The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 14, 2014
Filed:
Nov. 12, 2010
GE Wang, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Yong Xu, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Alexander Cong, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Haiou Shen, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Wenxiang Cong, Christiansburg, VA (US);
Lin Yang, Ithaca, NY (US);
Yang LU, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Ge Wang, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Yong Xu, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Alexander Cong, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Haiou Shen, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Wenxiang Cong, Christiansburg, VA (US);
Lin Yang, Ithaca, NY (US);
Yang Lu, Blacksburg, VA (US);
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., Blacksburg, VA (US);
Abstract
The present invention relates to the field of medical imaging. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to methods, systems, and devices for imaging, including for tomography-based applications. Embodiments of the invention include, for example, a computed tomography based imaging system comprising: (a) at least one wide-beam gray-scale imaging chain capable of performing a global scan of an object and acquiring projection data relating to the object; (b) at least one narrow-beam true-color imaging chain capable of performing a spectral interior scan of a region of interest (ROI) of and acquiring projection data relating to the object; (c) a processing module operably configured for: (1) receiving the projection data; (2) reconstructing the ROI into an image by analyzing the data with a color interior tomography algorithm, aided by an individualized gray-scale reconstruction of an entire field of view (FOV), including the ROI; and (d) a processor for executing the processing module. The extended interior methods and systems for spectral, optical, and photoacoustic imaging presented in this application can lead to better medical diagnoses by providing images with higher resolution or quality, and can lead to safer procedures by providing systems capable of reducing a patient's exposure time to, and thus quantity of, potentially harmful x-rays. Embodiments of the invention also provide tools for real-time tomography-based analyses.