Method and system for outlining a region in positron emission tomography studies

A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to perform a method for outlining a region of interest in a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan study, the method comprising:

• during each of a plurality of scans of at least a part of a subject performed over a period of time that includes a plurality of sub-periods, generating corresponding data representing an image of the at least the part of the subject, the image defined by pixel intensities, wherein images represented by data generated during scans of different sub-periods accentuate different features of the at least the part of the subject;
• generating data representing an image having pixel intensities derived at least mostly from one or more images generated by the scanning of a single one of the sub-periods;
• determining which region of at least a portion of the image having the derived pixel intensities includes substantially higher pixel intensity values than other pixel intensity values of the at least a portion;
• and
• marking a perimeter of the determined region as a region of interest outline.

A system for outlining a region of interest in a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan study, comprising:

• a scanner for scanning at least a part of a subject a plurality of times over a period of time that includes a plurality of sub-periods, wherein:
• each scanning generates corresponding data representing an image of the at least the part of the subject, the image defined by pixel intensities;
• and
• images represented by data generated during scans of different sub-periods accentuate different features of the at least the part of the subject;
• an arrangement for generating data representing an image having pixel intensities derived at least mostly from one or more images generated by the scanning of a single one of the sub-periods;
• an arrangement for determining which region of at least a portion of the image having the derived pixel intensities includes substantially higher pixel intensity values than other pixel intensity values of the at least a portion;
• and
• an arrangement for marking a perimeter of the determined region as a region of interest outline.

A method for outlining a region of interest in a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan study, comprising:

• dividing a plurality of scanned images into groups corresponding to different defined periods of scan time;
• performing Masked Volume Wise Principal Component Analysis (MVW-PCA) on the plurality of scanned images to generate an image emphasizing images of one of the groups;
• and
• marking an outline in the generated image solely based on pixel intensity values of the generated image.