Method, system and computer product for processing dual energy images

A method of examining a structure comprising:

• exposing the structure to an energy source at a first energy level;
• acquiring a first image of the structure;
• exposing the structure to an energy source at a second energy level different than the first energy level;
• acquiring a second image of the structure;
• pre-processing said first image and said second image;
• decomposing said first image and said second image to form a raw soft-tissue image and a raw bone image;
• post-processing the raw soft-tissue image to form a processed soft-tissue image;
• post-processing the raw bone image to form a processed bone image;
• display processing the processed soft-tissue image and the processed bone image.

A dual energy imaging system comprising:

• an energy source generating photons at a first energy level and a second energy level different than the first energy level;
• a detector generating a first image representative of the photons at the first energy level passing through a structure and a second image representative of the photons at the second energy level passing through the structure;
• a memory coupled to the detector, said memory storing the first image and the second image;
• a processing circuit coupled to said memory, said processing circuit pre-processing said first image and said second image;
• post-processing the first image to form a processed first image;
• post-processing the second image to form a processed second image;
• a display device coupled to said processor, said display device displaying one of the processed first image and the processed second image.

A dual energy imaging system comprising:

• energy means for generating photons at a first energy level and a second energy level different than the first energy level;
• detection means for generating a first image representative of the photons at the first energy level passing through a structure and a second image representative of the photons at the second energy level passing through the structure;
• storage means for storing the first image and the second image;
• processing means for:
• pre-processing said first image and said second image;
• decomposing said first image and said second image to form a raw soft-tissue image and a raw bone image;
• post-processing the raw soft-tissue image to form a processed soft-tissue image;
• post-processing the raw bone image to form a processed bone image;
• display means for displaying one of the processed soft-tissue image and the processed bone image.

A computer program product for processing dual energy images, the product comprising:

• a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for:
• obtaining a first image generated at a first energy;
• obtaining a second image generated at a second energy different than the first energy level;
• pre-processing said first image and said second image;
• decomposing said first image and said second image to form a raw soft-tissue image and a raw bone image;
• post-processing the raw soft-tissue image to form a processed soft-tissue image;
• post-processing the raw bone image to form a processed bone image;
• display processing the processed soft-tissue image and the processed bone image.