Method and unit for refining digital x-ray images

• US 7,593,555 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2004
• Issued: 09/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Spahn, Martin
• Primary Examiner(s): Bali; Vikkram
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bitar; Nancy
• Application Number:
  US10/561,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20070140542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,924 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/128, 382/132, 378/62, 378/115, 378/116, 378/4, 378/16, 600/437
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/00 Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161; apparatus for taking X-ray photographs G03B42/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4291 the detector being combined with a grid or grating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/465 adapted to display user selection data, e.g. graphical user interface, icons or menus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5207 involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image reconstruction G06T11/00

Abstract

method for simplifying the adjustment of a digital x-ray device for the refinement of the x-ray images, and to an image refining unit for carrying out said method. According to the invention, a pre-determined modification is performed on the image data of the x-ray image by at least one image processing module according to at least one parameter: the or each parameter is supplied to the image processing module from a current set of parameters; the current set of parameters is selected from a plurality of stored standard sets of parameters; an associated model image can be displayed for each standard set of parameters using stored image data; and the standard group of parameters selected by selecting the associated model image.

Claims

1. A method for image refining of digital x-ray images, comprising:

using a processor to do the following steps;

providing an image processing module;

supplying to the image processing module a parameter from a current parameter set;

displaying an associated model image for a standard parameter set by using a stored image data;

selecting at least some standard parameter sets from a plurality of available standard parameter sets; and

forming a current parameter set from the selected standard parameter sets,

wherein when a parameter set comprises a two-dimensional matrix of parameters

p_ij (i,j=1, 2, 3, . . . ), then a current parameter set P^akt is formed of a linear combination of selected standard parameter sets P^Nr.1 (1=k₁, k₂, . . . with k₁, k₂, . . . ε

1, 2, . . . , K) from the plurality of available standard parameter sets P^Nr.k (k=1, 2, . . . , K), wherein said linear combination is defined by the following equation

$p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{akt}}=\underset{l}{\overset{}{\sum <br><br>}}<br><br><br><br>a_l·<br><br>p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{Nr}.l},$

wherein p_ij^Nr.1 represents a parameter p_ij in a selected standard parameter set P^Nr.1, wherein p_ij^akt represents a parameter p_ij in a current parameter set P^akt, wherein a summation defined by said equation extends through each of the selected standard parameter sets P_Nr.1 (1=k1, k2, . . . ), where a₁ represents a weighting factor of the selected standard parameter set P^Nr.1, wherein each weighting factor a₁ is a number whose value ranges from a value of zero to a value of one, and wherein a sum of all weighting factors a₁ (1=k1, k2, . . . ) yields a value of 1.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing different parameter sets for different body organs to be examined.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing different parameter sets for different acquisition projections.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing different parameter sets for different generator settings.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a parameter set comprises parameters p_ij(x), where (x) represents a functional relationship for said parameters, then the linear combination is defined by the following equation

$p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{akt}}\; <li></li><br><br>\left(x\right)=\underset{l}{\overset{}{\sum <br><br>}}<br><br><br><br>a_l·<br><br>p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{Nr}.l}<br><br><br><br>\left(x\right).$

5. An image refining system to modify an image data from an x-ray apparatus, comprising:

a memory;

a plurality of standard parameter sets stored in the memory;

at least one current parameter sets selected from the plurality of standard parameter sets;

an image data stored in the memory;

a module controlled by at least one parameter from the plurality of standard parameter sets;

an associated model image displayed for each of the plurality of standard parameter sets; and

a combination module configured to calculate a current parameter set from a combination of the selected parameter sets, wherein when a parameter set comprises a two-dimensional matrix of parameters p_ij (i,j=1, 2, 3, . . . ), a current parameter set P^akt is formed of a linear combination of selected standard parameter sets P^Nr.1 (1=k₁, k₂, . . . with k₁, k₂, . . . ε

1, 2, . . . , K) from the plurality of standard parameter sets p^Nr.k (k=1, 2, . . . , K), wherein said linear combination is defined by the following equation

$p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{akt}}=\underset{l}{\overset{}{\sum <br><br>}}<br><br><br><br>a_l·<br><br>p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{Nr}.l},$

wherein p_ij^Nr.1 represents a parameter p_ij in a selected standard parameter set P^Nr.1, wherein p_ij^akt represents a parameter p_ij in a current parameter set P^akt, wherein a summation defined by said equation extends through each of the selected standard parameter sets P_Nr.1 (1=k1, k2, . . . ), where a₁ represents a weighting factor of the selected standard parameter set P^Nr.1, wherein each weighting factor a₁ is a number whose value ranges from a value of zero to a value of one, and wherein the sum of all weighting factors a₁ (1=k1, k2, . . . ) yields a value of 1.

7. The image refining system of claim 5, wherein when a parameter set comprises parameters p_ij(x), where (x) represents a functional relationship for said parameters, then the linear combination is defined by the following equation

$p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{akt}}\; <li></li><br><br>\left(x\right)=\underset{l}{\overset{}{\sum <br><br>}}<br><br><br><br>a_l·<br><br>p_{\mathrm{ij}}^{\mathrm{Nr}.l}<br><br><br><br>\left(x\right).$