Radioactive-emission-measurement optimization to specific body structures

• US 9,370,333 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spectrum Dynamics Medical Ltd
• Original Assignee: Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nagler, Michael, Dichterman, Eli, Zilberstein, Yoel, Ravhon, Ran, Ziv, Omer, Rousso, Benny, Ben-Haim, Shlomo
• Primary Examiner(s): Moher, Amanda Lauritzen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Santos Rodriguez, Joseph M
• Application Number:
  US14/140,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20140187927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 6/02 Arrangements for diagnosis sequentially in different planes; Stereoscopic radiation diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/06 Diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4258 for detecting non x-ray radiation, e.g. gamma radiation A61B6/037 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4266 characterised by using a plurality of detector units A61B6/4014 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/481 involving the use of contrast agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/54 Control of apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/1642 using a scintillation crystal and position sensing photodetector arrays, e.g. ANGER cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/1644 using an array of optically separate scintillation elements permitting direct location of scintillations G01T1/1645 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10072 Tomographic images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A method for predefining a set of radioactive-emission measurement views, for radioactive-emission imaging after an administration of a radiopharmaceutical, the method being tailored to a specific body structure and optimized with respect to the information gained about the body structure and based on modeling body-structure, based on its geometry and anatomical constraints, which limit accessibility to the body structure.

Claims

1. A method for predefining a set of radioactive-emission measurement views, for radioactive-emission imaging by a gamma camera after an administration of a radiopharmaceutical, the method being tailored to a specific body structure of a patient and with respect to the information gained about the body structure, the method comprising:

providing a gamma camera for the detection of radiation single emissions after an administration of a radiopharmaceutical, the camera defines a region of interest, wherein said camera includes at least three radiation detectors, each comprising at least one collimator, said at least one collimator blocks gamma and beta rays and defines a viewing angle, said radiation detectors having different lines-of-sight and each arranged to view said region of interest at a different orientation from others of said radiation detectors;

wherein the gamma camera is tailored to the specific body structure of the patient and optimized by modeling the body structure based on its geometry to generate a volumetric dimensions model of the body structure;

generating a model of anatomical constraints which limit accessibility to the body structure;

obtaining a collection of views based on the different lines-of-sight at different orientations of the modeled body-structure, within the modeled anatomical constraints;

providing a scoring function, by which any set of at least one view, from the collection of views, is scorable with a score that rates the information obtained from the modeled body structure, by the set;

forming sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, with the scoring function;

selecting one of the sets of views, from the collection of views, based on its score, as the predefined set of views;

obtaining radioactive emission measurements by the radiation detectors of the gamma camera at the predefined set of views; and

reconstructing a volumetric image from the radioactive emission measurements within said region-of-interest.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the body structure is selected from the group consisting of:

a human prostate, a human heart, a human brain, a human breast, a human uterus, a human ovary, a human liver, a human kidney, a human stomach, a human colon, a human small intestine, a human oral cavity, a human throat, a human gland, a human lymph node, a human trachee, a human lung, a human pancreas, a human skin, another human body organ, a human limb, a human bone, another part of the human body, a whole human body,

an animal prostate, an animal heart, an animal brain, an animal teat, an animal uterus, an animal ovary, an animal liver, an animal kidney, an animal stomach, an animal gastrointestinal track, an animal oral cavity, an animal throat, an animal gland, an animal lymph node, an animal trachee, an animal lung, an animal pancreas, an animal skin, another animal body organ, an animal limb, an animal bone, another part of an animal body, and a whole animal body.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining a collection of views of the modeled body-structure, within the modeled anatomical constraints, comprises obtaining the group of probabilities which form each view, by measurements of a physical model of the body structure, embedded with an emission source, from different locations and orientations, as possible by the modeled anatomical constraints.

4. The method of claim 3, and further including performing diagnostic radioactive-emission measurements of an in-vivo body structure that corresponds to the modeled body structure, selectively at the predefined set of views.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the scoring function is based on an information theoretic measure of uniformity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, with the scoring function, includes using the Greedy construction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the views is associated with a detecting unit, formed as a collimated solid-state-detector pixel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the views is associated with at least two viewing parameters, selected from the group consisting of:

a solid-state-detector-pixel location, a solid-state-detector-pixel orientation, a solid-state-detector-pixel material, a solid-state-detector-pixel thickness, a solid-state-detector-pixel size, a septa thickness, a collimator solid collection angle, measurement duration, time elapsed from the administration of the radiopharmaceutical, the radiopharmaceutical half life, radioactive-emission particle, and radioactive-emission energy.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the modeling the body-structure includes modeling a radiation emission density distribution to form at least one region of interest.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the scoring function comprises an information theoretic measure, selected from the group consisting of:

an information-theoretic Fisher information measure, for ensuring reliable reconstruction of the radioactive-emission density distribution,

an information-theoretic likelihood measure, for ensuring separable reconstructions of the at least one emittance model, and

a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the modeling the body-structure comprises providing a plurality of models of substantially identical volumes, but different regions of interest;

the forming sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, comprises forming substantially identical sets of views for all the models and scoring the sets with respect to each model, based on the information theoretic measure of reliability; and

the selecting one of the sets of views, based on its score, comprises selecting based on the average score for the plurality of models.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the modeling the body-structure comprises providing a pair of models of substantially identical volumes, but different regions of interest, wherein the difference between the regions of interest is defined by at least one delta;

the scoring function is based on an information theoretic measure of separability;

the forming the sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, comprises forming substantially identical sets of views for the pair of models and scoring the sets with respect to the pair; and

the selecting one of the sets of views, based on its score, comprises selecting based on the score for the pair.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the modeling the body-structure comprises providing a plurality of pairs of models of substantially identical volumes, but different regions of interest, wherein the difference between the regions of interest for each pair is defined by at least one delta;

the scoring function is based on an information theoretic measure of separability;

the forming the sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, comprises forming substantially identical sets of views for the plurality of pairs of models and scoring the sets with respect to each of the pairs; and

the selecting one of the sets of views, based on its score, comprises selecting based on an average score for the plurality of pairs.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the modeling the body-structure comprises providing a pair of models of substantially identical volumes, but different regions of interest, and a third model of no radiation emission density distribution; and

the providing the scoring function comprises providing a scoring function as a combination of uniformity, separability and reliability.

15. A radioactive-emission-measuring-probe system, for predefining a set of radioactive-emission measurement views for imaging by a gamma camera of a body structure, after an administration of a radiopharmaceutical, the radioactive-emission-measuring-probe system comprising:

a housing, contoured so as to follow anatomical constraints of the body, for optimized tomographic imaging of the body structure including a gamma camera for the detection of radiation single emissions after an administration of a radiopharmaceutical, the camera defines a region of interest, wherein said camera includes at least three radiation detectors, each comprising at least one collimator, said at least one collimator blocks gamma and beta rays and defines a viewing angle, said radiation detectors having different lines-of-sight and each arranged to view said region of interest at a different orientation from others of said radiation detectors;

wherein the gamma camera is tailored to the specific body structure of the patient and optimized by modeling the body structure based on its geometry to generate a volumetric dimensions model of the body structure;

a controller, configured for controlling any motion associated with the detectors, the controller configured for;

generating a model of anatomical constraints which limit accessibility to the body Structure;

obtaining a collection of views based on the different lines-of-sight at different orientations of the modeled body-structure, within the modeled anatomical constraints;

providing a scoring function, by which any set of at least one view, from the collection of views, is scorable with a score that rates the information obtained from the modeled body structure, by the set;

forming sets of views from the collection of views and scoring them, with the scoring function;

selecting one of the sets of views, from the collection of views, based on its score, as the predefined set of views and controlling motion of the detectors in accordance with said views;

obtaining radioactive emission measurements by the radiation detectors of the gamma camera at the predefined set of views; and

reconstructing a volumetric image from the radioactive emission measurements within said region-of-interest.

16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the at least one detector is mounted within the housing and configured for an assembly rotational motion in a first direction, around an assembly axis of rotation, during data acquisition, the detectors comprising:

an internal housing;

each of the detectors defining a solid-state detector pixel and a solid collection angle; and

an assembly first motion provider, in mechanical communication with the internal housing, configured for providing the detector with the assembly rotational motion.

17. A system according to claim 15, wherein the scoring function is based on an information theoretic measure of uniformity.