X-ray CT apparatus, a method for changing the helical pitch, an image reconstruction processing apparatus, an image reconstruction processing method, and an image reconstruction processing program

• US 7,885,374 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Issued: 02/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Okumura, Miwa, Maeda, Tatsuo, Tsukagoshi, Shinsuke, Noshi, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Glick; Edward J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Corbett; John M
• Application Number:
  US11/685,985
• Publication Number:
  US 20070217567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,427 Days
• Field of Search: 378/4, 378/8, 378/15, 600/431
• US Class Current: 378/8
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/352 Detecting R peaks, e.g. for synchronising diagnostic apparatus; Estimating R-R interval
• 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 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4085 Cone-beams
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/488 involving pre-scan acquisition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/541 involving acquisition triggered by a physiological signal

Abstract

An X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus having an X-ray tube emitting an X-ray, a detector detecting X-rays transmitted through a subject to be examined, and a bed on which said subject to be examined is placed, said X-ray CT apparatus reconstructing the image of the subject to be examined from a transmission data obtained by emitting X-rays to the subject to be examined. The X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus further having an input part, a scan controlling part, a detecting part, a memory part, a segmentation part, a biological-signal synchronization reconstructing part, a biological-signal asynchronization reconstructing part, and a combining part.

Claims

1. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus having an X-ray tube emitting an X-ray, a detector detecting X-rays transmitted through a subject to be examined, and a bed on which said subject to be examined is placed, said X-ray CT apparatus reconstructing an image of the subject to be examined from a transmission data obtained by detecting the emitted X-rays transmitted through the subject to be examined, comprising:

an input part configured to specify an area of the subject which is to be reconstructed in synchronization with a biological signal of the subject and an area which is to be reconstructed in asynchronization with the biological signal;

a scan controlling part configured to perform a continuous single helical scan by moving said X-ray tube and said detector relative to said bed, and also to change a moving speed of said bed during the continuous single helical scan;

a detecting part configured to detect the biological signal of the subject to be examined;

a memory part configured to store the transmission data obtained during said helical scan and the said biological signal data in a correlated way;

a segmentation part configured to segment said transmission data into a first transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in synchronization with said biological signal and a second transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in asynchronization with said biological signal, while a region corresponding to an area on both sides of a boundary between the synchronization area to be reconstructed and the asynchronization area to be reconstructed belongs to both the first transmission data and the second transmission data;

a biological-signal synchronization reconstructing part configured to reconstruct a synchronized image of said subject to be examined based on said biological signal data and said first transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary;

a biological-signal asynchronization reconstructing part configured to reconstruct an asynchronized image of said subject to be examined from said second transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary without using said biological signal data; and

a combining part configured to create a combined image from said synchronized image and said asynchronized image such that the synchronized image reconstructed by said biological-signal synchronization reconstructing part and the asynchronized image reconstructed by said biological-signal asynchronization reconstructing part are combined with weighting addition at said region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary.

2. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said scan controlling part slows down the moving speed of said bed to a speed such that the biological signal for multiple cycles can be detected, during the helical scan of the area to be reconstructed in synchronization with said biological signal.

3. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said combining part gradually changes said weighting in the vicinity of an end of said synchronized image and said asynchronized image.

4. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detecting part is an electrocardiographic equipment that detects heart rate of the subject to be examined and creates electrocardiographic data, and said memory part stores such data as said biological signal data.

5. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detecting part is a respiration sensor that detects respiration of the subject to be examined and creates respiration data, and said memory part stores such data as said biological signal data.

6. An image reconstruction processing apparatus, comprising:

an input part configured to specify an area which is to be reconstructed in synchronization with a biological signal and an area which is to be reconstructed in asynchronization with the biological signal;

a memory part configured to store transmission data obtained by a continuous single helical scan and biological signal data of the subject to be examined obtained during said helical scan in a correlated way;

a segmentation part configured to segment said transmission data into a first transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in synchronization with said biological signal and a second transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in asynchronization with said biological signal, while a region corresponding to an area on both sides of a boundary between the synchronization area to be reconstructed and the asynchronization area to be reconstructed belongs to both the first transmission data and the second transmission data;

a biological-signal synchronization reconstructing part configured to reconstruct a synchronized image of said subject to be examined based on said biological signal data and said first transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary;

a biological-signal asynchronization reconstructing part configured to reconstruct an asynchronized image of said subject to be examined from said second transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary without using said biological signal data; and

a combining part configured to create a combined image from said synchronized image and said asynchronized image such that the synchronized image reconstructed by said biological-signal synchronization reconstructing part and the asynchronized image reconstructed by said biological-signal asynchronization reconstructing part are combined with weighting addition at said region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary.

7. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) image reconstruction processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said combining part gradually changes said weighting in the vicinity of an end of said synchronized image and said asynchronized image.

8. The image reconstruction processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said memory part stores electrocardiographic data as said biological signal data.

9. The image reconstruction processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said memory part stores respiration data as said biological signal data.

10. An image reconstruction processing method comprising:

storing transmission data of a subject to be examined obtained by a continuous single helical scan and a biological signal data of the subject to be examined obtained during said helical scan;

segmenting said transmission data into a first transmission data that corresponds to an area to be reconstructed in synchronization with said biological signal and a second transmission data that corresponds to an area to be reconstructed in asynchronization with said biological signal, while a region corresponding to an area on both sides of a boundary between the synchronization area to be reconstructed and the asynchronization area to be reconstructed belongs to both the first transmission data and the second transmission data;

reconstructing a synchronized image of said subject to be examined based on said biological signal data and said first transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary;

reconstructing an asynchronized image of said subject to be examined from said second transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary without using said biological signal data; and

creating a combined image from said synchronized image and said asynchronized image such that the synchronized image reconstructed in said reconstruction with synchronization and the asynchronized image reconstructed in said reconstruction with asynchronization are combined with weighting addition at said region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary.

11. The image reconstruction processing method according to claim 10, wherein said weighting gradually changes in the vicinity of an end of said synchronized image and said asynchronized image in said creation of the combined image.

12. The image reconstruction processing method according to claim 11, wherein electrocardiographic data is stored as said biological signal data.

13. The image reconstruction processing method according to claim 12, wherein respiration data is stored as said biological signal data.

14. A computer readable medium storing program instructions which when executed by a computer results in performance of steps for image reconstruction processing, comprising:

specifying an area which is to be reconstructed in synchronization with a biological signal of a subject to be examined and an area which is to be reconstructed in asynchronization with the biological signal on the computer;

storing transmission data obtained during a continuous single helical scan and biological signal data of the subject to be examined obtained during said continuous single helical scan in a correlated way;

segmenting said transmission data into a first transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in synchronization with said biological signal and a second transmission data that corresponds to the area to be reconstructed in asynchronization with said biological signal, while a region corresponding to an area on both sides of a boundary between the synchronization area to be reconstructed and the asynchronization area to be reconstructed belongs to both the first transmission data and the second transmission data;

reconstructing a synchronized image of said subject to be examined based on said biological signal data and said first transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary;

reconstructing an asynchronized image of said subject to be examined from said second transmission data including data from the region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary without using said biological signal data; and

creating a combined image from said synchronized image and said asynchronized image such that the synchronized image reconstructed in said reconstruction with synchronization and the asynchronized image reconstructed in said reconstruction with asynchronization are combined with weighting addition at said region corresponding to the area on both sides of the boundary.

15. A computer readable medium according to claim 14, wherein said weighting gradually changes in the vicinity of an end of said synchronized image and said asynchronized image.

16. A computer readable medium according to claim 14, wherein electrocardiographic data is stored as said biological signal data.

17. A computer readable medium according to claim 14, wherein respiration data is stored as said biological signal data.