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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsPrathyusha K. Salla, Gopal B. Avinash, Cherik Bulkes
Estimating the term…
One or more techniques are provided for determining the overall motion of an organ of interest relative to a viewer or imager. Motion data is acquired for the organ of interest and/or for one or more proximate organs using sensor-based and/or image data-based techniques. The sensor-based techniques may include electrical and non-electrical techniques. The image data-based techniques may include both pre-acquisition and acquisition image data. The motion data for the organ of interest and proximate organs may be used to determine one or more quiescent periods corresponding to intervals of minimal motion for the organ of interest and the proximate organs, which may be used to determine one or more gating points that may be used retrospectively, as well as one or more motion compensation factors that may be used to reduce motion-related artifacts during processing and reconstruction of the acquired image data.
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
A method for processing image data, comprising the steps of:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
One or more computer readable storage structures comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system, comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
An imaging system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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About 4 years 4 months of term left · ends 22 Feb 2031 (estimated)
The present technique relates generally to the measurement of the overall motion undergone by an organ. More specifically, the present technique relates to measuring the motion of one or more internal organs via one or more external sensors and/or via data acquired from a medical imaging system to determine the overall motion of at least one of the internal organs.
In the medical field, it is often desirable to generate images of the internal organs or structure of a patient for diagnosis or examination. For example, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography are two well known examples of imaging modalities used to generate images of the internal organs or structures of a patient. The reconstructed images, however, may be flawed or contain artifacts due to the motion of internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, diaphragm, stomach, and so forth. In particular, if the imaged region has undergone motion during the imaging process, various motion related artifacts or discontinuities may be present in the reconstructed image.
To reduce or eliminate the effects of internal motion, gating techniques may be employed which utilize information about organ motion to minimize the effect of the organ motion during imaging. Gating techniques that use organ motion information to time the acquisition of imaging data are known as prospective gating techniques. Conversely, those that use organ motion information to selectively process or reconstruct previously acquired imaging data are known as retrospective gating techniques.
The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a general diagrammatical representation of certain functional components of an exemplary generic imaging system capable of gating and/or motion correction via the present technique;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart depicting the acquisition of data representing the motion of more than one organ, in accordance with the present technique;
In the field of medical imaging, it is often desirable to characterize the motion of an imaged organ so that the motion may be accounted for to improve image quality. Measures of the muscular activity of the organ of interest, however, may characterize only a portion of the overall motion of the organ relative to the viewer or imaging scanner. In particular, the overall motion may consist of not only the muscular contractions of the organ of interest itself, i.e., the inherent motion, but also motion attributable to the movement of proximate organs. For example, the overall motion of the heart may include not only the muscular contractions of the heart but also the movement of respiratory organs, such as the lungs and/or diaphragm, and other proximate muscular contractions, voluntary and/or involuntary, of the patient's body. Therefore, in the example of cardiac imaging, it may be desirable to characterize the overall motion of the heart relative to the imager, not simply the motion attributable to the contraction of the heart itself.
For example, the motion of the organ to be imaged may be used in image acquisition or reconstruction techniques that rely on data gating. In general, data gating techniques acquire image data (prospective gating) or select acquired image data (retrospective gating) based upon the motion of the organ being imaged, allowing image data to be acquired or selected at or near the desired phase of motion. The acquired or selected image data may then be reconstructed to form images that have fewer artifacts attributable to organ motion.
However, to the extent that the gating process relies only upon information related to the muscular contraction or movement of the organ of interest, the process may not account for the motion component attributable to other proximate organs. In other words, the overall motion of the organ of interest may not be accounted for by looking at the muscular activity of the organ of interest alone. Failure to account for the overall motion of the organ of interest during gating may result in reconstructed images containing motion related artifacts.