Data binning method and apparatus for pet tomography including remote services over a network

Abstract

A method to be used with an imaging system, the system including two opposed cameras mounted for rotation among a plurality of acquisition angles about an imaging axis for acquiring imaging data throughout an arc about the axis, the cameras collecting data corresponding to an acquisition angle range including a plurality of flight path angles at each acquisition angle, the system also including a processor having a processor memory. The method reduces the amount of processor memory required to acquire imaging data by including the steps of (a) after gathering imaging information at an acquisition angle, for each flight path angle within the acquisition angle range, determining if additional data will be collected during acquisition at the next consecutive Q acquisition angles; (b) where imaging data for a flight path angle will be collected during data acquisition at at least one of the next Q acquisition angles, maintaining imaging data for the flight path angle in the processor memory; and (c) where imaging data for a flight path angle will not be collected during data acquisition at at least one of the next Q acquisition angles, communicating the imaging data to a remote facility to store the imaging data for the flight path angle in a remote storage device via a network and to provide remote services to the imaging system.