Phantom for improving coronary calcium scoring consistency

• US 7,409,035 B2
• Filed: 06/06/2005
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Merge Healthcare Solutions Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cedara Software Ltd. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaufman, Leon, Carlson, Joseph W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Porta; David P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRYANT, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US11/146,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20050281478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 378/207, 378/18
• US Class Current: 378/18
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/027 characterised by the use of a particular data acquisition trajectory, e.g. helical or spiral
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5288 involving retrospective matching to a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/541 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/583 using calibration phantoms
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20008 Globally adaptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20056 Discrete and fast Fourier transform, [DFT, FFT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20192 Edge enhancement; Edge preservation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/10 using non-spatial domain filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/20 using local operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/30 Noise filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

Methods and devices for improving the machine-to-machine and temporal (e.g., inter and intra-machine) and database consistency of coronary calcium scoring by applying a filtering algorithm that sharpens and/or smoothes the image so as to return a filtered image having a spatial resolution of a certain reference value.

Claims

1. A phantom for calculating a spatial resolution and attenuation factor of an imaging device, the phantom comprising:

a housing; and

a plurality of substantially cylindrical bodies positioned in a spaced configuration within the housing;

wherein the cylindrical bodies have diameters that are determined based at least on the spatial resolution of the imaging device and are substantially in the range of 0.1 times the full-width half maximum to 3.0 times the full-width half maximum of the imaging device.

2. The phantom of claim 1 wherein the housing comprises first and second parallel surfaces, and wherein a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical bodies is substantially perpendicular to the first and second surfaces.

3. The phantom of claim 1 wherein the cylindrical bodies comprise aluminum wires.

4. The phantom of claim 1 wherein the cylindrical bodies are embedded in a fluid or solid with electron density similar to that of water in the housing.

5. The phantom of claim 1 wherein the plurality of cylindrical bodies comprise five aluminum or hydroxy apatite wires.