Method for image registration processes and X-ray angiography system

• US 20080212858A1
• Filed: 02/19/2008
• Published: 09/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Meyer, Andreas, Pfister, Marcus, Boese, Jan, Justiz, Jorn
• Granted Patent: US 8,050,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/130
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/364 Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10072 Tomographic images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10088 Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30012 Spine; Backbone
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30048 Heart; Cardiac
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/38 Registration of image sequences

Abstract

Registration of preoperatively acquired MRI images of soft parts to intraoperatively acquired X-ray images of soft parts is not possible. The invention shows a way of nevertheless using such preoperatively acquired images for superimposition with 2D projections of the soft parts, taking an indirect route via 3D/3D registration of images of the spinal column. For this purpose, 3D image data sets of the spinal column must be obtained separately on the one hand using MRI and on the other using the X-ray imaging system so that the 3D/3D registration produces a mapping rule which then also applies to the preoperatively acquired images of the soft part if the soft part images and the spinal images are acquired without intervening change in the patient position in the MRI scanner.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method for an image registration process, comprising:

creating a first 3D image data set of a patient by a first image acquisition system;

creating a second 3D image data set of the patient by the first image acquisition system;

transmitting the first and the second 3D image data set of the patient to a second image acquisition system;

creating a third 3D image data set of the patient by the second image acquisition system;

determining a mapping rule for a coordinate transformation from the second 3D image data set to the third 3D image data set; and

generating a representation of the patient from the first 3D image data set based on the mapping rule.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

recording a 2D image of the patient by the second image acquisition system,

overlaying the 2D image with the representation of the patient from the first 3D image data set.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the representation of the patient from the first 3D image data set comprises a position change of the patient which is captured by the 2D image.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first image acquisition system comprises an MRI scanner.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first image acquisition system comprises a 3D ultrasound image acquisition system.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second image acquisition system comprises an X-ray angiography system.

14. An X-ray angiography system, comprising:

an input that receives a first and a second 3D image data set of a patient from an external image acquisition system;

an X-ray acquisition device that creates a 3D X-ray image data set of the patient as a third 3D image data set;

a memory that stores the first, the second, and the third 3D image data set; and

an image processing device that determines a mapping rule for a coordinate transformation from the second 3D image data set to the third 3D image data set and applies the mapping rule to the first image data set.

15. The X-ray angiography system as claimed in claim 14, wherein a representation of the patient from the first 3D image data set is generated based on the mapping rule.

16. The X-ray angiography system as claimed in claim 15, wherein a 2D image of the patient is recorded by the X-ray acquisition device and overlaid with the representation of the patient from the first 3D image data set.