Providing image support to a practitioner

An X-ray device comprising:

• a controller configured to:
• acquire a three-dimensional (3D) subtraction angiography image data set including a target region of a patient that includes a target area;
• select a region of interest in the 3D subtraction angiography image data set, the region of interest including the target area;
• define an imaging geometry that implements a projection direction for acquiring two-dimensional (2D) fluoroscopic images for monitoring the intervention using an X-ray device;
• determine image-obscuring blood vessels that superimpose the region of interest in the imaging geometry, and determining imaging zones that show fractions of the image-obscuring blood vessels in the imaging geometry without superimposition by other blood vessels by forward projection of the 3D subtraction angiography image data set in the projection direction;
• define path information relating to the image-obscuring blood vessels at least in a zone around the region of interest and in the imaging zones, and inputting the path information into a 2D forward projection data set;
• acquire a fluoroscopic image in the imaging geometry;
• determine pixels that show the image-obscuring blood vessels in the fluoroscopic image using the information relating to the path, and determining image intensity information from intensities measured on pixels in the fluoroscopic image;
• modify the fluoroscopic image, the modifying comprising subtracting a masked image of the image-obscuring blood vessels acquired by the path information in the region of interest and the image intensity information from the fluoroscopic image in the region of interest;
• and
• display the modified fluoroscopic image.

In a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions executable by a computer to provide image support to a practitioner in an interventional treatment of a target area in a patient, the instructions comprising:

• acquiring a three-dimensional (3D) subtraction angiography image data set including a target region of the patient that includes the target area;
• selecting a region of interest in the 3D subtraction angiography image data set, the region including the target area;
• defining an imaging geometry that implements a projection direction for acquiring two-dimensional (2D) fluoroscopic images for monitoring the intervention using an X-ray device;
• determining image-obscuring blood vessels that superimpose the region of interest in the imaging geometry, and determining imaging zones that show fractions of the image-obscuring blood vessels in the imaging geometry without superimposition by other blood vessels by forward projection of the 3D subtraction angiography image data set in the projection direction;
• defining path information relating to the image-obscuring blood vessels at least in a zone around the region of interest and in the imaging zones, and inputting the path information into a 2D forward projection data set;
• acquiring a fluoroscopic image in the imaging geometry;
• determining pixels that show the image-obscuring blood vessels in the fluoroscopic image using the information relating to the path, and determining image intensity information from intensities measured on pixels in the fluoroscopic image;
• modifying the fluoroscopic image, the modifying comprising subtracting a masked image of the image-obscuring blood vessels acquired by the path information in the region of interest and the image intensity information from the fluoroscopic image in the region of interest;
• and
• displaying the modified fluoroscopic image.