IMAGE HANDLING AND DISPLAY IN X-RAY MAMMOGRAPHY AND TOMOSYNTHESIS

• US 20130028374A1
• Filed: 10/05/2012
• Published: 01/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hologic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hologic Incorporated
• Inventors: Shaw, Ian, Ruth, Christopher, Niklason, Loren, Stein, Jay A., Smith, Andrew P., Gkanatsios, Nikolaos
• Granted Patent: US 9,042,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 378/37
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/025 Tomosynthesis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/464 involving a plurality of displays
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/465 adapted to display user selection data, e.g. graphical user interface, icons or menus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/502 for diagnosis of breast, i.e. mammography
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/006 Inverse problem, transformation from projection-space into object-space, e.g. transform methods, back-projection, algebraic methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10112 Digital tomosynthesis [DTS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20068 Projection on vertical or horizontal image axis
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30068 Mammography; Breast
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A method and system for acquiring, processing, storing, and displaying x-ray mammograms Mp tomosynthesis images Tr representative of breast slices, and x-ray tomosynthesis projection images Tp taken at different angles to a breast, where the Tr images are reconstructed from Tp images

Claims

1-20. -20. (canceled)

21. A tomosynthesis system comprising an anti-scatter grid that remains focused on the x-ray source in at least one dimension of the grid, said system further comprising:

an x-ray source selectively emitting an imaging x-ray beam, a breast immobilizing structure defining a volume for a patient'"'"'s breast, and an x-ray imaging receptor arranged such that said x-ray beam passes first through said volume and then through said anti-scatter grid before impinging on said imaging receptor;

a source support mounting said x-ray source for selective movement relative to the breast immobilizing structure;

an x-ray data acquisition control configured to;

cause the x-ray source to move through a plurality of different imaging positions relative to the breast immobilizing structure and selectively illuminate said imaging receptor with said x-ray beam, and

cause said imaging receptor to provide imaging data in response to being illuminated with said x-ray beam for said different imaging positions;

wherein said anti-scatter grid remains focused on the x-ray source in at least one dimension of the grid while said x-ray source is moving through said different imaging positions;

a processing and image reconstruction unit configured to receive and process said imaging data and obtain a plurality of projection images Tp and a plurality of reconstructed slices images Tr, wherein;

each image Tp is a projection x-ray image of said volume taken with said x-ray beam for a respective one of said plurality of different positions of the x-ray source relative to the breast immobilizing structure; and

each image Tr is an image of a respective 3-dimensional slice of said volume reconstructed through computer processing using at least several of said projection images Tp; and

an image display unit configured to selectively display one or more of said slice images Tr and projection images Tp.