Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Andreas Lutz

Klaus Klingenbeck-Regn

Judith Regn

Werner Schneider

Manfred Fluhrer

A method is disclosed for, such as with the aid of a tomographic imaging facility or in particular a computer tomograph, in a number of consecutive measurement scans, acquiring an object volume of an examination object. A series of main images is obtained by reconstructing in each case one main image from measured data of each measurement scan and the main images are displayed in temporal sequence. Intermediate images are calculated in order to raise an image repetition rate and are displayed between the main images. The intermediate images are reconstructed at a prescribable instant within the measurement scan directly from a combination of the measured data, acquired up to this instant, of the respectively current measurement scan with the measured data of the respectively preceding measurement scan. The present method can be used to reduce the delay times in the display of the main images in conjunction with increased image quality of the intermediate images.

Method for generating intermediate images when imaging with the aid of a tomographic imaging facility

A correction method is used for reducing artifacts caused by structures of high x-ray absorption in computer tomography images. By such a method, it is possible for interfering objects to be found both automatically and interactively in a computer tomography image. Relatively large interfering objects are preferably split up into a plurality of smaller interfering objects. The computer tomography image for each pixel of a selected image region is filtered as a function of its position relative to the interfering object.

Method for reducing artifacts in CT images that are caused by high-density structures

In a computed tomography apparatus, and a method for operating same, for obtaining cardiac images, a spiral scan of a measurement volume containing a patient's heart is conducted, the production of the scanning data during the spiral scanning being synchronized with an ECG signal from the patient, in order to produce a graphic representation of the examination volume, and thus an image of the patient's heart. The ECG signal is employed to control the generation of the data during the spiral scanning at phase of the cardiac cycle wherein minimum movement of the heart takes place. The chronological correlation between the recording of the scanning data and the ECG signal is fixed, so that within each number of successive time intervals, a dataset is obtained completely within that time interval. The datasets from the successive time intervals are then combined to produce an image of the heart. Since the component images are all obtained in a low-motion phase of the heart, the resulting overall image is particularly sharp.

Spiral scanning computed tomography apparatus, and method for operating same, for cardiac imaging

In a method and an apparatus for the radiological examination of individual cardiac phases of a patient, an X-ray beam is rotated around and penetrates the heart of a patient from various angular positions and the attenuated X-ray beam strikes a radiation detector. The cardiac rhythm of the patient is determined in order to set the rotation time of the X-ray beam around the patient and to produce various control signals synchronized to the cardiac rhythm of the patient, so that radiological exposures of various cardiac phases are possible for the duration of a measurement interval. The setting of the rotation time of the X-ray beam so that the rotation time is larger or smaller, by the measurement interval, than the cycle time of the cardiac rhythm of the patient, so that after a few rotations there is a phase displacement of 360.degree. between the rotating X-ray beam and the cardiac rhythm of the patient. Projection groups of a partial or complete rotation of the respective cardiac phases are subsequently formed from the measurement data of projections of various cardiac phases for the duration of the measurement interval from which images of the respective cardiac phase are reconstructed.

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Poxdorf, Germany

Andreas Lutz