SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRIGGERING AN IMAGING PROCESS BASED ON NON-PERIODICITY IN BREATHING

• US 20120253178A1
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Published: 10/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Varian Medical Systems Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Varian Medical Systems Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: MOSTAFAVI, Hassan
• Granted Patent: US 9,271,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/413
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1135 by monitoring thoracic expansion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/541 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/543 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1052 using positron emission tomography [PET] single photon emission computer tomography [SPECT] imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1055 using magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1058 using ultrasound imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2005/1061 using an x-ray imaging system having a separate imaging source
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1049 for verifying the position of the patient with respect to the radiation beam
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1067 in real time, i.e. during treatment
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1068 Gating the beam as a function of a physiological signal

Abstract

A method of triggering an imaging process includes obtaining breathing signals, analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing, and generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity. A computer product having a set of instructions stored in a non-transitory medium, wherein an execution of the instructions causes a method to be performed, the method includes obtaining breathing signals, analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing, and generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity. A system for triggering an imaging process includes a processor that is configured for obtaining breathing signals, analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing, and generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity.

Claims

1. A method of triggering an imaging process, comprising:

obtaining breathing signals;

analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing; and

generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises using a signal-phase histogram.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the signal-phase histogram, wherein the signal-phase histogram is generated by obtaining a plurality of signal-phase points, wherein each of the signal-phase points comprises a phase of a respiratory cycle and a signal amplitude.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising updating the signal-phase histogram by removing one or more of the signal-phase points in the signal-phase histogram that are older than a prescribed number of breathing cycle(s).

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from an average value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from a median value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the acts of analyzing and generating are performed during a radiation treatment procedure.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising generating a stop-signal to stop a delivery of a treatment radiation beam during the radiation treatment procedure in response to the identified non-periodicity.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the imaging process comprises a CT imaging procedure, a MRI procedure, a PET procedure, a SPECT procedure, a x-ray procedure, an ultrasound procedure, or a tomosynthesis imaging procedure.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of obtaining the breathing signals comprises using a camera.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising using image from the imaging process to confirm a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising using image from the imaging process to verify a model for correlating a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body with a phase of a respiratory cycle.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified non-periodicity comprises a predicted non-periodicity.

14. A computer product having a set of instructions stored in a non-transitory medium, wherein an execution of the instructions causes a method to be performed, the method comprising:

obtaining breathing signals;

analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing; and

generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity.

15. The computer product of claim 14, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises using a signal-phase histogram.

16. The computer product of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises generating the signal-phase histogram, wherein the signal-phase histogram is generated by obtaining a plurality of signal-phase points, wherein each of the signal-phase points comprises a phase of a respiratory cycle and a signal amplitude.

17. The computer product of claim 15, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from an average value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

18. The computer product of claim 15, wherein the act of analyzing the breathing signals comprises determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from a median value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

19. The computer product of claim 14, wherein the acts of analyzing and generating are performed during a radiation treatment procedure.

20. The computer product of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises generating a stop-signal to stop a delivery of a treatment radiation beam during the radiation treatment procedure in response to the identified non-periodicity.

21. The computer product of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises using image from the imaging process to confirm a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body.

22. The computer product of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises using image from the imaging process to verify a model for correlating a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body with a phase of a respiratory cycle.

23. A system for triggering an imaging process, comprising:

a processor that is configured for;

obtaining breathing signals;

analyzing the breathing signals to identify a non-periodicity in a subject'"'"'s breathing; and

generating a signal to cause an imaging process to begin in response to the identified non-periodicity.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the processor is configured for analyzing the breathing signals by using a signal-phase histogram.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is further configured for generating the signal-phase histogram by obtaining a plurality of signal-phase points, wherein each of the signal-phase points comprises a phase of a respiratory cycle and a signal amplitude.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is configured to perform the act of analyzing the breathing signals by determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from an average value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is configured to perform the act of analyzing the breathing signals by determining if a current signal-phase point or a predicted signal-phase point is within a prescribed range from a median value calculated using data points in the signal-phase histogram.

28. The system of claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to perform the acts of analyzing and generating during a radiation treatment procedure.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured for generating a stop-signal to stop a delivery of a treatment radiation beam during the radiation treatment procedure in response to the identified non-periodicity.

30. The system of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured for using image from the imaging process to confirm a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body.

31. The system of claim 23, wherein the processor is further configured for using image from the imaging process to verify a model for correlating a position of a target inside the subject'"'"'s body with a phase of a respiratory cycle.