Method and system for using tissue-scattered coincidence photons for imaging
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
InventorsGarry Chinn, Craig S. Levin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems for determining a location of a photon event for an imaging system including a plurality of 3-D detectors. For one of the photons in the photon pair, an interaction in a first 3-D detector is detected. For the other of the photons in the photon pair, at least two interactions in a second 3-D detector are detected. A cone-surface projector function is produced based on the at least two interaction locations in the second 3-D detector. A projector function is produced based on the produced cone-surface projector function, the detected interaction in the first 3-D detector, and the at least two detected interactions in the second 3-D detector.
Claims19
In an imaging system including a plurality of 3-D detectors, a method for determining a location of a photon event, the photon event producing a photon pair, the method comprising:
- for one of the photons in the photon pair, detecting an interaction in a first 3-D detector, at least one photon of the photon pair being scattered prior to interacting with said plurality of 3-D detectors;
- for the other of the photons in the photon pair, detecting at least two interactions in a second 3-D detector;
- producing a cone-surface projector function based on the at least two interactions in the second 3-D detector;
- producing a projector function based on said produced cone-surface projector function, the detected interaction in the first 3-D detector, and the at least two detected interactions in the second 3-D detector.
An imaging method comprising:
- within a predetermined time window, receiving at least one signal from each of a pair of 3-D detectors, the signal indicating a photon interaction within the 3-D detector;
- for each of the pair of 3-D detectors, determining a combined energy of the at least one signal;
- if the combined energy for both of the pair of 3-D detectors is within a first energy window, generating a line projector function based on the received at least one signal from each of the pair of 3-D detectors;
- if the combined energy is within a second energy window for one of the pair of 3-D detectors and within the first energy window for the other of the pair of 3-D detectors, generating a projector function based on the received at least one signal from each of the pair of 3-D detectors, wherein the received at least one signal comprises at least two signals from one of the pair of 3-D detectors;
- wherein said generating a projector function comprises generating a cone-surface projector function based on the at least two signals from one of the pair of 3-D detectors and generating the projector function based on the generated cone-surface projector function and the received at least one signal from the pair of 3-D detectors.
A system for producing an image comprising:
- a plurality of 3-D detectors disposed to receive emitted photons from a source, said plurality of 3-D detectors being configured to generate a signal in response to a photon interaction;
- an image generator coupled to said plurality of 3-D detectors for producing an image based on the generated signal;
- wherein, for an emitted pair of photons in coincidence in which one of the photons in the photon pair is scattered prior to interacting with the plurality of 3-D detectors, the emitted pair of photons generating an interaction signal in a first 3-D detector and at least two interaction signals in a second 3-D detector, said image generator is configured to produce a cone-surface projector function based on the at least two interaction signals in the second 3-D detector;
- said image generator being further configured to produce a projector function based on the produced cone-surface projector function, the interaction signal from the first 3-D detector, and the at least two interaction signals in the second 3-D detector.
A method for producing an image using a single-scatter coincidence photon event, the single-scatter coincidence photon event producing a pair of photons, the method comprising:
- for each of the photons in the photon pair, detecting at least one interaction in a 3-D detector, each of the interactions providing a 3-D position and energy;
- for at least one of the photons in the photon pair, detecting an additional interaction in the 3-D detector providing a 3-D position and energy;
- based on the detected interaction for both of the photons and the detected additional interaction, producing the image;
- wherein said producing the image comprises:
- determining that the single-scatter coincidence photon event has occurred;
- generating a cone-surface projector function based on the provided 3-D position and energy for the interaction and the additional interaction for the at least one of the photons;
- generating a projector function based on the generated cone-surface projector function and the at least one detected interaction for each of the photons in the photon pair.
A system for radiation-based imaging comprising:
- a plurality of 3-D detectors disposed with respect to a source of emitted photons to receive the emitted photons and produce interactions;
- an image generator coupled to said plurality of 3-D detectors to receive a position and energy for the produced interactions and reconstruct an image;
- said image generator being configured to reconstruct an image using at least one single-scatter coincidence photon event.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.