General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Other

General Electric Corporation Gmbh

Charles William Stearns

Ravindra Mohan Manjeshwar

Scott David Wollenweber

Alexander Ganin

Floribertus Philippus Martinus Heukensfeldt Jansen

David Leo McDaniel

Steven Gerard Ross

John Jay Williams

Nitin Jain

Timothy Wayne Deller

Diane Marie Miesbauer

Mark Kenneth Limkeman

David M Goldhaber

William J Bridge

Yiping Shao

Jiang Hsieh

Christopher Judson Hardy

Thomas Kwok-Fah Foo

Robert F Senzig

Dattesh Dayanand Shanbhag

Jason Andrew Polzin

Florian Wiesinger

Stanley Haim Fox

Edward Henry Chao

Anton Max Linz

James William Hugg

Bruce David Collick

James G Colsher

William Todd Peterson

Albert Henry Roger Lonn

Robert H Haworth

Kathryn M Littlejohn

Brian Grekowicz

Albert H R Lonn

Laura Armstrong

Savitha V S

Neelam Sinha

Alex Ganin

Sarah Rose Hertel

A system is provided that includes at least one detector and a processing unit. The at least one detector is configured to acquire imaging information. The processing unit is operably coupled to the at least one detector, and is configured to acquire the imaging information from the at least one detector. The processing unit is configured to acquire patient scanning information for an imaging operation, determine a target activity based on the patient scanning information, determine a target time for performing the imaging operation corresponding to the target activity, perform the imaging operation at the target time to acquire targeted imaging information; and reconstruct an image using the targeted imaging information.

Systems and methods for imaging with improved dosages

Methods and systems are provided for aligning components of a multi-modality imaging system. In one embodiment, a method comprises performing a plurality of scans of an object with a first modality and a second modality, wherein the object is positioned in a different orientation in each of the plurality of scans, calculating a plurality of alignment parameters of a first modality unit and a second modality unit based on the plurality of scans, and adjusting alignment of the first modality unit and the second modality unit based on the plurality of alignment parameters. In this way, components of a multi-modality imaging system may be accurately aligned using any phantom from which a unique line can be extracted in each modality scan.

Systems and methods for multi-modality imaging component alignment

A method for producing an attenuation-corrected time-gated PET image comprising includes obtaining a baseline MR image and a cine MR image of a structure; registering the baseline MR image to the cine MR image to create an image transform; and generating a corresponding cine ACF matrix using the image transform, and time-correlating the ACF matrix to a time-gated PET data set to produce an attenuation-corrected time-gated PET image.

Method and apparatus for gate specific MR-based attenuation correction of timed-gated pet studies

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to scheduling positron emission tomography (PET) scans for a combined PET-MRI scanner based on an acquisition of MR scout images of a subject. An anatomy and orientation of the subject can be determined based on the MR scout images and the schedule for acquiring PET scans of the subject can be determined from the anatomy of the subject. The schedule generated using exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can specify a sequence of bed positions, scan durations at each bed position, and whether respiratory gating will be used at one or more of the bed positions.

PET acquisition scheduling based on MR scout images

A method for attenuation correction of a plurality of time-gated PET images of a moving structure includes establishing an ACF matrix, based on a baseline MR image of the structure; developing a plurality of image transforms, each of the image transforms registering the baseline MR image to a respective cine MR image of the moving structure; applying each of the image transforms to the ACF matrix to generate a corresponding cine ACF matrix; time-correlating each of the cine MR images, and its corresponding cine ACF matrix, to one of the plurality of time-gated PET data sets; and producing from each of the time-gated PET data sets an attenuation-corrected time-gated PET image.

Method and apparatus for gate specific MR-based attenuation correction of time-gated PET studies

A target object for aligning a multi-modality imaging system includes a body having a cavity therein, a first imaging source being disposed within the cavity, the first imaging source including a body having a cavity defined therein and an emission responsive material disposed within the first imaging source cavity, the first imaging source having a first shape, and a second imaging source being disposed within the cavity, the second imaging source including a body having a cavity defined therein and a magnetic resonance responsive material disposed within the second imaging source cavity, the second imaging source having a second shape that is different than the first shape. A method of aligning a multi-modality imaging system is also provided.

Method and apparatus for aligning a multi-modality imaging system

A method for generating a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) image includes defining a scan window having a predetermined length along an examination axis of a PET imaging system, the scan window corresponding to a region of interest to be continuously scanned by the PET imaging system, defining at least two data bins corresponding to two separate scan regions within the scan window, defining a transition region that overlaps a portion of each of the separate scan regions within the scan window, the transition region having a width that is shorter than a length of the scan window, binning emission data acquired within the transition region into the two data bins, binning emission data acquired from outside the transition region into one of the two data bins, and reconstructing an image using the emission data in the two data bins.

Methods and systems for axially segmenting positron emission tomography data

Apparatus and methods for geometric calibration of positron emission tomography (PET) systems are provided. One method includes obtaining scan data for a uniform phantom and generating reference images based on the scan data for the uniform phantom. The method further includes reconstructing images of the uniform phantom using a PET imaging system and determining a geometric calibration for the PET imaging system based on a comparison of the reconstructed images and the reference images.

Apparatus and methods for geometric calibration of positron emission tomography systems

A method and system for reconstructing an image of an object. The method includes acquiring an image dataset of an object of interest, identifying valid data and invalid data in the image dataset, determining a time period that includes the valid data, weighting the valid data based on the determined time period, and reconstructing an image of the object using the weighted valid data.

Method and system for fault-tolerant reconstruction of images

Apparatus and methods for determining a boundary of an object for positron emission tomography (PET) scatter correction are provided. One method includes obtaining positron emission tomography (PET) data and computed tomography (CT) data for an object. The PET data and CT data is acquired from an imaging system. The method further includes determining a PET data boundary of the object based on the PET data and determining a CT data boundary of the object based on the CT data. The method further includes determining a combined boundary for PET scatter correction. The combined boundary encompasses the PET data boundary and the CT data boundary.

Apparatus and methods for determining a boundary of an object for positron emission tomography scatter correction

A method for estimating randoms in PET imaging data includes acquiring imaging data that includes a plurality of singles and a plurality of randoms, where the randoms exhibit a non-exponential decay, generating a randoms correction estimate based on the non-exponential decay, and applying the randoms correction estimate to the imaging data to generate corrected imaging data. The method further includes generating an image using the corrected image data. An imaging system and computer readable medium programmed to estimate randoms is also provided.

Method and system for estimating randoms in imaging data

A method and apparatus are provided for correcting primary and secondary emission data. The method includes obtaining an emission data set having primary and secondary emission data representative of primary and secondary emission particles emitting from a region of interest and applying a scatter correction model to the emission data set to derive an estimated scatter vector. The method also includes comparing the emission data set to the estimated scatter vector to identify an amount of secondary emission data in the emission data set and correcting the emission data set based on the amount of secondary emission data identified in the comparing operation.

Method and system for scatter correction

A method for retrospectively correcting data prior to image reconstruction using an imaging system, wherein the method includes acquiring a first sinogram of a first slice of an object at a first axial field of view and a second sinogram of the first slice of the object at a second axial field of view different than the first axial field of view, determining at least one boundary of the object in the first sinogram and the second sinogram at the first slice, measuring a shift between the first sinogram and the second sinogram using the determined boundaries, and generating a corrected image using the measured shift.

Methods and apparatus for improving image quality

A system and method for simultaneously acquiring PET and MR data from a subject of interest with a hybrid PET-MR scanner includes monitoring transmission times of RF and gradient coils of the MR equipment and blanking segments of the PET data stream accordingly. By excluding PET data acquired during active MR transmissions, the remaining PET data used for image reconstruction will provide improved PET image quality.

Exclusion of compromised PET data during simultaneous PET-MR acquisition

Methods for performing image reconstruction that include deriving background projection data for an area outside a targeted field of view of a tomographic image, and reconstructing the tomographic image of the targeted field of view, wherein the background projection data is used in the reconstruction. Methods for selecting a reconstruction methodology that include determining a number of pixels in a reconstructed image for a first reconstruction methodology, determining a number of pixels in a reconstructed image for a second reconstruction methodology, comparing the number of pixels for the first reconstruction methodology and the number of pixels for the second reconstruction methodology, and selecting the reconstruction methodology for image reconstruction based on the comparison of the number of pixels. Imaging systems implementing these methods are also provided.

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New Berlin, WI, United States of America

Charles William Stearns