. Method of claim 8, wherein the processed subsets are transferred via the communication link to one of the scanning apparatuses or to a central image data base.

10. Method of claim 8, wherein the distribution of the subsets of the raw image data among the available reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses connected via the communication link is coordinated by a reconstruction server.

11. Computer program for diagnostic imaging comprising instructions for:

decomposing raw image data generated by a data acquisition system of one of a plurality of scanning apparatuses into subsets;

distributing the subsets of the raw image data via a communication link among the plurality of scanning apparatuses for parallel processing by reconstruction units of the respective scanning apparatuses;

recombining the subsets processed by the reconstruction units of the scanning apparatuses into an image representation of the object.

12. Computer program of claim 11, further comprising instructions for transferring the processed subsets to one of the scanning apparatuses or to a central image data base.