Predictive bolus tracking
First Claim
1. A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images from a CT scanner of a subject into whom a contrast medium has been injected, the method comprising:
- identifying a region of interest in an initial CT image of the body of a subject;
defining an attenuation data segment corresponding to a region of interest by reprojecting the region of interest in the initial image;
receiving attenuation data within the segment from a subsequent scan of the patient; and
independently processing the attenuation data received within the segment to estimate an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, without reconstructing all or a portion of the CT image.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images from a CT scanner of a subject into whom a contrast medium has been injected, the method including:
identifying a region of interest in an initial CT image of the body of a subject;
defining an attenuation data segment corresponding to the region of interest by reprojecting the region of interest in the initial image;
receiving attenuation data within the segment from a subsequent scan of the patient; and
independently processing the attenuation data received within the segment to estimate an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, without reconstructing all or a portion of the CT image.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images from a CT scanner of a subject into whom a contrast medium has been injected, the method comprising:
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identifying a region of interest in an initial CT image of the body of a subject;
defining an attenuation data segment corresponding to a region of interest by reprojecting the region of interest in the initial image;
receiving attenuation data within the segment from a subsequent scan of the patient; and
independently processing the attenuation data received within the segment to estimate an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, without reconstructing all or a portion of the CT image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 16)
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7. A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images corresponding to a region of interest from a body of a subject into whom a contrast medium is injected, from a CT scanner, the method comprising:
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receiving attenuation data within a segment from a scan of the subject using the scanner;
predicting a future value of the attenuation within the segment, based on the attenuation data received; and
estimating an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, using the predicted value. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17)
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18. A CT scanner including:
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a scanning system capable of receiving attenuation data, constructing a CT image in response thereto and defining a region of interest on said image;
a signal interface capable of receiving signals representative of a time of injection of a bolus of contrast material and of producing a signal indicating when a diagnostic scan should be performed;
bolus time arrival apparatus, that defines an attenuation data segment corresponding to a region of interest by reproducing data in the region of interest in an initial image and including a processor that independently processes attenuation data received within the segment in subsequent scans to estimate an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A CT scanner including:
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a scanning system capable of receiving attenuation data, constructing a CT image in response thereto; and
bolus time arrival apparatus, that receives attenuation data from a plurality sequential scans and which estimates an optimum future time for performing a diagnostic scan based on the sequential attenuation data, said estimated future time being estimated prior to said future time. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images from a body of a subject into whom a contrast medium is injected, from a CT scanner, the method comprising:
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receiving attenuation data from a scan of the subject using the scanner; and
estimating an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, using the received attenuation data;
wherein estimating an optimal time includes;
predicting a future value of the attenuation, based on the attenuation data received; and
estimating the optimal time based on the predicted future value of attenuation.
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29. A CT scanner including:
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means for acquiring an initial CT image of the patient;
means for defining a region of interest in the initial CT image;
means for defining an attenuation data segment corresponding to the region of interest by reprojecting the region of interest in the initial image;
means for injecting a bolus of contrast medium into a patient;
means for performing subsequent scans of the patient after said injection;
means for receiving attenuation data within the segment from the subsequent scans;
means for independently processing the attenuation data received within the segment to determine an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body; and
means for performing a diagnostic scan of the patient responsive to the determination of the optimal time to acquire a contrast enhanced CT image.
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30. CT imaging apparatus including means for determining the time of an optimal scan after injection of a contrast medium, comprising:
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a CT scanner;
means for acquiring an initial CT image of the patient;
means for identifying a region of interest in the initial CT image;
means for receiving an indication of the time of injection of a bolus of contrast medium;
means for defining an attenuation data segment corresponding to the region of interest by reprojecting the region of interest in the initial image;
means for performing subsequent scans of the patient;
means for receiving attenuation data within the segment from the subsequent scans;
means for independently processing the attenuation data received within the segment to determine an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body; and
means for performing a diagnostic scan of the patient responsive to the determination of the optimal time to acquire a contrast enhanced CT image.
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31. CT imaging apparatus, comprising:
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means for performing a scan of a patient;
means for receiving attenuation data within a segment of the scan;
means for predicting a future value of attenuation within the segment, based on the attenuation data received;
means for determining an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, using the predicted value; and
means for performing a diagnostic scan of the patient at the determined time.
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32. A method for determining a time for acquiring contrast-enhanced images from a body of a subject into whom a contrast medium is injected, from a CT scanner, the method comprising:
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receiving attenuation data from a scan of the subject using the scanner;
reconstructing an image of a portion of the subject from the attenuation data;
receiving additional attenuation data from a scan of the subject using the scanner; and
estimating an optimal time for performing a diagnostic scan of the body, using the received additional attenuation data, without reconstructing all or a portion of an image of the subject, responsive to the received additional data.
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Specification