Medical diagnostic method and apparatus to control dual energy exposure techniques based on image information

A system for controlling dual energy image acquisition, said system comprising:

• a dual energy medical imaging apparatus for performing a select one of multiple exposure dosage levels and techniques, said dual energy medical imaging system acquiring at least first and second exposures;
• a detector converting said first and second exposures into first and second digital images;
• a user interface setting image acquisition parameters;
• an image segmentation module identifying an anatomy of interest in said first digital image;
• a characterization module defining a set of patient parameters characterizing said anatomy of interest;
• and
• a control module adjusting at least one of said exposure dosage levels and techniques performed by said dual energy image apparatus during said second exposure based on said set of patient parameters.

A method for controlling multiple exposure image acquisition, said method comprising:

• obtaining an image from an exposure of a patient, said image including pixel values representative of a patient anatomy;
• segmenting said image based on said pixel values representative of the anatomy of the patient;
• defining a set of patient parameters characterizing the patient anatomy in at least one segmented portion of said image;
• adjusting exposure settings for a subsequent exposure of the patient anatomy based upon said set of patient parameters;
• and
• obtaining at least one subsequent exposures of the patient anatomy, each of said exposures obtained using exposure settings adjusted based on characterization of a previous image.