Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Other

General Electric Company

Kelly Alan Stonger

John Jay Williams

Kevin G Byrne

The invention relates to a system and method for generating a detector position map for an array of detectors. The detector position map comprises a map which converts measured position coordinates from a detection event to the detector in the array which detected the detection event. The method comprises the steps of illuminating an array of detectors with a source of radiation to generate a histogram, the histogram comprising an event count as a function of two dimensions, the two dimensions corresponding to a face of the array of detectors, wherein the histogram comprises a plurality of first peaks; modifying the histogram to comprise a plurality of second peaks, wherein the second peaks have a greater degree of isolation from each other than the first peaks; and for each detector, determining a region on the detector position map which corresponds to the detector, each region being based on a position of one of the second peaks.

System and method for producing a detector position map

A method and apparatus for calibrating PET PMTs includes conducting a calibration procedure and determining whether a number of photons absorbed by a corresponding crystal exceeds a count threshold. If the threshold is exceeded the steps of conducting a calibration procedure and determining whether a number of photons absorbed by a corresponding crystal exceeds a count threshold would be repeated and if the threshold is not exceeded then the calibration procedure would be ended.

Method for dynamic stabilization of PET detector gains

A method and apparatus for calibrating PET PMTs, the method including, during a commissioning process, determining gain factors for each crystal in a detector unit that cause the peak energy level in a crystal energy spectrum to be equal to a target value and, during a calibration process, generating energy spectrums for each crystal in the unit, combining the gain factors and crystal spectrums to generate shifted crystal spectrums, combining the shifted spectrums to generate a unit spectrum, identifying the peak unit spectrum energy level and comparing the peak unit level to the target value to generate PMT adjustment levels.

A method and an apparatus for enhancing edges in computer-generated images. Each image frame is divided into non-overlapping blocks of pixels. Each block is characterized by a value proportional to the contrast of the block. Each block is checked to see if its contrast is greater than a user-selectable contrast threshold. If the block contrast is greater than the threshold, a window level operation is performed upon that pixel block. This method restricts the window level edge enhancement function to just the set of pixel blocks that have a high contrast value and may contain an edge.

Method and apparatus for edge enhancement in ultrasound imaging

A method and an apparatus for increasing the contrast resolution of computer-generated images using fractal enhancement techniques. Each image frame is divided into blocks of pixels which are sorted into source and destination lists based on their distance from the transmit focal zone. The source list contains overlapping pixel blocks corresponding to ranges within a predetermined distance of the transmit focal zone (i.e., blocks of high resolution). The destination list contains non-overlapping blocks corresponding to ranges outside the focal zone area (i.e., blocks of lower resolution). For each low-resolution block, a computer searches for a high-resolution block having the same brightness and contrast classes, but having a greater block contrast. The high-resolution block meeting these criteria and having the greatest block contrast is substituted for the corresponding low-resolution block in the image frame.

Method and apparatus for fractal-based enhancement of ultrasound imaging

A method and an apparatus for displaying the graphics associated with cine images during cine replay in an ultrasound imaging system. A graphics frame array for storing flagged graphics data is incorporated in the timeline/graphics display memory. Each entry in the graphics frame array has a flag word which indicates whether the graphics data in the identified image frame has changed relative to the graphics data in the preceding image frame. There is one entry in the array for each frame that can be contained in cine memory. During cine capture, any change in graphics sent to the display will also be captured in the graphics frame array for the currently active frame. During cine replay, when a specific cine image frame is on the screen, its corresponding graphics data is taken from the graphics frame array and also sent to the screen. If the flag indicates that other graphics data from the image frame to be replayed is contained in the graphics frame array entry for a preceding frame, the program will travel backwards in the graphics frame array until it finds all graphics data that was present on the screen at the time of cine image capture.

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Waukesha, WI, United States of America

Kelly Alan Stonger