Methods and system for detecting components of plaque
AssigneeGE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC
InventorsMaria Iatrou, Ricardo Scott Avila, Peter Michael Edic, Jiang Hsieh, James Walter LeBlanc, Xiaoye Wu
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Abstract
A method including detecting components of plaque using a multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system is provided.
Claims25
A method comprising:
- detecting components of plaque using a multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system, wherein said detecting the components of the plaque includes generating a look-up table by using at least one phantom;
- and
- quantifying the components of the plaque by determining a weighted sum of densities of pixels of an image of an organ including the plaque.
A method for detecting components of plaque comprising:
- generating information regarding projection data of phantoms by using a multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system;
- generating a look-up table by using one of the phantoms;
- obtaining the components of the plaque from the information;
- and
- enabling visualization of restenosis within one of a metal stent and a metal valve by repeating said obtaining the components of plaque after scanning a patient having the one of the metal stent and the metal valve.
A multi-energy computed tomography (MECT) system comprising:
- at least one radiation source configured to transmit x-rays that intersect an object;
- at least one detector configured to detect the x-rays;
- a controller coupled to the detector;
- and
- a computer configured to:
- instruct the MECT system to detect components of plaque;
- and
- generate a look-up table by using at least one phantom;
- repeat the detection of the components of the plaque after instructing a user to administer a temperature-sensitive contrast agent to accentuate a visualization of the plaque.
A computer readable medium encoded with a program configured to instruct a computer to detect components of plaque within an object that is scanned using a multi-energy tomography (MECT) system, the program further configured to instruct the computer to generate, by using at least one phantom, a look-up table that maps different densities of a selected basis material of the phantom to projection data for different energy spectra, and to repeat the detection of the components of the plaque after instructing a user to administer a contrast agent to accentuate a visualization of the plaque.
A computer encoded with a program configured to instruct an MECT system to detect components of plaque within an object that is scanned using the MECT system, the program further configured to instruct the computer to generate, by using at least one phantom, a look-up table that maps different densities of a selected basis material of the phantom to projection data for different energy spectra, and to quantify the components of the plaque by determining a weighted sum of densities, greater than a specific amount, of pixels of an image of an organ including the plaque.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.