RADIOACTIVE EMISSION DETECTOR EQUIPPED WITH A POSITION TRACKING SYSTEM

• US 20140249402A1
• Filed: 10/21/2013
• Published: 09/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Spectrum Dynamics Medical Ltd
• Original Assignee: Blosensor International Group Limited
• Inventors: Kimchy, Yoav, Bouskila, Yona, Antebi, Udi, Sidorenko, Nick, Ben-David, Gal, Amarmi, Roni, Ziberstein, Yoel
• Application Number:
  US14/058,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20140249402A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/411
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/392 Radioactive markers
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/06 Devices, other than using radiation, for detecting or locating foreign bodies for removing same A61B17/50 ; determining position of probes within or on the body of the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/064 using markers A61B5/062 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/07 Endoradiosondes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/415 the glands, e.g. tonsils, adenoids or thymus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/418 lymph vessels, ducts or nodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6835 Supports or holders, e.g., articulated arms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4057 by using radiation sources located in the interior of the body A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4258 for detecting non x-ray radiation, e.g. gamma radiation A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4417 related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4423 related to hygiene or sterilisation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/482 involving multiple energy imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/583 using calibration phantoms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0833 involving detecting or locating foreign bodies or organic structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4254 using sensors mounted on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/161 Applications in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting apparatus for radiation diagnosis A61B6/00

Abstract

A radioactive emission probe in communication with a position tracking system and the use thereof in a variety of systems and methods of medical imaging and procedures, are provided. Specifically, wide-aperture collimation-deconvolution algorithms are provided, for obtaining a high-efficiency, high resolution image of a radioactivity emitting source, by scanning the radioactivity emitting source with a probe of a wide-aperture collimator, and at the same time, monitoring the position of the radioactive emission probe, at very fine time intervals, to obtain the equivalence of fine-aperture collimation. The blurring effect of the wide aperture is then corrected mathematically. Furthermore, an imaging method by depth calculations is provided, based on the attenuation of photons of different energies, which are emitted from the same source, coupled with position monitoring.

Claims

1. An intracorporeal-imaging head, comprising:

a housing, which comprises;

at least one radioactive-emission probe, mounted on said housing, adapted to image radioactive-emission from at least two different viewing angles of a same portion of a tissue without movement of the housing.

2. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 1, further comprising an imaging system adapted to image said portion.

3. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 2, wherein the imaging system is one of a fluoroscope, a computed tomographer, a magnetic resonance imager, an ultrasound imager, an impedance imager, and an optical camera.

4. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 1 wherein the at least one radioactive-emission probe is at least one wide-angle collimator probe.

5. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 4 wherein the wide-angle collimator probe has a viewing angle of between 81°

and 280°

.

6. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 4, further comprising:

a data processor for correcting blurring effects from said wide-angle collimator probe.

7. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 6, wherein said wide-angle collimator probe is adapted to obtain image data at a first resolution or less, and wherein said data processor is further adapted for forming a three-dimensional model of said portion of said tissue, wherein said three-dimensional model is in a second resolution, higher than said first resolution.

8. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 6, wherein said data processor corrects the blurring effects using a collimation-deconvolution algorithm based on account estimation of a transfer function.

9. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 6, wherein said data processor corrects the blurring effects by calculating a value of readings for each voxel based on multiple readings from view points of said probe;

and using a collimation-deconvolution algorithm to reconstruct voxels of the radiation map with diminished or no blurriness.

10. The intracorporeal-imaging head of claim 1, further comprising:

a position tracking system in a fixed positional relation with said at least one radioactive-emission probe, for providing positional information for said at least one radioactive-emission probe.

11. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10 wherein the position tracking system is one of a fluoroscope, a computed tomographer, a magnetic resonance imager, an ultrasound imager, an impedance imager, and an optical camera.

12. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10, wherein the position tracking system comprises an imaging system.

13. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10 wherein the position tracking system is adapted to track acoustic electromagnetic radiation or magnetic fields.

14. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10 wherein the at least one radioactive-emission probe is at least one wide-angle collimator probe.

15. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10 wherein the wide-angle collimator probe has a viewing angle of between 81°

and 280°

.

16. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 10, wherein said wide-angle collimator probe is adapted to obtain image data at a first resolution or less, and wherein the intracorporeal imaging head further comprises a data processor for forming a three-dimensional model of said portion of said tissue by data processing said image data at said first resolution and positional information received from said position tracking system, wherein said three-dimensional model is in a second resolution, higher than said first resolution.

17. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 1, wherein said radioactive probe comprises a plurality of radiation detectors.

18. The intracorporeal imaging head of claim 1, wherein said radioactive probe comprises a plurality of single pixel detector units configured to generate image data from each of said pixels.

19. A flexible probe, comprising:

an intracorporeal imaging head according to claim 1; and

an ultrasonic imager sized for rectal insertion for imaging of prostate.

20. A flexible probe, comprising:

an intracorporeal imaging head according to claim 1; and

an optical imager sized for rectal insertion for imaging of colon.

35. The device of claim 1, wherein said system of coordinates is a three dimensional space.

36. The device of claim 1, wherein said data processor is responsive to said plurality of said radioactivity measurements to reconstruct a three dimensional image of said radioactivity emitting source.

21. A device for obtaining an image of a radioactivity emitting source in a system-of-coordinates, the device comprising:

a moveable radioactive emission detector;

said radioactive emission detector being moveable to perform a plurality of radioactivity measurements of a radioactivity emitting source from a plurality of locations and directions;

a position tracking device which monitors a position of said radioactive emission detector in relation to said system of coordinates; and

a data processor which reconstructs an image of the radioactivity emitting source from a plurality of said radioactivity measurements with a varying spatial resolution and obtains a positional distribution of said radioactive emitting source in relation to said system of coordinates using measurements of a same area from multiple locations having different resolution according to said position.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein said position tracking device is comprised of a plurality of accelerometers, or a plurality of potentiometers, or is sound wave based or radio frequency based, or electromagnetic field based or optically based.

23. The device of claim 21, wherein said position tracking device is responsive to a change in the position of said detector.

24. The device of claim 21, wherein said detector is carried by a moveable arm, and said position tracking device is responsive to movement of said arm.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein said moveable arm is articulated.

26. The device of claim 21, wherein said detector performs said plurality of radioactivity measurements at different resolutions.

27. The device of claim 21, wherein said data processor reconstructs said image according to radioactivity measurements having different resolutions.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein said resolutions varies according to the distance of said detector from said radiation source.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein said spatial resolution is higher for radioactivity measurements as the detector approaches the radiation source.

30. The device of claim 21, wherein said radioactive emission detector is configured for free-hand scanning, and the position of the detector is monitored by said position tracking device in a first system-of-coordinates, and further comprising:

a surgical instrument whose position is monitored by an additional position tracking device in a second system-of-coordinates; and

at least one data processor designed and configured to receive data inputs from said position tracking device, from said radioactive emission detector and from said additional position tracking device and to calculate the position of the surgical instrument and the radiopharmaceutical up-taking portion of the body component in a common system-of-coordinates.

31. The device of claim 30, wherein said first position tracking device and said additional position tracking device are comprised in a single unit.

32. The device of claim 30, further comprising a display device which serves for visual co-presentation of the position of said surgical instrument and the radiopharmaceutical up-taking portion of the body component.

33. The device of claim 30, wherein said surgical instrument is selected from the group consisting of laser probe, a cardiac catheter, an angioplastic catheter, an endoscopic probe, a biopsy needle, an ultrasonic probe, fiber optic scopes, aspiration tubes, a laparoscopy probe, a thermal probe and a suction/irrigation probe.

34. The device of claim 30, wherein said common system of coordinates is a three dimensional space.