X-RAY IMAGING FOR ENABLING ASSESSMENT OF SCOLIOSIS

• US 20170340268A1
• Filed: 02/13/2017
• Published: 11/30/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prismatic Sensors AB (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Prismatic Sensors AB (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: DANIELSSON, Mats, LIU, Xuejin, SJOLIN, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 10,143,417 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4561 Evaluating static posture, e.g. undesirable back curvature A61B5/1116 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4241 using energy resolving detectors, e.g. photon counting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/505 for diagnosis of bone
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5217 extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/542 involving control of exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

There is provided an arrangement (100) for enabling assessment of scoliosis. The arrangement (100) is configured to obtain at least one x-ray image by means of one or more photon-counting x-ray detectors. The arrangement (100) is further configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine of a patient having possible scoliosis based on said at least one x-ray image obtained by means of the photon-counting x-ray detector(s) to enable assessment of scoliosis.

Claims

1. An arrangement providing a decision support system for enabling assessment of scoliosis, the arrangement comprising:

a part of an x-ray imaging Computed Tomography system having one or more photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detectors, in which incident x-ray photons are transferred to electrical pulses with pulse amplitudes proportional to the photon energies, and the pulse heights are compared to a number of programmable thresholds and classified according to pulse-height,

wherein a image threshold is set above a noise floor to reduce electronic noise,

wherein the one or more photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detectors provide at least one x-ray image,

wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine of a patient having scoliosis based on said at least one x-ray image obtained by the photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detector(s) to thereby enable assessment of scoliosis, and

wherein the arrangement is configured i) to obtain tomographic images at discrete locations at a finite number of positions along a z-direction of the spine to avoid excessive use of radiation from a full spine CT, and ii) to perform a 3D curve fitting of the curvature of the spine based on the obtained tomographic images together with the sampled z-positions.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said arrangement is implemented as a scoliosis screening system.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said arrangement is implemented as part of an x-ray imaging system.

4. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one x-ray image includes one or more 2D projection images.

5. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine by 2D positioning of the spine based on at least one 2D projection image.

6. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine by 3D positioning of the spine based on a set of coupled 2D projection images with known relative orientation.

7. The arrangement of claim 4, wherein the arrangement is based on a projection radiography source-detector system.

8. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one x-ray image includes one or more 2D tomographic images.

9. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine by 2D positioning of the spine based on at least one 2D tomographic slice image.

10. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine by 3D positioning of the spine based on a set of 2D tomographic slice images.

11. The arrangement of claim 8, wherein the arrangement is based on at least two coupled projection radiography source-detector systems.

12. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one x-ray image includes one or more 3D tomographic images.

13. The arrangement of claim 12, wherein the arrangement is configured to determine at least one characteristic of the spine by 3D positioning of the spine based on 3D tomographic images.

15. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one characteristic of the spine includes the Cobb angle.

16. The arrangement of claim 15, wherein said at least one characteristic of the spine includes the maximal tilted angle in 3D, i.e. the Cobb angle as seen from a direction where it is maximal.

17. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one characteristic of the spine includes an indication of the apical vertebra.

18. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one characteristic of the spine includes an indication of a vertebra with a maximal tilt.

19. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein said at least one characteristic of the spine includes an indication of a vertebral rotation.

20. The arrangement of claim 1,

wherein the arrangement is configured to perform material decomposition and produce an image containing only bone, facilitating identification of the form of the spine, and determine the at least one characteristic of the spine based on this image.

21. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the arrangement comprises a processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor, whereby the processor is operative to enable assessment of scoliosis.

22. An x-ray imaging system comprising an arrangement of claim 1.

14. (canceled)

23. A method for enabling assessment of scoliosis, wherein the method comprises:

obtaining at least one x-ray image by means of one or more photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detectors of a Computed Tomography system, in which incident x-ray photons are transferred to electrical pulses with pulse amplitudes proportional to the photon energies, and the pulse heights are compared to a number of thresholds and classified according to pulse-height,

wherein the minimal threshold is set above the noise floor to reduce electronic noise, and

determining at least one characteristic of the spine of a patient having scoliosis based on said at least one x-ray image obtained by the photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detector(s) to enable assessment of scoliosis,

wherein tomographic images are obtained at discrete locations at a finite number of positions along a z-direction of the spine to avoid excessive use of radiation from a full spine CT, and a 3D curve fitting of the curvature of the spine is performed based on the obtained tomographic images together with the sampled z-positions.

24. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

access at least one photon-counting-based x-ray image obtained by one or more photon-counting and energy discriminating x-ray detectors of a Computed Tomography system, in which incident x-ray photons are transferred to electrical pulses with pulse amplitudes proportional to the photon energies, and the pulse heights are compared to a number of thresholds and classified according to pulse-height,

wherein the minimal threshold is set above the noise floor to reduce electronic noise; and

determine at least one characteristic of the spine of a patient having scoliosis based on said at least one photon-counting based x-ray image,

wherein tomographic images are obtained at discrete locations at a finite number of positions along a z-direction of the spine to avoid excessive use of radiation from a full spine CT, and a 3D curve fitting of the curvature of the spine is performed based on the obtained tomographic images together with the sampled z-positions.