Imaging system and control method, device, computer medium and program product thereof

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a medical imaging system and a control method, device, computer medium and program product thereof. The medical imaging system comprises at least one examination component for aligning a radiation field to a target region of an object to be examined. The method comprises: obtaining contour information of the object to be examined and initial position information of the object to be examined relative to the examination component; obtaining real-time position information of the examination component; determining a part in which the target region is located in the radiation field based on the contour information of the object to be examined, the initial position information of the object to be examined relative to the examination component and the real-time position information of the examination component; determining a target pose of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the part; and controlling the filter to move to the target pose.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of medical equipment technology, and in particular to a filter control method and device for a medical imaging system, an imaging method for a medical imaging system, a medical imaging system, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product. Background Art

[0002] Medical imaging systems (such as magnetic resonance imaging systems, computed tomography systems, and digital subtraction angiography systems) can non-invasively acquire and process images of internal human tissue. These systems can be used for interventional therapy, where medical devices are introduced into a subject's body under the guidance of the imaging system to manipulate the target site.

[0003] The approaches described in this section are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or employed. Unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any approach described in this section is prior art simply by virtue of its inclusion in this section. Similarly, unless otherwise indicated, the issues raised in this section should not be considered as having been recognized in any prior art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a filter control method for a medical imaging system is provided. The medical imaging system includes at least one inspection component for aligning a radiation field with a target portion of an object to be measured. The method comprises: obtaining contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; obtaining real-time position information of the inspection component; determining a portion of the target portion within the radiation field based on the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and the real-time position information of the inspection component; determining a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the target portion; and controlling the filter to move toward the target position.

[0005] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an imaging method for a medical imaging system is provided, comprising: controlling a filter using the above-mentioned method; obtaining an actual posture of the filter in response to the controlled filter moving toward a target posture; and imaging a portion of a target area in response to determining that a relationship between the actual posture and the target posture satisfies a preset condition.

[0006] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a filter control device for a medical imaging system is provided, wherein the medical imaging system includes at least one inspection component for aligning a radiation field with a target portion of an object to be measured. The device includes: a first acquisition unit configured to acquire contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; a second acquisition unit configured to acquire real-time position information of the inspection component; a first determination unit configured to determine a portion of the target portion located in the radiation field based on the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and the real-time position information of the inspection component; a second determination unit configured to determine a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the portion; and a motion control unit configured to control the filter to move toward the target position.

[0007] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a medical imaging system is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; the memory stores a computer program, which implements the above method when executed by the at least one processor.

[0008] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program is provided. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the above method.

[0009] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program, which implements the above method when executed by a processor.

[0010] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, on the one hand, there is no need for an operator to manually manipulate a joystick to control the filter in the collimator assembly, and the target position of the filter ultimately determined is not limited by the operator's skills or experience level, and has higher efficiency and accuracy; on the other hand, there is no need to pre-image the object to be measured, thereby reducing the radiation dose received by the object to be measured and reducing health damage to the object to be measured.

[0011] It should be understood that the contents described in this section are not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the description of the specification, they serve to explain exemplary implementation of the embodiments. The illustrated embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the scope of the claims. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

[0013] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can better understand the above and other features and advantages of the present disclosure. In the accompanying drawings:

[0014] Figure 1 shows a subtraction angiography image obtained using a related technique;

[0015] Figure 2 A flow chart of a filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 A flowchart showing a partial process of a filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 4a and Figure 4b Schematic diagrams showing virtual system models according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure from different angles;

[0018] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a partial process of a filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 6 A flowchart of an imaging method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 7 shows a subtraction angiography image obtained using an imaging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of a filter control device for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0022] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic device to which the exemplary embodiments can be applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The following description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is made in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description.

[0024] In this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, the use of terms such as "first" and "second" to describe various elements is not intended to limit the positional relationship, temporal relationship, or importance relationship of these elements. Such terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. In some examples, the first element and the second element may refer to the same instance of the element, while in some cases, based on the context of the description, they may also refer to different instances.

[0025] The terms used in the descriptions of the various examples described in this disclosure are for the purpose of describing specific examples only and are not intended to be limiting. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, if the number of elements is not specifically limited, the element may be one or more. In addition, the term "and / or" used in this disclosure encompasses any one and all possible combinations of the listed items.

[0026] As mentioned above, during interventional surgery, a medical imaging system can be used to observe the internal conditions of the subject to be tested in real time. In the example, the medical imaging system can be equipped with a C-arm X-ray machine, and the operator can control the movement of the C-arm X-ray machine around different axes by operating the joystick to align the emission position and orientation of the X-rays with the target part of the subject to be tested, so that the target part can be imaged by radiography. In some scenarios, the emitted rays not only pass through the target part, but also pass through the area around the target part, which makes the radiographic imaging result include not only the image of the target part, but also the image of the area around the target part. When the surrounding area is a cavity or has a low density, the image of the surrounding area may be overexposed, thereby affecting the normal observation of the target area.

[0027] For example, in a scenario where a medical imaging system is used to perform interventional surgery on a vascular system, the medical imaging system can assist in subtraction angiography. During subtraction angiography, a contrast agent that is clearly visible in an X-ray image can be applied to the blood circulation system of the subject to be tested. By subtracting a mask image taken without the application of a contrast agent from an X-ray image in which the blood vessels are at least partially filled with the contrast agent, a subtraction angiography image can be obtained. However, Figure 1 A subtraction angiography image 100 obtained using related technology is shown. Figure 1As shown, region 101 is an image of a portion of the target site (e.g., the heart), in which blood vessels can be observed; region 102 is an image of the surrounding area of ​​the target site. Region 102 may be a cavity or a portion of an organ with lower density (e.g., lungs containing air), so the image of region 102 is overexposed. It can be seen that the contrast between region 102 and region 101 is large, which has an adverse effect on the normal imaging of the target site. One way to avoid this overexposure is for the operator to manually control the movement of one or more filters to region 102 by manipulating a joystick, and manually controlling the orientation of the filters so that they can largely shield region 102, thereby reducing the exposure dose of region 102 by filtering (blocking radiation). However, this method not only places very high demands on the operator's operating skills, but also has low operating efficiency, because the operator may need to constantly change the position or orientation of the filters during the interventional procedure to adapt to the surgical requirements. On the other hand, this method requires pre-imaging of the object to be measured to obtain approximate information (such as position information) of the target part of the object to be measured. Pre-imaging increases the radiation dose received by the object to be measured, and therefore has a certain impact on the health of the object to be measured.

[0028] In view of this, the present disclosure proposes a filter control method and device for a medical imaging system, an imaging method for a medical imaging system, a medical imaging system, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.

[0029] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 2 A flow chart of a filter control method 200 for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The medical imaging system includes at least one movable inspection component for aligning the radiation field with the target part of the object to be measured. The medical imaging system may be an X-ray imaging device (e.g., a C-arm X-ray imaging device, etc.). The at least one movable inspection component may include a radiation source (e.g., an X-ray tube), a detector for receiving radiation emitted by the radiation source, or an examination bed, etc. The object to be measured may be located on the examination bed, and the radiation from the radiation source will pass through the object to be measured and the examination bed to reach the detector and be received by the detector. The radiation source and the examination bed may be moved during actual use so as to be adjusted to a suitable position so that the radiation from the radiation source can pass through the target part to be measured of the object to be measured. Accordingly, the detector will also move to a position corresponding to the radiation source so as to receive the radiation that has passed through the object to be measured.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 includes:

[0032] obtaining contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component;

[0033] obtaining real-time position information of the examination component;

[0034] determining, based on the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component, and the real-time position information of the examination component, a portion in which the target site is located in the radiation field;

[0035] determining, based on the portion, a target pose of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system; and

[0036] controlling the filter to move to the target pose.

[0037] In step S210, the contour information of the object to be measured and the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component are obtained. The object to be measured is, for example, a human body. The site to be measured of the object to be measured can refer to a site of the human body to be subjected to the radiographic examination, such as a hand, a leg, a chest, etc. For example, an image including the examination component and the object to be measured can be captured by a sensor (e.g., a camera such as a 3D camera or a depth camera, or a laser scanner) attached to the radiation source or an additional sensor placed independently of the radiation source (e.g., arranged on a wall of the examination room), so as to obtain the contour information of the object to be measured and the initial relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component from the image. The initial relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component can also be measured by other sensors, such as a sensor arranged on the examination component. The initial relative position of the object to be measured relative to the examination component refers to the relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component at the moment when the object to be measured is initially (i.e., after the object to be measured is properly positioned on the examination bed and does not move any more, i.e., in a fixed position) acquired. In some examples, the initial relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination component can be relative position information (e.g., relative position coordinates or other relative position relationships) of the object to be measured relative to the radiation source and / or the detector, or relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the examination bed, which can reflect the relative position relationship of the object to be measured relative to each examination component (because the positions of each examination component are also acquired).

[0038] In the example, after obtaining the initial relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, the relative position of the object to be measured and the inspection component in, for example, a virtual system model (described in detail below) can be updated based on the initial position information of the inspection component (i.e., corresponding to the initial relative position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component) and / or the real-time position information after movement, so that the virtual system model can reflect the actual relative position of the two, so as to facilitate the subsequent determination of the target posture of the filter.

[0039] In step S220, real-time position information of the inspection component is acquired. Real-time position information of the inspection component is acquired in real time. "Real-time acquisition" can mean acquisition at predetermined intervals, acquisition simultaneously with changes in the inspection component's position, or acquisition when the inspection component moves to a target position. Because the inspection component can adjust its position as needed, the medical imaging system needs to acquire the inspection component's position information in real time to ensure its accuracy. The real-time position information of the inspection component can be acquired at the time step S220 is executed, or it can be acquired at the same time as step S220 is executed. In short, the real-time position information of the inspection component reflects the latest position information of the inspection component at the time step S220 is executed (which may have changed based on the inspection component's initial position or may remain consistent with the initial position). This ensures that the actual relative position of the object under test and the inspection component is obtained, i.e., the relative position fixed for exposure.

[0040] In some examples, a 3D camera or laser scanner can be used to directly capture or scan the inspection component to directly obtain the real-time position information of the inspection component. In other examples, the real-time position information of the inspection component can be obtained based on the initial position information and motion information of the inspection component. In the medical imaging system, the initial position information of each inspection component, such as the initial relative position of each inspection component, is known, and the motion information of the inspection component, such as the displacement and rotation angle of each inspection component, can be obtained by a measurement unit, such as a displacement sensor and an angle sensor, or by reading a motion instruction sent to the inspection component.

[0041] In step S230, based on the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and the real-time position information of the inspection component, the portion of the target part located in the radiation field is determined. For example, based on the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component and the real-time position information of the inspection component, the real-time position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component (for example, relative position coordinates or other relative position relationships) can be determined. Since the initial position and orientation of the radiation source for emitting radiation in the inspection component are known, the real-time position of the object to be measured relative to the radiation field formed by the radiation can also be determined. Furthermore, in combination with the contour information of the object to be measured, the portion of the target part in the object to be measured located in the radiation field (for example, the coordinates of the portion of the target part in the object to be measured located in the radiation field) can be determined.

[0042] In step S240, a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system is determined based on the portion of the target portion of the subject being measured that is within the radiation field. In an example, a target position of the filter can be determined, at which the filter can be positioned around the portion of the target portion that is within the radiation field and can at least partially block radiation from passing around the target portion.

[0043] In step S250, the filter is controlled to move toward the target posture according to the determined target posture.

[0044] The above-described embodiment can automatically determine the target position of the filter in the collimator assembly of a medical imaging system based on the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, the real-time position information of the inspection component, and the like. Thus, on the one hand, there is no need for an operator to manually manipulate a joystick to control the filter in the collimator assembly. The ultimately determined target position of the filter is not limited by the operator's skill or experience level, resulting in higher efficiency and accuracy. On the other hand, there is no need for pre-imaging of the object to be measured, thereby reducing the radiation dose received by the object to be measured and minimizing damage to the subject's health.

[0045] It will be understood that the shape of the “filter” herein may be sheet-like (eg, a filter with any thickness) or other shapes, as long as it is capable of filtering (ie, at least partially blocking rays).

[0046] According to some embodiments, at the target position, a filter may be placed around the portion of the target part located in the ray field, thereby precisely blocking the rays passing through the area around the target part without affecting the rays passing through the target part.

[0047] Figure 3 A flowchart showing a partial process of a filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0048] According to some embodiments, Figure 3 As shown, the above step S230 may include:

[0049] Step S310: determining a virtual system model of the medical imaging system based on at least contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component, where the virtual system model includes a virtual object model corresponding to the object to be measured and a virtual component model corresponding to the inspection component; and

[0050] Step S320: Determine the portion of the target site located in the radiation field based on the virtual system model.

[0051] Figure 4a and Figure 4b Schematic diagrams of virtual system models according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown from different angles. Figure 4a and Figure 4b As shown, the virtual system model 400 may include a virtual object model 420 corresponding to the object to be tested and a virtual component model 410 corresponding to the inspection component. The virtual component model 410 corresponding to the inspection component may include a virtual radiation source model 411 corresponding to the radiation source and a virtual examination bed model 413 corresponding to the examination bed. The movement of the radiation source and the examination bed will affect the portion of the object to be tested within the radiation field. Additionally, the virtual component model 410 corresponding to the inspection component may also include a virtual detector model 412 corresponding to the detector. If the position of the radiation source changes, the position of the detector will also change to receive the radiation emitted by the radiation source. In some examples, the position and size information of the portion of the target portion of the object to be tested within the radiation field 430 can be determined based on the relative positional relationship between the target portion of the object to be tested and the radiation field 430 as reflected in the virtual system model 400. Alternatively, the position and size information of the portion of the target portion of the object to be tested within the radiation field 430 can be directly measured from the virtual system model 400. The virtual system model can be used to determine the position and size information of the target part of the object to be measured in the ray field in a relatively simple, efficient and accurate manner, thereby further improving the efficiency and accuracy of the subsequent determination of the target position of the filter.

[0052] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a partial process of a filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0053] According to some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, the above step S310 may include:

[0054] Step S510: constructing a virtual component model based on the initial position of the inspection component;

[0055] Step S520: constructing a virtual object model within the virtual component model based on at least the contour information of the object to be measured and the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; and

[0056] Step S530: Update the virtual component model based on the real-time position information of the inspected component.

[0057] In the example, a virtual component model can be constructed based on the initial position of the inspection component. Alternatively, the virtual component model can also be a virtual model pre-stored in the medical imaging system; and based on at least the initial relative position information and contour information of the object to be tested, a virtual object model located within the virtual component model can be constructed; and based on the real-time position information of the inspection component, the virtual component model can be updated. In other words, for example, in the case where a virtual component model of the inspection component is pre-stored in the medical imaging system, the positions of each part in the pre-stored virtual component model correspond to the initial positions of each component in the inspection component. At this time, a virtual object model having a contour corresponding to the object to be tested can be constructed based on the contour information of the object to be tested, and the virtual object model can be placed in the corresponding position within the virtual component model based on the initial relative position of the object to be tested relative to the inspection component. It should be understood here that in order to construct a virtual system model including a virtual object model, the initial relative position information of the object to be tested relative to the inspection component can be the relative position information of the object to be tested relative to at least one of the detector, the radiation source, or the inspection bed. The above initial relative position information can satisfy the requirement of placing the virtual object model in the virtual component model at a position corresponding to the actual situation. Then, as Figure 4a and Figure 4b As shown, after the virtual object model 420 is placed in the virtual component model 410, the virtual component model 410 can be updated based on the real-time position information of the inspection component. This ensures that the relative position relationship between the virtual object model 420 and the virtual component model 410 in the virtual system model 400 is consistent with the relative position relationship between the actual object to be tested and the inspection component, regardless of whether the inspection component moves relative to its initial position.

[0058] According to some embodiments, the virtual object model may be obtained by: obtaining a three-dimensional contour of the object to be measured; obtaining an initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target part; and fusing the initial three-dimensional virtual model with the three-dimensional contour to obtain a virtual anatomical model.

[0059] In an example, a 3D camera, a depth camera, or a laser scanner may be used to obtain a three-dimensional contour of the object to be measured.

[0060] In an example, the initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target site can be a three-dimensional virtual model pre-stored in the medical imaging system, and the initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target site can be selected from a plurality of initial three-dimensional virtual models of target sites pre-stored in the medical imaging system according to a selection of an operator. It is known that in order to obtain the best image quality in the image shooting process of a patient, an imaging protocol is usually pre-set for a user in the medical imaging system, and the user can manually select the imaging protocol. A plurality of imaging protocols are predefined for different imaging sites, patient sizes, and patient positions. These imaging protocols are usually related to operating parameters to be implemented by a control device of the medical imaging system, such as frame rate of an X-ray generator, radiation dose, noise processing, and signal post-processing, so that the user can provide an image shooting mode that provides the clearest image based on the target site of the patient currently needed to be shot. Such an imaging protocol is also referred to as an “organ program (OGP)” in the medical imaging system. In some examples, the initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target site corresponding to the organ program can be determined according to the organ program selected by the user.

[0061] In an example, the initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target site corresponding to the size or weight of the object to be detected can be obtained, and the initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target site can be fused to the corresponding position of the three-dimensional contour according to the size or weight of the object to be detected to obtain the virtual anatomical model.

[0062] According to some embodiments, the examination component can include a collimator assembly and an examination bed for carrying the object to be detected, wherein the collimator assembly can include a filter (such as a rectangular filter, a wedge-shaped filter, or a finger-shaped filter) for limiting the range of radiation of the rays, and obtaining the real-time position information of the examination component can include:

[0063] obtaining initial position information of the collimator assembly and the examination bed;

[0064] obtaining real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the examination bed; and

[0065] determining the real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the examination bed based on the initial position information and the real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the examination bed.

[0066] In this example, the initial position information of the collimator assembly and the examination table may be known, and the real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the examination table may be the position information of the inspection component acquired at the time step S220 is executed, or may be the position information of the inspection component acquired at the same time step S220 is executed. In summary, the real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the examination table can reflect the most recent position information of the collimator assembly and the examination table at the time step S220 is executed. This ensures that the actual relative position of the object to be inspected, the collimator assembly, and the examination table is obtained, i.e., the relative position fixed for exposure.

[0067] According to some embodiments, the filter may include multiple types of filters, and the filter control method for a medical imaging system may further include:

[0068] Obtaining the input operation type for the target site; and

[0069] At least one corresponding filter is determined from a plurality of types of filters according to the input operation type.

[0070] As described above, multiple organ programs (OGPs) are predefined for different imaging sites, patient sizes, and patient positions. The operation type can be defined in the organ program. During actual use, the operator can select the corresponding organ program (OGP) based on the organ / site to be examined using a human-computer interaction device (such as a touch screen, keyboard, or mouse), thereby completing the input of the operation type for the target site. Accordingly, the medical imaging system can automatically determine at least one corresponding filter from the multiple filter types based on the selected organ program.

[0071] According to some embodiments, the operation type may include organ vascular imaging, and the plurality of filter types may include a wedge filter and a finger filter. In an example, the organ vascular imaging may include at least one of cardiac vascular imaging, cerebral vascular imaging, and limb vascular imaging.

[0072] In an example, when the operation type is a cardiac interventional procedure, a wedge filter may be used to filter the periphery of the heart. In an example, when the operation type is an imaging procedure for lower limb blood vessels, a finger filter may be used to filter the gap between the two lower limbs.

[0073] According to some embodiments, the target pose may include a target position and a target orientation, and step S250 may include at least one of: controlling the filter to move toward the target position; and controlling the filter to rotate toward the target orientation.

[0074] In an example, the filter can be controlled to move toward a target position or to rotate toward a target orientation. In an example, the filter can be controlled to both move toward a target position and rotate toward a target orientation. By controlling the movement and rotation of the filter, the position or orientation of the filter can be fine-tuned, thereby enabling the filter to be controlled to more accurately reach a desired position.

[0075] According to some embodiments, the filter control method for a medical imaging system may further include:

[0076] In response to controlling the filter to move toward the target pose, obtaining an actual pose of the filter; and

[0077] In response to determining that a difference between the actual position and the target position of the filter exceeds a preset allowable range, an error prompt message is issued.

[0078] For example, the controller can send a target position instruction to the filter's actuator (e.g., a motor) to control the filter's movement toward the target position. After the movement is completed, the controller can obtain the current position and steering angle of the motor from the filter's actuator as the filter's actual position. If the difference between the filter's actual position and the target position is determined to exceed a preset allowable range, an error message is issued, which can promptly inform the operator that the filter is not in the desired position, allowing remedial measures to be taken.

[0079] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an imaging method for a medical imaging system is provided. Figure 6 Shown is a flowchart of an imaging method 600 for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] like Figure 6 As shown, the method 600 includes:

[0081] Step S610: Control the filter using the filter control method for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0082] Step S620, in response to the filter being controlled to move toward the target posture, obtaining the actual posture of the filter; and

[0083] Step S630 : In response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture meets a preset condition, imaging a portion of the target part.

[0084] In an example, the controller can send an instruction of the target posture to the actuator of the filter (such as a motor) to control the filter to move to the target posture. When the movement is completed, the controller can obtain the current position and steering angle of the motor from the actuator of the filter as the actual posture of the filter. When it is determined that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture meets the preset conditions, part of the target part is imaged. In an example, the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture meeting the preset conditions can include that the difference between the coordinates of the actual position of the filter and the coordinates of the target position is less than a preset threshold, and / or the difference between the actual orientation of the filter and the target orientation is less than a preset threshold.

[0085] Figure 7 A subtraction angiography image 700 obtained by using the imaging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Taking subtraction angiography as an example, using method 600, when it is determined that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture meets the preset conditions, the image 700 can be obtained by imaging a portion of the target part. It can be seen that compared with image 100, the quality of image 700 is higher, and the surrounding area of ​​the target part (such as the heart) is not overexposed, and the blood vessel distribution in the target part can be clearly observed in the entire image 700. Therefore, through method 600, there is no need for the operator to manually operate the joystick to control the filter in the collimator assembly, and high-quality imaging can be obtained with higher efficiency, and the radiation dose received by the object to be measured can be reduced.

[0086] According to some embodiments, the medical imaging system may further include a radiation emitter as a radiation source, and step S630 may include:

[0087] In response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture satisfies a preset condition, determining a conducting state of a ray emission switch of the ray emitter; and

[0088] In response to determining that the radiation emission switch is on, a portion of the target site is imaged.

[0089] The radiation emission switch may be controlled by a foot pedal, for example. When the operator steps on the foot pedal, the radiation emission switch of the radiation emitter is turned on; when the operator releases the foot pedal, the radiation emission switch of the radiation emitter is turned off.

[0090] According to some embodiments, the imaging method 600 for a medical imaging system may further include:

[0091] In response to determining that the ray emission switch is disconnected, a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system is re-determined.

[0092] Since the position or orientation of one or more components in the medical imaging system may change continuously during operation, when the radiation emission switch is disconnected, the operator may have released the foot pedal and is controlling the movement of one or more components in the medical imaging system (for example, controlling the rotation of the C-arm). By re-determining the target position of the filter in the collimator assembly of the medical imaging system, radiation exposure of the object to be measured at an unexpected time can be avoided.

[0093] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a filter control device for a medical imaging system is provided. The medical imaging system includes at least one movable inspection component for aligning a radiation field with a target part of an object to be inspected.

[0094] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a filter control device 800 for a medical imaging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8 As shown, the apparatus 800 includes:

[0095] A first acquiring unit 810 is configured to acquire contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component;

[0096] A second acquiring unit 820 is configured to acquire real-time position information of the inspection component;

[0097] A first determining unit 830 is configured to determine a portion of the target area within the radiation field based on contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component;

[0098] A second determining unit 840 is configured to determine a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the portion; and

[0099] The motion control unit 850 is configured to control the filter to move toward the target posture.

[0100] It should be understood that Figure 8 The various units of the apparatus 800 shown in FIG. 8 can be compared with those in FIG. Figure 2 Therefore, the operations, features and advantages described above for method 200 are also applicable to apparatus 800 and the units included therein. For the sake of brevity, some operations, features and advantages are not described in detail here.

[0101] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an imaging device (not shown) for a medical imaging system is provided, comprising:

[0102] A filter control unit configured to control the filter using the device 800;

[0103] an actual posture acquisition unit, configured to acquire the actual posture of the filter in response to the filter being controlled to move toward the target posture; and

[0104] The imaging unit is configured to image a portion of the target part in response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture meets a preset condition.

[0105] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a medical imaging system is provided, comprising: at least one processor; and a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the at least one processor, the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented.

[0106] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program is provided, wherein the computer program implements the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when executed by a processor.

[0107] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, including a computer program, wherein the computer program implements the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure when executed by a processor.

[0108] Figure 9 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an electronic device 900 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 9 The structure shown is only an example. According to the specific implementation, the electronic device of the present disclosure may only include Figure 9 One or more of the components shown.

[0109] The electronic device 900 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer (e.g., a laptop computer, tablet computer, or other computer), a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant. According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may be a cloud computing device or a smart device. According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may be the aforementioned medical imaging device, such as a C-arm X-ray imaging device.

[0110] According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may be configured to process an image, etc., and transmit the processing results to an output device for display to a user. The output device may be, for example, a display screen, a device including a display screen, or other output device. For example, the electronic device 900 may be configured to perform target detection on an image and transmit the target detection results to a display device for display. The electronic device 900 may also be configured to perform image enhancement processing and transmit the enhancement results to a display device for display.

[0111] The electronic device 900 may include an image processing circuit 903, which may be configured to perform various image processing on an image. For example, the image processing circuit 903 may be configured to perform at least one of the following image processing on an image: noise reduction on the image, geometric correction on the image, feature extraction on the image, detection and / or recognition of objects in the image, and image enhancement processing on the image. The image processing circuit 903 may use custom hardware and / or may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. For example, one or more of the various circuits described above may be implemented by programming hardware (e.g., programmable logic circuits including field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and / or programmable logic arrays (PLAs)) using logic and algorithms according to the present disclosure in assembly language or hardware programming languages ​​(such as VERILOG, VHDL, C++).

[0112] According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may further include an output device 904, which may be any type of device for presenting information, including but not limited to a display screen, a terminal with a display function, headphones, a speaker, a vibrator and / or a printer, etc.

[0113] According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may further include an input device 905, which may be any type of device for inputting information into the electronic device 900, and may include but is not limited to various sensors, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, buttons, a joystick, a microphone and / or a remote control, etc.

[0114] According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may further include a communication device 906, which may be any type of device or system that enables communication with an external device and / or with a network, and may include but is not limited to a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device and / or a chipset, such as a Bluetooth device, an 802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a cellular communication device and / or the like.

[0115] According to some embodiments, the electronic device 900 may further include a processor 901. The processor 901 may be any type of processor and may include, but is not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., special processing chips). The processor 901 may be, for example, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or various dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) computing chips, etc. In an example where the electronic device 900 may be a magnetic resonance imaging device, the processor 901 may be a processor of a main control computer of the magnetic resonance imaging device.

[0116] The electronic device 900 may also include a working memory 902 and a storage device 907. The processor 901 may be configured to retrieve and execute computer-readable instructions stored in the working memory 902, the storage device 907, or other computer-readable media, such as program code of an operating system 902a, program code of an application 902b, and the like. The working memory 902 and the storage device 907 are examples of computer-readable storage media for storing instructions, and the stored instructions can be executed by the processor 901 to implement the various functions described above. The working memory 902 may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc.). The storage device 907 may include a hard drive, a solid-state drive, removable media, including external and removable drives, memory cards, flash memory, floppy disks, optical disks (e.g., CDs, DVDs), storage arrays, network attached storage, storage area networks, and the like. The working memory 902 and the storage device 907 may both be collectively referred to herein as memory or computer-readable storage media, and may be non-transitory media capable of storing computer-readable, processor-executable program instructions as computer program code, which may be executed by the processor 901 as a specific machine configured to implement the operations and functions described in the examples herein.

[0117] According to some embodiments, the processor 901 may control and schedule at least one of the image processing circuit 903 and other various devices and circuits included in the electronic device 900. According to some embodiments, Figure 9 At least some of the various components in the system may be connected and / or communicate with each other via the bus 908 .

[0118] Software elements (programs) may be located in the working memory 902 , including, but not limited to, an operating system 902 a , one or more application programs 902 b , drivers, and / or other data and code.

[0119] According to some embodiments, instructions for performing the aforementioned control and scheduling may be included in the operating system 902a or one or more application programs 902b.

[0120] According to some embodiments, instructions for executing the method steps of the present disclosure may be included in one or more applications 902b, and the various modules of the electronic device 900 described above may be implemented by reading and executing the instructions of the one or more applications 902b by the processor 901. In other words, the electronic device 900 may include a processor 901 and a memory (e.g., a working memory 902 and / or a storage device 907) storing a program, the program including instructions, which, when executed by the processor 901, causes the processor 901 to execute the method of various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0121] According to some embodiments, part or all of the operations performed by the image processing circuit 903 may be implemented by the processor 901 reading and executing instructions of one or more application programs 902 b.

[0122] The executable code or source code of the instructions of the software element (program) can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., storage device 907) and can be stored in the working memory 902 (possibly compiled and / or installed) when executed. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program, the program including instructions that, when executed by a processor of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the methods of various embodiments of the present disclosure. According to another embodiment, the executable code or source code of the instructions of the software element (program) can also be downloaded from a remote location.

[0123] It should also be understood that various modifications may be made according to specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may also be used, and / or various circuits, units, modules, or elements may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. For example, some or all of the circuits, units, modules, or elements included in the disclosed methods and apparatus may be implemented by programming hardware (e.g., programmable logic circuits including field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and / or programmable logic arrays (PLAs)) using logic and algorithms according to the present disclosure in assembly language or hardware programming languages ​​(such as VERILOG, VHDL, C++).

[0124] According to some embodiments, the processor 901 in the electronic device 900 can be distributed across a network. For example, one processor can perform some processing while another processor located remotely from the processor can perform other processing. Other modules of the electronic device 900 can also be similarly distributed. In this way, the electronic device 900 can be interpreted as a distributed computing system that performs processing in multiple locations. The processor 901 of the electronic device 900 can also be the processor of a cloud computing system or a processor integrated with blockchain.

[0125] Although the embodiments or examples of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the above-mentioned methods, systems and devices are merely exemplary embodiments or examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments or examples, but is only limited by the claims after authorization and their equivalents. Various elements in the embodiments or examples may be omitted or replaced by their equivalents. In addition, the steps may be performed in an order different from that described in this disclosure. Further, the various elements in the embodiments or examples may be combined in various ways. It is important that as technology evolves, many of the elements described herein may be replaced by equivalent elements that appear after this disclosure.

Claims

1. A filter control method for a medical imaging system, wherein the medical imaging system includes at least one inspection component for aligning a radiation field with a target portion of an object to be inspected, the method comprising: Acquiring contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; Acquiring real-time position information of the inspection component; Determining a portion of the target area within the radiation field based on contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component; determining a target pose of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the portion; as well as Control the filter to move toward the target posture.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining a portion of the target portion located in the radiation field based on contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component includes: determining a virtual system model of the medical imaging system based at least on contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component, the virtual system model including a virtual object model corresponding to the object to be measured and a virtual component model corresponding to the inspection component; and Based on the virtual system model, a portion of the target site located in the radiation field is determined.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Determining the virtual system model of the medical imaging system based on at least the contour information of the object to be measured, the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and the real-time position information of the inspection component includes: constructing the virtual component model based on the initial position of the inspection component; constructing the virtual object model located within the virtual component model based at least on the contour information of the object to be measured and the initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; and The virtual component model is updated based on the real-time position information of the inspected component.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The virtual object model is obtained by: Obtaining a three-dimensional contour of the object to be measured; obtaining an initial three-dimensional virtual model of the target part; and The initial three-dimensional virtual model is fused with the three-dimensional outline to obtain the virtual object model.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The inspection component includes the collimator assembly and an inspection bed for carrying the object to be inspected, and wherein obtaining the real-time position information of the inspection component includes: obtaining the real-time position information of the collimator assembly and the inspection bed.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The target posture includes a target position and a target orientation, and wherein controlling the filter to move toward the target posture includes at least one of the following: controlling the filter to move toward the target position; and The filter is controlled to rotate toward the target orientation.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein At the target posture, the filter is placed around the portion of the target part located in the ray field.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: In response to controlling the filter to move toward the target posture, obtaining an actual posture of the filter; as well as In response to determining that the difference between the actual position and posture of the filter and the target position exceeds a preset allowable range, an error prompt message is issued.

9. An imaging method for a medical imaging system, comprising: Controlling the filter using the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; In response to controlling the filter to move toward the target posture, obtaining an actual posture of the filter; as well as In response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture satisfies a preset condition, imaging the portion of the target site.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The medical imaging system further includes a ray emitter, and wherein, in response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture satisfies a preset condition, imaging the portion of the target site includes: In response to determining that the relationship between the actual posture and the target posture satisfies a preset condition, determining a conducting state of a ray emission switch of the ray emitter; and In response to determining that the radiation emission switch is on, imaging the portion of the target site.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: In response to determining that the ray emission switch is disconnected, a target position of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system is re-determined.

12. A filter control device for a medical imaging system, the medical imaging system comprising at least one inspection component for aligning a radiation field with a target portion of an object to be inspected, the device comprising: a first acquiring unit configured to acquire contour information of the object to be measured and initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component; a second acquiring unit, configured to acquire real-time position information of the inspection component; a first determining unit configured to determine a portion of the target part located in the radiation field based on contour information of the object to be measured, initial position information of the object to be measured relative to the inspection component, and real-time position information of the inspection component; a second determining unit configured to determine a target pose of a filter in a collimator assembly of the medical imaging system based on the portion; as well as A motion control unit is configured to control the filter to move toward the target posture.

13. A medical imaging system comprising: at least one processor; as well as a memory communicatively connected to the at least one processor; wherein, The memory stores a computer program which, when executed by the at least one processor, implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein: The computer program implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 when executed by a processor.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein The computer program implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 when executed by a processor.

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