Method and apparatus for blocking radiographic scatter
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use in imaging a patient'"'"'s breast, comprising:
- an imaging source for transmitting an imaging signal relative to patient'"'"'s breast during an exposure period;
a detector for detecting portions of said imaging signal that have interacted with said patient'"'"'s breast and providing a detector output indicative thereof, wherein said detector output includes imaging information for different portions of said patient'"'"'s breast obtained at corresponding different times of said exposure period, said detector output being a result of a time delay integration process;
a processor for processing said detector output to provide composite imaging information of said area of interest of said patient'"'"'s breast;
a rejection assembly located in a region between the patient'"'"'s breast and the detector and including at least one rejection element extending into a scatter incidence pathway for a detector location of said detector, said scatter incidence pathway being disposed at an angle relative to a primary incidence pathway extending linearly between said imaging source and said detector location and said rejection element is wholly located outside of an imaging region defined by said source and an active detector area of said detector that receives said imaging signal; and
means for supporting said patient'"'"'s breast in an imaging position relative to said imaging source and said detector.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Scatter effects are reduced in a radiographic imaging device, such as a digital slot scan mammographic imaging device, by reducing detected scatter and processing detector information to compensate for scatter effects. A digital mammographic imaging system (10) may include a source (24) for transmitting a narrow beam (28) and a detector assembly (32) for detecting the beam (28). The beam (28) and the detector assembly (32) may synchronously scann across the patient'"'"'s breast (48) to obtain an image. Collimator slats (74) at the leading and trailing edges of the detector may reduce detected scatter. Attenuators (76 and 92) at the ends of the scanned motion and at the anterior edge of the detector array may assist in determining a spatial intensity profile. The spatial intensity profile information together with other imaging signal and patient dependent parameters may be used to estimate and compensate for various scatter effects.
-
Citations
46 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for use in imaging a patient'"'"'s breast, comprising:
-
an imaging source for transmitting an imaging signal relative to patient'"'"'s breast during an exposure period; a detector for detecting portions of said imaging signal that have interacted with said patient'"'"'s breast and providing a detector output indicative thereof, wherein said detector output includes imaging information for different portions of said patient'"'"'s breast obtained at corresponding different times of said exposure period, said detector output being a result of a time delay integration process; a processor for processing said detector output to provide composite imaging information of said area of interest of said patient'"'"'s breast; a rejection assembly located in a region between the patient'"'"'s breast and the detector and including at least one rejection element extending into a scatter incidence pathway for a detector location of said detector, said scatter incidence pathway being disposed at an angle relative to a primary incidence pathway extending linearly between said imaging source and said detector location and said rejection element is wholly located outside of an imaging region defined by said source and an active detector area of said detector that receives said imaging signal; and means for supporting said patient'"'"'s breast in an imaging position relative to said imaging source and said detector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method for use in imaging an area of interest of a patient'"'"'s breast, comprising the steps of:
-
supporting said patient'"'"'s breast; transmitting a photonic imaging signal relative to said patient'"'"'s breast during an exposure period; first operating a detector to detect portions of said imaging signal that have interacted with said patient'"'"'s breast and provide a detector output indicative thereof, wherein said detector output reflects imaging information for different portions of said patient'"'"'s breast obtained at corresponding different times of said exposure period, the step of first operating comprising shifting charge across said active detector area in synchronization with movement of said active detector area so as to integrate, charge associated with a particular location of said patient'"'"'s breast; second operating a processor to process said detector output to provide composite imaging information of said patient'"'"'s breast; and selectively blocking, on a spatially dependent basis and in a region between the patient'"'"'s breast and the detector, photons that are directed to a detector location by allowing passage of first photons associated with a first pathway extending linearly between a source and said detector location and blocking photons associated with a second pathway disposed at an angle to said first pathway. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
-
39. A method for use in imaging an area of interest of a patient'"'"'s breast using a source for transmitting a photonic imaging signal relative to the patient'"'"'s breast and a detector for detecting portions of the signal from the patient'"'"'s breast, comprising the steps of:
-
supporting said patient'"'"'s breast; providing a scatter blocking assembly for blocking scattered photons directed towards a detector location on a scatter pathway separate from a primary signal pathway extending linearly between the source and the detector area; disposing the scatter blocking assembly between the the patient'"'"'s breast and the detector; using the scatter blocking assembly to block scattered photons throughout an image area corresponding to the patient'"'"'s breast substantially without blocking any non-scattered signal transmitted from the source to the detector free of scatter events; and operating the detector to detect portions of said imaging signal that have interacted with said patient'"'"'s breast and provide a detector output indicative thereof, wherein said detector output reflects imaging information for different portions of said patient'"'"'s breast obtained at corresponding different times of said exposure period, the step of operating the detector comprising shifting charge across said active detector area in synchronization with movement of said active detector area so as to integrate charge associated with a particular location of said patient'"'"'s breast. - View Dependent Claims (40)
-
-
41. An apparatus for use in imaging an area of interest within a patient'"'"'s breast, comprising:
-
a patient support having a support surface for supporting said patient'"'"'s breast in a mammographic position; an imaging source for transmitting an imaging signal relative to said area of interest within said patient'"'"'s breast disposed in said mammographic position; a detector for detecting portions of said imaging signal that have interacted with said area of interest within said patient'"'"'s breast, said signal being a result of a time delay integration process;
said detector having a detector surface; anda rejection assembly located in a region between the patients breast and the detector and including at least one rejection element extending into a scatter incidence pathway for a detector location of said detector, said scatter incidence pathway being disposed at an angle relative to a primary incidence pathway extending linearly between said imaging source and said detector location and said rejection element is wholly located outside of an imaging region defined by said source and an active detector area of said detector that receives said imaging signal, wherein said support surface is separated from said detector surface by a distance of between about 1 and 40 mm. - View Dependent Claims (42)
-
-
43. A method for use in imaging a selected tissue region of a patient'"'"'s body, comprising the steps of:
-
supporting and compressing said patient'"'"'s breast; disposing a scatter rejection structure between the patient'"'"'s breast and a detector having an active detection area; operating the source to transmit an imaging signal during an exposure period; shifting charge across said active detector area in synchronization with movement of said active detector area so as to integrate charge associated with a particular location of said patient'"'"'s breast and moving the scatter rejection structure in only a first direction relative to a reference axis during the exposure period. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
-
Specification