Operating method for a pivotal poly-plane imaging unit for imaging a moving examination object

A computer program product executable on a control and evaluation unit of a pivotal poly-plane imaging unit having a first and a second image recording units recording projection images of a moving examination object at a fan angle β, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer program code that:
• arranges the first and the second image recording units relative to each other by an offset angle γ so that a first imaging plane of the first image recording unit is overlapped with a second imaging plane of the second image recording unit and no gaps between the first and the second imaging planes during the recording;
• operates the pivotal poly-plane imaging unit to mutually synchronized record a first set and a second set of projection images of the moving examination object by the first and the second image recording units in a single rotational pass respectively in two different positions differing by the offset angle γ at respective same instants, the first and the second image recording units being pivoted about an angle at least 180°+β;
• detects characteristic structures in the first set and the second set of projection images;
• segments the characteristic structures by a vectorial representation of the characteristic structures;
• triangulates the characteristic structures to obtain a three-dimensional representation of the characteristic structures;
• determines three-dimensional displacement vector fields indicating displacements of the three-dimensional representation of the characteristic structures relative to a reference instant;
• and
• reconstructs a three-dimensional image of the moving examination object using the three-dimensional displacement vector fields to display a state of the moving examination object at the reference instant.

A pivotal poly-plane imaging unit for imaging a moving examination object, comprising:

• a first image recording unit having a first imaging plane that records a first set of projection images of the moving examination object in first different relative positions at respective instants in a single rotational pass;
• a second image recording unit having a second imaging plane and arranged relative to the first image recording unit by an offset angle γ so that the first imaging plane is overlapped with the second imaging plane and no gaps between the first and the second imaging planes during the recording, wherein the second image recording unit mutually synchronized records a second set of projection images of the moving examination object in second different relative positions differing with the first different relative positions by the offset angle γ at the same respective instants in the single rotational pass, the first and the second recording units recording the projection images at a fan angle β and pivoted about an angle at least 180°+β;
• a control and evaluation unit that:
• detects characteristic structures in the first set and the second set of projection images;
• segments the characteristic structures by a vectorial representation of the characteristic structures;
• triangulates the characteristic structures to obtain a three-dimensional representation of the characteristic structures;
• determines three-dimensional displacement vector fields indicating displacements of the three-dimensional representation of the characteristic structures relative to a reference instant;
• and
• reconstructs a three-dimensional image of the moving examination object using the three-dimensional displacement vector fields to display a state of the moving examination object at the reference instant.