Method and apparatus for automatically positioning a structure within a field of view
First Claim
1. A medical imaging system for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, comprising:
- at least one imaging detector for detecting radiation, the imaging detector having a field of view (FOV), the imaging detector configured to detect a first image while at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point and to detect a second image at a second system position;
a structure detecting module configured to automatically detect a structure of interest based on a count rate associated with the first image, the structure detecting module further configured to determine whether at least a portion of the structure of interest is within the FOV and to automatically determine a corresponding system position with respect to the predetermined reference point at which more of the structure of interest will be positioned within the FOV of the imaging detector at the corresponding system position based on the count rates associated with the first and second images; and
a controller configured to move the FOV of the imaging detector to the corresponding system position.
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Abstract
A medical imaging system for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view (FOV) of an imaging detector comprises at least one imaging detector for detecting radiation. The imaging detector has a FOV and detects a first image while at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point. A structure detecting module detects a structure of interest within the first image and determines whether the structure of interest is within the FOV of the imaging detector. The structure detecting module determines a second system position with respect to the predetermined reference point at which the structure of interest will be positioned within the FOV of the imaging detector, and a controller moves the FOV of the imaging detector to the second system position.
26 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A medical imaging system for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, comprising:
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at least one imaging detector for detecting radiation, the imaging detector having a field of view (FOV), the imaging detector configured to detect a first image while at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point and to detect a second image at a second system position; a structure detecting module configured to automatically detect a structure of interest based on a count rate associated with the first image, the structure detecting module further configured to determine whether at least a portion of the structure of interest is within the FOV and to automatically determine a corresponding system position with respect to the predetermined reference point at which more of the structure of interest will be positioned within the FOV of the imaging detector at the corresponding system position based on the count rates associated with the first and second images; and a controller configured to move the FOV of the imaging detector to the corresponding system position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A medical imaging system for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, comprising:
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at least one imaging detector for detecting radiation, the imaging detector having a field of view (FOV), the imaging detector configured to detect a first image while at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point and to detect a second image at a second system position; a structure detecting module configured to automatically detect a structure of interest based on a count rate associated with the first image, the structure detecting module further configured to determine whether at least a portion of the structure of interest is within the FOV and to automatically determine whether more of the structure of interest is within the FOV at the second system position based on a count rate associated with the second image and to automatically determine a third system position at which the structure of interest will be positioned closer to a center of the FOV; and a controller configured to move the FOV of the imaging detector to the third system position.
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15. A method for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, comprising:
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detecting a first image with an imaging detector, the first image comprising a structure of interest within a patient, the imaging detector having a field of view (FOV), the imaging detector being located at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point; automatically positioning the FOV of the imaging detector at a second system position with a controller, the first and second system positions being different from one another; detecting a second image with the imaging detector at the second system position; and comparing the first and second images with a structure detecting module to identify a corresponding system position at which more of the structure of interest is positioned within the FOV, wherein the first and second images further comprise persistence images, wherein the first and second images have first and second count rates, respectively, wherein the comparing step further comprises identifying a higher count rate between the first and second count rates. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for automatically positioning a structure of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, comprising:
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detecting a first image with an imaging detector, the first image comprising a structure of interest within a patient, the imaging detector having a field of view (FOV), the imaging detector being located at a first system position with respect to a predetermined reference point; automatically positioning the FOV of the imaging detector at a second system position with a controller, the first and second system positions being different from one another; detecting a second image with the imaging detector at the second system position; and comparing the first and second images with a structure detecting module to identify a corresponding system position at which more of the structure of interest is positioned within the FOV, wherein the automatically positioning further comprises iteratively positioning at least one of the imaging detector, a patient table, and a multi-pinhole collimator at different positions with respect to each other, and wherein the comparing further comprises comparing images detected at the different positions to identify a system position that corresponds to a highest count rate.
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Specification