Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Picker International, Inc.

Technicare Corporation

Philips Medical Systems (cleveland), Inc.

Marconi Medical Systems, Inc.

Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.v.

Philips Intellectual Property & Standards Gmbh

Dominic J Heuscher

Shalabh Chandra

Kevin Martin Brown

Roland Proksa

Rodney Arnold Mattson

Randall Peter Luhta

Jeffrey Harold Yanof

Raj Shekhar

David D Matthews

Thomas Koehler

Michael Grass

Ge Wang

Tim Nielsen

Robert Manzke

Marc Anthony Chappo

Peter Forthmann

Axel Thran

Rainer Pietig

Claas Bontus

Felix Godfried Peter Peeters

Andy Ziegler

Heang K Tuy

Joseph S Deucher

Ronald Bryan Sharpless

Roland W Carlson

Pieter Gerhard Roos

Kenneth L Freeman

Walter W Lindstrom

Todd J Krochta

Stanislav Zabic

Uri Shreter

Andrew J Ivan

Steven J Utrup

Shiying Zhao

Peter C Johnson

Patrick J Kling

Dave Hoffmeyer

Felix Peeters

Johannes Bathazar Maria Soetens

Daniel S Furst

Ammon Steinberg

Ronald B Sharpless

Kevin M Brown

Frederic N Noo

Jed D Pack

A medical imaging system () includes a radiation source () that rotates around an examination region about a longitudinal axis and emits radiation while translating in a direction of the longitudinal axis during a fly-by scan. A source collimator () collimates the emitted radiation during the fly-by scan to form a generally conical shaped radiation beam that traverses the examination region. The source collimator () dynamically varies collimation during the scan so as to increase and decrease a width of the radiation beam in the longitudinal axis direction during the scan. A detector array () detects radiation that traverses the examination region and generates signals indicative thereof. A reconstructor () reconstructs the signals to generate volumetric image data indicative of the examination region.

Dynamic adjustable source collimation during fly-by scanning

A medical imaging system includes a generally stationary gantry () and a rotating gantry (), rotatably supported by the generally stationary gantry (), that rotates about a longitudinal axis around an examination region. The medical imaging system further includes a radiation source () that emits a radiation beam that traverses the examination region. The radiation source () is moveably affixed to the rotating gantry () so as to translate in a direction of the longitudinal axis with respect to the rotating gantry () while scanning a subject in the examination region. The medical imaging system further includes a detector array () that detects the radiation beam that traverses the examination region and generates a signal indicative thereof. The detector array () is moveably affixed to the rotating gantry () so as to move in coordination with the radiation source () while scanning the subject in the examination region.

Source and/or detector positioning system

An imaging system includes a radiation source () with an anode (). The radiation source () rotates around an examination region () about a longitudinal axis () and emits radiation from a focal spot () on the anode (). A source collimator () collimates the emitted radiation to produce a generally conically shaped radiation beam that traverses the examination region. The generally conically shaped radiation beam has an extended cone angle along the longitudinal axis that is greater than an effective maximum cone angle determined by an anode angle of the anode (). A detector array () detects radiation that traverses the examination region and generates signals indicative thereof. A reconstructor () reconstructs the signals to generate volumetric image data indicative of the examination region.

Cone beam z-axis coverage

When performing a fly-by or helical CT scan of a subject, radiation dose is limited by positioning a dynamic collimator () between the subject and an X-ray source (). The collimator moves axially with the X-ray source () along a volume of interest (VOI) () in the subject and gradually opens, such that a narrow portion of the cone beam of X-rays is permitted to pass through the collimator () at ends of the VOI () and a wider full cone beam is emitted at central portions of the VOI (). In this manner, tissue surrounding the VOI () is not needlessly exposed to X-rays, as would be the case if a full-width cone beam were used for the entire scan of the VOI ().

Dynamic collimation in cone beam computed tomography to reduce patient exposure

A computed tomography scanner () acquires prospectively gated cardiac projection data. A scan controller () causes the scanner () to acquire projection data at the predicted location of a target cardiac phase in a cardiac cycle of the patient. An error determiner () determines an error between the target phase and the phase at which the projection data was actually acquired. Depending on the error, the patient is rescanned in a subsequent cardiac cycle.

Prospective cardiac gating in computed tomography

A computed tomography system () includes an x-ray source () that rotates about an examination region () and translates along a longitudinal axis (). The x-ray source () remains at a first location on the longitudinal axis () while rotating about the examination region (), accelerates to a scanning speed and performs a fly-by scan of a region of interest () in which at least one hundred and eighty degrees plus a fan angle of data is acquired. At least one detector () detects x-rays radiated by the x-ray source () that traverses the examination region () and generates signals indicative thereof. A reconstructor () reconstructs the signals to generate volumetric image data.

Fly-by scanning

A computed tomography method includes rotating an electron beam along an anode () disposed about an examination region () for a plurality of sampling intervals in which x-ray projections are sampled. The electron beam is swept during each sampling interval to generate a plurality of successive focal spots at different focal spot locations during each sampling interval, wherein the focal spots generated in a given sampling interval include a sub-set of the focal spots generated in a previous sampling interval. The x-ray projections radiated from each of the plurality of focal spots is sampled during each sampling interval. The resulting data is reconstructed to generate volumetric image data.

Swept annode CT scanner

A radiographic imaging apparatus includes a radiation detector () and a radiation source () which projects a non-parallel beam of radiation into field of view (). A footprint of each voxel (v) which is projected on the detector () is corrected based on the position of the voxel (v) in the field of view () in relation to the radiation detector () and the radiation source (). The contributions from substantially parallel redundant projections are further combined based on a fractional distance frac from a center point () of the voxel (v) to a center of each of the adjacent redundant projections.

Image reconstruction with voxel dependent interpolation

The invention relates to a computer tomography method, in which a periodically moving object, especially a heart, is irradiated by a beam bundle. In that process, intermediate images of one and the same subregion of the object are reconstructed using measured values from time intervals from different periods. That is, in each case exactly one period can be allocated to each intermediate image. The time intervals in the individual periods are adjusted in such a way that, after a reconstruction of the intermediate images using measured values that lie in the adjusted time intervals, a similarity measure applied to the intermediate images of the same subregion is minimized. This method can be applied to one, several or all subregions of the object that are reconstructable using measured values from time intervals from different periods. Finally, a computer tomography image is reconstructed, wherein exclusively measured values from the adjusted time intervals are used.

Computer tomography method for periodically moving objects

A computed tomography scanner includes a rotating gantry () defining an examination region (). A first radiation source () is disposed on the rotating gantry () and emits first radiation () into the examination region (). A second radiation source () is disposed on the rotating gantry () and emits second radiation () into the examination region (). The second radiation source () is angularly spaced around the gantry from the first radiation source (). A first radiation detector (') receives the first radiation (). A center of the first radiation detector (&#x2032;) is angularly spaced around the gantry from the first radiation source () by less than 180&#xb0;. A second radiation detector () receives the second radiation (). A center of the second radiation detector () is angularly spaced around the gantry from the second radiation source () by less than 180&#xb0;.

Computed tomography scanner with large gantry bore

A computed tomography imaging system includes an x ray tube () that injects an x ray conebeam into an examination region (). The x ray tube () includes a rotating cylindrical anode () having a target outer surface region. The cylindrical anode () rotates about a longitudinally aligned cylinder axis (). Electrons are accelerated toward a selected spot on the target outer surface region of the cylindrical anode (). Electrostatic or electromagnetic deflectors () sweep the selected spot back and forth across the target outer surface region of the cylindrical anode (). The imaging system further includes a rotating gantry () that revolves the x ray tube () about the examination region () around a rotation axis that is parallel to the cylindrical axis, and an x-ray detector () arranged to detect x rays after said x rays pass through the examination region ().

Cylindrical x-ray tube for computed tomography imaging

In a diagnostic cardiac imaging session of a patient's heart using a computed tomography imaging scanner () and a cardiac cycle monitor (), a diagnostic objective () is received. Survey imaging () of the heart is performed to determine optimized imaging parameter values for the received diagnostic objective (). Monitor imaging () of a limited portion of the heart is performed during influx of a contrast agent () using a low patient x-ray exposure condition to detect a trigger condition. Volume imaging () of the heart responsive to detection of the trigger condition is performed using the optimized imaging parameter values to obtain volumetric imaging data. Cardiac cycle data is recorded during at least a portion of the survey imaging (), the monitor imaging (), and the volume imaging (). High resolution reconstructing () of at least some volumetric imaging data is performed to produce high resolution image representations ().

Method and apparatus for volumetric cardiac computed tomography imaging

A conebeam computed tomography scanner () acquires conebeam projection data along a generally helical source trajectory around an examination region (). An exact reconstruction processor () includes a convolution processor () and an aperture weighted backprojection processor (). The convolution processor () performs at least one convolution of the acquired projection data. The convolving operates on projection data falling within an exact reconstruction window () and on at least some redundant projection data falling outside the exact reconstruction window () to produce convolved projection data. The aperture-weighted backprojection processor () performs aperture-weighted backprojecting of the convolved projection data using an aperture weighting function that weightedly combines at least some convolved redundant projection data with convolved projection data falling within the exact reconstruction window () to generate a reconstructed image with contributions from redundant projection data.

System and method for exact image reconstruction for helical cone beam computed tomography including redundant data

An apparatus for computed tomography (CT) imaging of a cyclically moving organ includes a positional state monitor () that monitors a positional state of the cyclically moving organ such as the heart. A cone-beam CT scanner () acquires image data at least within a plurality of time windows. Each time window is centered about an occurrence of a selected positional state of the organ. A window analyzer () selects a data segment within each time window such that the data segments combine to form a complete data set covering a selected angular range. A reconstruction processor () reconstructs the selected data segments into an image representation.

Dynamic computed tomography imaging using positional state modeling

A computed tomography imaging scanner () acquires helical cone beam projection data for a volume of interest () using at least two source trajectory helices. A reconstruction processor () reconstructs the projection data for each helix to generate a corresponding time skewed image representation. A voxel time processor () computes an acquisition time for each voxel in each time skewed image representation. A voxel interpolator () computes an interpolated voxel value for each voxel based on values of the voxel in the time skewed image representations and corresponding voxel acquisition times. In an electronic embodiment, the computed tomography scanner () includes an x-ray source () with an axially oriented cylindrical anode (), an electron source () irradiating the cylindrical anode () to produce an x-ray beam (), and an electron beam deflector () that deflects the electron beam along the anode () to axially sweep the x-ray beam.

Four-dimensional helical tomographic scanner

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Aurora, OH, United States of America

Dominic J Heuscher