Scan speed for transmission exposure reduction in a nuclear medicine camera

An apparatus for collecting transmission data associated with an object, said apparatus comprising:

• a scintillation detector for receiving radiation and reporting image information;
• a line source of radiation for emitting transmission radiation through said object to said scintillation detector;
• a processor coupled to receive information from said scintillation detector and coupled to control said line source of radiation, said processor for controlling said line source of radiation to perform a first transmission prescan over said object for a first duration and generating in response thereto a first count density information;
• said processor for computing a second duration for a second transmission scan phase based on said first count density information;
• said processor for controlling said line source of radiation to perform said second transmission scan phase over said object for said second duration and generating in response thereto a second count density information, said second duration representing a minimum duration of exposure of said object required for generating said second count density information;
• said processor for generating a set of attenuation correction factors based on said second count density information, said set of attenuation correction factors for use in correcting image data gathered by said scintillation detector during emission scanning;
• and
• a memory unit coupled to store and provide access to said first and said second count density information.

A gamma camera system for collecting transmission data associated with an object, said gamma camera system comprising:

• a scintillation detector for receiving radiation and reporting image information;
• a line source of radiation for emitting transmission radiation through said object to said scintillation detector;
• a gantry structure for positioning said scintillation detector and said line source of radiation;
• a computer system for acquiring and processing image information, said computer system coupled to said scintillation detector and coupled to control said line source of radiation, said computer system comprising a processor;
• said processor for controlling said line source of radiation to perform a first transmission prescan over said object for a first duration and generating in response thereto a first count density information;
• said processor for computing a second duration for a second transmission scan phase based on said first count density information;
• said processor for controlling said line source of radiation to perform said second transmission scan phase over said object for said second duration and generating in response thereto a second count density information;
• and
• said processor for generating a set of attenuation correction factors based on said second count density information, said set of attenuation correction factors for use in correcting image data gathered during emission scanning.

In a nuclear camera system having a scintillation detector for receiving radiation and reporting image information;

• a line source of radiation for emitting transmission radiation through an object to said scintillation detector;
• and a computer system, a computer implemented method of collecting transmission data associated with said object, said method comprising the steps of:
• controlling said line source of radiation to perform a first transmission prescan over said object for a first predetermined duration and generating in response thereto a first count density information;
• computing a second duration for a second transmission scan phase based on said first count density information;
• and
• controlling said line source of radiation to perform said second transmission scan phase over said object for said second duration and generating in response thereto a second count density information.

In a nuclear camera system having a pair of scintillation detectors for receiving radiation and reporting image information;

• a pair of radiation line sources each for emitting transmission radiation through an object to an associated scintillation detector;
• and a computer system, a computer implemented method of collecting transmission data associated with said object, said method comprising the steps of:
• obtaining a minimum count density value desired for each portion of a resultant count density distribution;
• controlling said pair of radiation line sources to perform a first transmission prescan over said object for a first predetermined duration and generating in response thereto a first count density distribution;
• computing a second duration for a second transmission scan phase based on said first count density distribution;
• controlling said pair of radiation line sources to perform said second transmission scan phase over said object for said second duration and generating in response thereto said resultant count density distribution, said second duration representing a minimum duration of exposure of said object required to generate said second count density distribution;
• and
• generating a set of attenuation correction factors based on said second count density information, said set of attenuation correction factors for use in correcting image data acquired during emission scanning.