Automatic or Semi-Automatic Whole Body MR Scanning System

• US 20120283546A1
• Filed: 11/03/2011
• Published: 11/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Zuehlsdorff, Sven, Glielmi, Christopher, Bi, Xiaoming
• Granted Patent: US 9,295,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/410
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/12 Healthy persons not otherwise provided for, e.g. subjects of a marketing survey
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2505/00 Evaluating, monitoring or diagnosing in the context of a particular type of medical care
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/00 Medical imaging apparatus involving image processing or analysis A61B1/00009, A61B6/52 and A61B8/52 take precedence; image processing per se G06T; details of algorithms for analysing medical images G06T7/0012
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5217 extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/30 for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment

Abstract

A system includes an image data processor for automatically processing data representing multiple patient anatomical images acquired in a single imaging scan. The images are acquired by, identifying multiple different anatomical elements in corresponding multiple different anatomical regions and identifying multiple different potentially pathology indicative features associated with the multiple different anatomical elements in response to first predetermined information associating different potentially pathology indicative features with corresponding different anatomical elements. The image data processor determines multiple different image acquisition methods for use in imaging the multiple different potentially pathology indicative features in response to second predetermined information associating different image acquisition methods with corresponding identified different pathology indicative features. An output processor collates images for output.

Claims

1. A system for imaging a plurality of anatomical regions of a patient with a plurality of different potentially pathological anatomical regions in a single imaging scan, comprising:

an image data processor for automatically processing data representing a plurality of acquired patient anatomical images by,

identifying a plurality of different anatomical elements in a corresponding plurality of different anatomical regions and

identifying a plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features associated with said plurality of different anatomical elements in response to first predetermined information associating different potentially pathology indicative features with corresponding different anatomical elements,

determining a plurality of different image acquisition methods for use in imaging said plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features in response to second predetermined information associating different image acquisition methods with corresponding identified different pathology indicative features; and

an output processor for collating images of a plurality of different potentially pathological features acquired using the associated corresponding different image acquisition methods into groups associated with said plurality of different potentially pathological features for output.

2. A system according to claim 1, including

a patient support table controller for automatically moving a patient table to isocenter of an imaging device to obtain images of said plurality of different potentially pathological features in response to an identified one of said plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor determines an image acquisition method for imaging a first anatomical region in response to an identified potentially pathological feature of a different second anatomical region.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said second predetermined information associates different image acquisition methods with corresponding identified different pathology indicative features and with associated anatomical regions and

said output processor collates images of a plurality of different potentially pathological features of associated anatomical regions acquired using the corresponding different image acquisition methods.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said single imaging scan comprises a whole body scan.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features comprise incidental findings.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different image acquisition methods comprise spectroscopy.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different image acquisition methods comprise MR methods indicating use of at least one of, (a) T1 weighting and (b) T2 weighting.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different image acquisition methods comprise methods indicating use of at least two of, (a) a contrast agent, (b) ECG synchronization, (c) respiration synchronization, (d) an auto-alignment process and (e) 2D or 3D imaging.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different image acquisition methods comprise MR methods indicating at least one of, (a) temporal requirements, (b) spatial requirements and (c) inversion.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor classifies a potentially pathology indicative feature in response to identifying at least one of, (a) vessel stenosis, (b) tissue growth in an organ and (c) low signal in a T2 weighted image of the liver.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor classifies a potentially pathology indicative feature in response to identifying a difference between a current image and an image of the same anatomical region obtained on an earlier occasion.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor classifies a potentially pathology indicative feature in response to identifying a difference between an identified parameter of an image and a corresponding parameter of a normal population of patients sharing similar demographic characteristics.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein

said demographic characteristics comprise at least one of age, weight, height, gender and pregnancy status.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor performs image feature segmentation and classifies a potentially pathology indicative feature in response to identifying at least one of, (a) unusual signal luminance intensity representing an anomaly and (b) a change in blood vessel diameter.

16. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said plurality of different anatomical elements comprise at least two of, (a) an organ, (b) a vessel, (c) tissue, (d) muscle, (e) bone, (f) fat and (g) fluid.

17. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said image data processor identifies said plurality of different anatomical elements and said plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features by,

detecting a transition in luminance data comprising an edge,

determining a boundary of an item in response to a detected edge,

matching a shape of an item determined based on a determined boundary with a template object associated with an element or pathology indicative feature derived from a repository using scaling, translation and rotation operations to iteratively match a template object with an item.

18. A method for imaging a plurality of anatomical regions of a patient with a plurality of different potentially pathological anatomical regions in a single imaging scan, comprising the activities of:

automatically processing data representing a plurality of patient anatomical images acquired in a single imaging scan by,

identifying a plurality of different anatomical elements in a corresponding plurality of different anatomical regions and

identifying a plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features associated with said plurality of different anatomical elements in response to first predetermined information associating different potentially pathology indicative features with corresponding different anatomical elements,

determining a plurality of different image acquisition methods for use in imaging said plurality of different potentially pathology indicative features in response to second predetermined information associating different image acquisition methods with corresponding identified different pathology indicative features; and

collating images of a plurality of different potentially pathological features acquired using the associated corresponding different image acquisition methods into groups associated with said plurality of different potentially pathological features for output.