Tomography imaging apparatus and method of reconstructing tomography image

• US 9,763,639 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Kyoung-yong, Lee, Duhgoon, Min, Baeg-gi
• Primary Examiner(s): GORADIA, SHEFALI DINESH
• Application Number:
  US14/838,522
• Publication Number:
  US 20160256127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/486 involving generating temporal series of image data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5264 due to motion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5288 involving retrospective matching to a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/003 Reconstruction from projections, e.g. tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/005 Specific pre-processing for tomographic reconstruction, e.g. calibration, source positioning, rebinning, scatter correction, retrospective gating
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2211/412 Dynamic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A tomography imaging apparatus is provided, including: a data acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of partial data respectively corresponding to a plurality of consecutive angular sections by performing a tomography scan on a moving object; and an image processing unit configured to measure global motion of the object and motion of a first region in the object based on the plurality of partial data, acquire first information representing motion of the object by reflecting the global motion in the motion of the first region, and reconstruct a final tomography image representing the object based on the first information.

Claims

1. A tomography imaging apparatus comprising:

a data acquisition unit configured to acquire a plurality of partial data respectively corresponding to a plurality of consecutive angular sections by performing a tomography scan on a moving object; and

an image processing unit configured to measure global motion of the object and motion of a first region in the object based on the plurality of partial data, acquire first information representing motion of the object by reflecting the global motion in the motion of the first region, and reconstruct a final tomography image representing the object based on the first information.

2. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit reconstructs the final tomography image by correcting the motion of the object in a tomography image representing the object based on the first information.

3. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit compares two partial data respectively corresponding to two adjacent angular sections among the plurality of partial data with each other and acquires the first information based on a comparison result.

4. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 3, wherein the image processing unit compares two partial images respectively corresponding to the two adjacent angular sections and reconstructed according to a partial angle reconstruction (PAR) method with each other and acquires the first information based on a comparison result.

5. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of angular sections has a value less than 180°

.

6. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the global motion comprises at least one of translation and rotation of the object, and

wherein the motion of the first region comprises motion that occurs due to characteristics of an organ or body part included in the first region.

7. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 6, wherein the motion of the first region comprises motion of a body part, which occurs in the first region due to at least one of respiration, heartbeat, and generation of a biological signal.

8. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit acquires a plurality of partial tomography images respectively corresponding to the plurality of angular sections based on the plurality of partial data and acquires the first information based on a surface of the object imaged in the plurality of partial tomography images.

9. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit masks at least one body part included in the object in each of the plurality of partial tomography images and measures motion of an edge included in the masked at least one body part as the global motion.

10. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 9, wherein the image processing unit masks a body part including at least one of ribs and vertebra in each of a plurality of partial tomography images.

11. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit measures the global motion by using rigid registration.

12. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit measures the motion of the first region by using non-rigid registration.

13. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit reconstructs the final tomography image by primarily correcting the global motion of the object in a tomography image representing the object based on the first information and secondarily correcting the motion of the first region in the primarily corrected tomography image.

14. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display unit configured to display the final tomography image.

15. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a communication unit configured to transmit the final tomography image to at least one of an external server, medical imaging apparatus, and computing device.

16. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit generates second information comprising information about the motion of the object based on the first information.

17. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a display unit configured to display a screen indicating the second information.

18. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second information comprises an amount of the motion of the object classified into a plurality of stages.

19. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second information comprises the type of the motion of the object.

20. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second information comprises the motion of the object classified into a plurality of stages.

21. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second information comprises information indicating whether rescanning is required based on an amount of the motion of the object.

22. The tomography imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the image processing unit controls an alarm signal notifying rescanning to be output when it is determined that the motion of the object occurs in an amount greater than or equal to a threshold value based on the first information.

23. A method of reconstructing a tomography image, the method comprising:

acquiring a plurality of partial data respectively corresponding to a plurality of consecutive angular sections by performing a tomography scan on a moving object;

measuring global motion of the object and motion of a first region in the object based on the plurality of partial data and acquiring first information representing motion of the object by reflecting the global motion in the motion of the first region; and

reconstructing a final tomography image representing the object based on the first information.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the reconstructing of the final tomography image comprises reconstructing the final tomography image by correcting the motion of the object in a tomography image representing the object based on the first information.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the acquiring of the first information comprises comparing two partial data respectively corresponding to two adjacent angular sections among the plurality of partial data with each other and acquiring the first information based on a comparison result.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the global motion comprises at least one of translation and rotation of the object, and

wherein the motion of the first region comprises motion that occurs due to characteristics of an organ or body part included in the first region.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the motion of the first region comprises motion of a body part, which occurs in the first region due to at least one of respiration, heartbeat, and generation of a biological signal.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein, in the acquiring of the first information, the global motion is measured using rigid registration, and the motion of the first region is measured using non-rigid registration.