System and method to achieve rapid quantitative dynamic molecular imaging scans

• US 9,867,589 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Uber, III, Arthur E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Liew, Alex
• Application Number:
  US15/254,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20170027539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 502 Days
• Field of Search: 382128-134
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/023 for the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/704 Tables
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7285 for synchronising or triggering a physiological measurement or image acquisition with a physiological event or waveform, e.g. an ECG signal A61B6/5205, A61B6/541, A61B8/5207, A61B8/543 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/0407 Supports, e.g. tables or beds, for the body or parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/481 involving the use of contrast agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/486 involving generating temporal series of image data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/503 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/507 for determination of haemodynamic parameters, e.g. perfusion CT
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5217 extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5288 involving retrospective matching to a physiological signal
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/54 Control of apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/566 involving communication between diagnostic systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/0002 General or multifunctional contrast agents, e.g. chelated agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/007 for contrast media
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/4808 Multimodal MR, e.g. MR combined with positron emission tomography [PET], MR combined with ultrasound or MR combined with computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5601 : involving use of a contrast agent for contrast manipulation, e.g. a paramagnetic, super-paramagnetic, ferromagnetic or hyperpolarised contrast agent
• 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 11/008 : Specific post-processing after tomographic reconstruction, e.g. voxelisation, metal artifact correction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 : Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 : delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 : for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 : for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

Methods and systems for controlled administration of a tracer and quantification of uptake of the tracer by a target organ are described. The method includes administering a tracer to a patient and imaging at least two regions of the patient'"'"'s body that cannot be imaged simultaneously. An input function for the tracer can be determined by imaging a first region of the patient'"'"'s body during selected times, and using an injector to administer the tracer in a manner that accurately estimates the input function when this first region is not being imaged. One or more additional regions of the body may then be imaged to create data that may be used to estimate the input function. One or more parameters may then be estimated from each additional region of the body based on the input function and the imaging data gathered from each region.

Claims

1. A system for imaging at least two volumes of a patient, the system comprising:

one or more imager configured to image one volume of a patient to be imaged;

at least one patient support configured to move the patient between a first position within the one or more imager for determining an input function and at least one second position within the one or more imager for scanning at least one second volume of the patient, wherein the first volume is different than the second volume;

one or more control system comprising one or more computer;

one or more user interface; and

an injector configured to administer at least one controlled dose of one or more tracer when the patient is in at least the first position and optionally at least one of the at least one second position;

wherein the one or more control system uses an image derived input function from the first volume to determine at least kinetic parameters for the scanning of the at least one second volume of the patient to provide a reconstructed image of the at least two volumes of the patient.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more control system comprises a system bus configured to electronically communicate with the one or more imager, the one or more user interface, the injector, or combinations thereof.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more computer is configured to carry out instructions for determining the image derived input function and for determining an injection profile for administering the one or more tracer based on at least one pharmacokinetic (PK)/pharmacodynamic (PD) parameter determined from the image derived input function.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more computer is configured to carry out instructions for control of the injector.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer is configured to control delivery of a bolus injection of the one or more tracer.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer is configured to control delivery of a slow injection of the one or more tracer over a period of time.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the slow injection is an exponential decaying injection over the period of time.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more computer is configured to control delivery of the one or more tracer at an injection time that is longer than an average circulation time of the one or more tracer in a blood stream of the patient.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein control of the injector comprises delivery of a bolus injection of a first amount of the one or more tracer and infusion of a second amount of the one or more tracer.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the image derived input function accounts for one or more aspects selected from the group consisting of:

determination of a plasma concentration of the one or more tracer, determination of a time required for the one or more tracer to reach a heart of the patient after administration, determination of a time required for spread of the one or more tracer through lungs of the patient, determination of a transit time of the heart of the patient, determination of a time and distribution of circulation or recirculation, determination of rates of uptake and metabolization of the one or more tracer in various tissues of the patient, determination of rates of removal of the one or more tracer from a blood stream of the patient, determination of absorption and elimination of the one or more tracer in tissues and organs of the patient, determination of diffusion rates of the one or more tracer into and out of blood cells of the patient, determination of diffusion rates of the one or more tracer into and out of extravascular and extracellular space of the patient, determination of diffusion rates of the one or more tracer into and out of cells of the patient, determination of a timescale of the imaging system, and combinations of any thereof.

11. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer is configured to determine coordination times of the image derived input function to optimize parameters associated with an imaging procedure.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the coordination times of the image derived input function are selected from physiological event times, imaging acquisition times, first pass flow times of a drug, PK/PD phenomena times, or combinations of any thereof.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer is configured to utilize iterative reconstruction techniques during analysis to at least partially compensate for one or more non-idealities or non-linearities in a reconstructed image.

14. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more computer is configured to normalize imaging data based on multiple input functions determined throughout an imaging procedure.