# US 2014/0155736 A1 · System and method for automated landmarking

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- Number: US 2014/0155736 A1
- Document ID: US20140155736A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/690,815
- Filed: 2012-11-30
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30
- Assignees: General Electric Company
- Applicants: General Electric Company
- Inventors: Vivek Prabhakar Vaidya; Robert David Darrow; Xiaodong Tao
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140155736A1

## CPC

- A61B 6/04: Positioning of patients; Tiltable beds or the like
- A61B 5/0037: {Performing a preliminary scan, e.g. a prescan for identifying a region of interest}
- A61B 5/055: involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
- A61B 5/70: {Means for positioning the patient in relation to the detecting, measuring or recording means}
- A61B 5/704: {Tables}
- G01R 33/543: {Control of the operation of the MR system, e.g. setting of acquisition parameters prior to or during MR data acquisition, dynamic shimming, use of one or more scout images for scan plane prescription (G01R33/546 takes precedence)}
- A61B 2090/364: {Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body}
- G01R 33/56308: {Characterization of motion or flow; Dynamic imaging}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

A method for automated landmarking comprising obtaining one or more localizer images of a patient, comparing the one or more localizer images with a reference image, computing a difference between the one or more localizer images and the reference image, determining a desired position of the patient based on the computed difference, and maneuvering the patient, a support platform, or both the patient and the support platform to the desired position for imaging an anatomical region of interest in the patient.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for automated landmarking, the method comprising:
obtaining one or more localizer images of a patient;
comparing the one or more localizer images with a reference image;
computing a difference between the one or more localizer images and the reference image;
determining a desired position of the patient based on the computed difference; and
maneuvering the patient, a support platform, or both the patient and the support platform to the desired position for imaging an anatomical region of interest in the patient.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
disposing the patient on or about the support platform; and
positioning at least one imaging coil on or about the anatomical region of interest in the patient.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein obtaining one or more localizer images of a patient comprises acquiring one or more images in an axial orientation, a coronal orientation, or both the axial and the coronal orientations.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, further comprising computing an outline of a torso of the patient using the image acquired in the axial orientation.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, further comprising:
comparing the computed outline of the torso with a reference image; and
determining an offset between the computed outline of the torso and the reference image.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, further comprising:
adjusting the position of the patient, the support platform, or both the patient and the support platform based on the determined offset; and
obtaining a torso-centered image acquired in the coronal orientation.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising localizing the anatomical region of interest using the torso-centered image acquired in the coronal orientation.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising computing a difference between the torso-centered image acquired in the coronal orientation and the reference image.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, further comprising determining a desired position of the patient based on the computed difference.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising acquiring image data corresponding to the anatomical region of interest with the patient positioned at the desired position.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, further comprising visualizing the acquired image data on a display.

### Claim 12 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein obtaining the one or more localizer images comprises acquiring the one or more localizer images using an image acquisition device.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, further comprising:
determining a first landmark position using the one or more localizer images; and
identifying a feature of interest corresponding to the first landmark position.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, further comprising:
extrapolating a location of the anatomical region of interest based on a location of the first landmark position and a location of the feature of interest; and
determining a second landmark position based on the extrapolated location of the anatomical region of interest.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, further comprising:
computing an offset between the second landmark position and a determined location; and
determining a desired position of the patient based on the computed offset.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, further comprising acquiring image data corresponding to the anatomical region of interest with the patient positioned at the desired position.

### Claim 17

A system for automated landmarking, the system comprising:
a landmarking platform configured to:
obtain one or more localizer images of a patient;
compare the one or more localizer images with a reference image;
compute a difference between the one or more localizer images and the reference image;
determine a desired position of the patient based on the computed difference; and
maneuver the patient, a support platform, or both the patient and the support platform to the desired position.

### Claim 18

An imaging system, comprising:
an acquisition subsystem configured to obtain a plurality of image data sets corresponding to a region of interest in an object of interest; and
a processing subsystem in operative association with the acquisition subsystem and comprising a landmarking platform, wherein the landmarking platform is configured to:
obtain one or more localizer images of the object of interest;
compare the one or more localizer images with a reference image;
compute a difference between the one or more localizer images and the reference image;
determine a desired position of the object of interest based on the computed difference; and
maneuver the object of interest, a support platform, or both the object of interest and the support platform to the desired position.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The system of claim 18, wherein the system comprises a magnetic resonance imaging system, a computed tomography imaging system, a positron emission tomography imaging system, or combinations thereof.