# US 9,433,388 B2 · Image diagnosis apparatus and method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,433,388 B2 - Document ID: US9433388B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/891,786 - Filed: 2013-05-10 - Published: 2013-09-26 - Granted: 2016-09-06 - Earliest claimed: 2010-11-12 - Assignees: Toshiba Medical Systems Corpoeration - Applicants: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba; Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation - Inventors: Yasuhiro Noshi; Manabu Teshigawara; Satoru Nakanishi; Takuzo Takayama - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9433388B2 ## CPC - A61B 6/0407: {Supports, e.g. tables or beds, for the body or parts of the body} - A61B 6/032: {Transmission computed tomography [CT]} - A61B 6/037: {Emission tomography} - A61B 6/0487: {Motor-assisted positioning} - A61B 6/4258: {for detecting non x-ray radiation, e.g. gamma radiation (A61B6/037 takes precedence)} - A61B 6/4417: {related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities} - A61B 6/5264: {due to motion} - G01T 1/1611: {using both transmission and emission sources sequentially (SPECT imaging G01T1/1642; PET imaging G01T1/2985; detecting prohibited goods, e.g. weapons, explosives, hazardous substances, contraband or smuggled objects G01V5/20)} - A61B 6/5247: {combining images from an ionising-radiation diagnostic technique and a non-ionising radiation diagnostic technique, e.g. X-ray and ultrasound} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G01T: MEASUREMENT OF NUCLEAR OR X-RADIATION (radiation analysis of materials, mass spectrometry G01N23/00; tubes for determining the presence, intensity, density or energy of radiation or particles H01J47/00) ## Abstract According to the present embodiment, an image diagnosis apparatus includes a first image taking device that takes an image of a patient placed on a couchtop by using an X-ray emission; a second image taking device that takes images in positions by moving an image taking position of the patient by a predetermined distance at a time, along the body-axis direction; a position estimating unit; and a correction processing unit. The position estimating unit estimates a couchtop position for each of the image taking positions of the second image taking device, based on information about warping of the couchtop of the first image taking device. The correction processing unit uses information about the couchtop positions estimated by the position estimating unit, for performing a position correcting process on the images obtained by the image taking devices. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image diagnosis apparatus comprising: a first image taking device configured to take an image of a patient placed on a couchtop by using an X-ray emission; a second image taking device configured to take images in positions by moving an image taking position of the patient by a predetermined distance at a time, along a body-axis direction; and processing circuitry configured to estimate a couchtop position for each of the image taking positions of the second image taking device, based on information about warping of the couchtop in a plurality of images taken by the first image taking device, use information about the couchtop positions estimated for performing a position correcting process on the images obtained by the image taking devices, reconstruct the images taken by the second image taking device by using an attenuation map based on the images that have been taken by the first image taking device and have been corrected, and correct positional gaps of the reconstructed images with respect to the images that have been taken by the first image taking device. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image taking device performs a helical scanning process on the patient placed on the couchtop. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image taking device takes images in positions by moving an image taking position of the patient by a predetermined distance at a time, along the body-axis direction, and the second image taking device takes the images in the positions by moving the image taking position of the patient by a distance longer than the distance used by the first image taking device, along the body-axis direction. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claims 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate, as the information about the warping of the couchtop, a position of a structure that exhibits a behavior identical to that of the couchtop rendered in each of a plurality of first images taken by the first image taking device and estimate a couchtop position in a second image taken by the second image taking device by using the calculated position of the structure, and use the couchtop position in the second image that is estimated for performing a position correcting process on the first image and the second image that are obtained by taking images of a substantially same position of the patient. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate a position in a vertical direction from a top surface of the couchtop, as the position of the structure. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate a position in a horizontal direction from a top surface of the couchtop, as the position of the structure. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to revise the position of the structure in each of the plurality of first images, based on the position of the structure in each of the plurality of first images calculated, and estimate the couchtop position in the second image by using the positions of the structure revised. ### Claim 8 (depends on 4) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to exercise control so that one of the first and the second images on which the position correcting process has been performed is combined with one of the second and the first images before the position correcting process is performed thereon and so that a combined image is displayed by a predetermined display. ### Claim 9 A method comprising: an estimating step of estimating a couchtop position for each of image taking positions of a second image taking device configured to take images in positions by moving an image taking position of a patient by a predetermined distance at a time, along a body-axis direction, based on information about warping of a couchtop in a plurality of images taken by a first image taking device configured to take an image of the patient placed on the couchtop by using an X-ray emission; a position correcting step of using information about the couchtop positions estimated at the estimating step, for performing a position correcting process on the images obtained by the image taking devices; a reconstructing step of reconstructing the images taken by the second image taking device by using an attenuation map based on the images that have been taken by the first image taking device and have been corrected; and a correcting step of correcting positional gaps of the reconstructed images with respect to the images that have been taken by the first image taking device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image taking device is an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, and the second image taking device is a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) apparatus. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first image taking device is an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, and the second image taking device is a SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) apparatus. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to obtain the information about warping of the couchtop based on axial images. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, for each image taking positions, calculate a gradient of the couchtop in a plurality of second images taken by the second image taking device based on the information about warping of the couchtop and information about initial gradient of the couchtop without any weight applied, and estimate, as the couchtop position in the plurality of second images, a plurality of positions changed so that each of couchtop position in a plurality of first images taken by the first image taking device is equal to the gradient calculated without changing a position in the image at center of the image taking position. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The image diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to correct a plurality of first images taken by the first image taking device so as to be in the positions of a plurality of second images taken by the second image taking device, respectively, generate the attenuation map by using the plurality of first images on which the position correcting process has been performed, and reconstruct the plurality of second images by using the attenuation map.