Patient motion suppression during medical imaging

Abstract

Patient motion is the most common cause of artifacts in medical imaging. Accordingly, a computer-implemented method for implementing motion suppression in a medical imaging device is provided. The method includes the steps of acquiring image data defining an image to be displayed on a patient in a bore of the medical imaging device, controlling a display device to display the image on the patient in the bore, acquiring data indicative of a real-time position of an anatomical region of interest including the patient's head and / or eyes during a medical imaging scan, detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest using the data indicative of the real-time position, and adapting the displayed image to implement patient motion suppression by repositioning the displayed image to a position relative to the bore that prompts the patient to return the patient's head and / or eyes to their original position in response to detecting the motion. According to the invention, the projected image is adapted to intuitively guide the patient to limit his / her own head and eye movements and to return to the original position after any movement.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for achieving patient motion suppression during medical imaging. [Background technology]

[0002] Although various schemes for motion correction have been applied in clinical magnetic resonance imaging, patient motion remains the most common cause of artifacts. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] For head scans, ideally head motion should be limited to less than 1 mm to allow image resolution on the order of 1 mm. Even eye-only movement with the head fixed can result in ghosting artifacts that can obscure anatomical details in the image.

[0004] It is beneficial / desirable to reduce patient motion during medical imaging. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] To better address one or more of these problems, in a first aspect of the invention there is provided a computer-implemented method for providing motion suppression in a medical imaging device, the method comprising the steps of acquiring image data defining an image to be displayed to a patient within a bore of a medical imaging device, controlling a display device to display said image to a patient within the bore, acquiring data indicative of a real-time position of an anatomical region of interest including the patient's head and / or eye during a medical imaging scan, detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest using the data indicative of the real-time position, and adapting the displayed image to provide patient motion suppression by repositioning the displayed image to a position relative to the bore that prompts the patient to return their head and / or eye to an original location in response to detecting motion.

[0006] In one example, the display device comprises a projector configured to project an image onto a display surface within the bore. The display surface may be an inner surface of the bore or a surface specifically provided for display. The step of adapting the image thus comprises controlling the projector to modify an area of ​​the display surface, e.g. the bore wall onto which the image is projected. In another example, the display device comprises a head-mounted display device (HMD) configured to generate a virtual reality display or an augmented reality display, and the step of adapting the image comprises modifying the apparent position of the (virtual) image, which in an AR scenario can actually be fixed to a portion of an area of ​​the bore wall designated as the display surface. It will be clear from the above that repositioning the image may thus comprise repositioning the border or frame of the image and / or its center, as opposed to moving content within the image without moving the border, frame or center of the image.

[0007] The location may be the actual location when the image is projected onto a display surface in the bore, or a virtual location in the case of VR / AR. In other words, the patient is prompted to move their head and / or eyes to reverse the movement of the detected anatomical region of interest. By "head and / or eyes" it is meant that the image movement is relative to one or both of the patient's head movement and eye movement. In one example, the image movement is relative to the patient's gaze direction. In that example, the image can be moved in response to head movement even if the gaze direction remains unchanged.

[0008] In one example of achieving patient motion suppression, referred to herein as negative compensation, the method further includes, in response to detecting movement of the patient's head and / or eyes to one side (lateral), shifting the image in the opposite direction. In this way, the image is adapted to intuitively guide the patient to limit their own head and eye movements and to return to their original position after any movement.

[0009] In another example of achieving patient motion suppression, referred to herein as positive overcompensation, the method further includes, in response to detecting a movement of the patient's head and / or eyes to one side, moving the image to the same side, where the image movement is amplified by an amplification factor k relative to the head and / or eye movement. Again, the image is adapted to intuitively guide the patient to limit his / her own head and eye movements and return to the original position after any movement. The amplification factor relates the magnitude of the head and / or eye movement to the magnitude of the image movement. In one example, the amplification factor k may be related to the rotation angle of the projector relative to the rotation angle (gaze direction) of the head and / or eyes. Additionally or alternatively, the amplification factor may be related to the lateral displacement of the image location relative to the lateral displacement of the patient's viewpoint on the bore wall.

[0010] In any of the approaches described herein, the position of the image can be continuously adjusted in response to changing positions of the patient's head and / or eyes. In particular, the method can further include returning the image toward the original position in response to detecting movement of the patient's head and / or eyes toward the original position.

[0011] In another example of achieving patient motion suppression, adapting the image includes depicting the detected motion of the anatomical region of interest in the image. In this case, "image" can be understood as a sequence of images, such as video images. Seeing the depicted motion and recognizing the result, the patient is prompted to refrain from further motion and return to the original position. As with other approaches, the detected motion of the anatomical region of interest can be depicted in the image using an amplification factor k. To provide a body part specific amplification factor, the method can further include determining the amplification factor based at least in part on the anatomical region of interest. Additionally or alternatively, to provide a scan specific amplification factor, the method can further include determining the amplification factor based at least in part on the motion sensitivity of the medical imaging scan being performed. Thus, in any of the approaches described herein, the amplification factor can be determined as a function of one or more parameters, including, inter alia, the anatomical structure and the scan type. In this way, the use of different amplification factors for different anatomical regions and scan types is enabled, which are adapted to those parameters, thereby providing a context-aware patient motion suppression in which the suppression effect is strengthened when needed and relaxed in other cases.

[0012] The images may include monoscopic images (one image is directed to both of the patient's eyes) or stereoscopic images (two separate images are directed individually to each of the patient's eyes for a 3D effect). In either case, the anatomical region of interest may be depicted in three dimensions, where detected movement of the anatomical region of interest is depicted in the images. In this way, the patient may be better able to identify movement of the anatomical region of interest in the images.

[0013] In examples where the image is displayed by projection, the method may include correcting the first-order distortion and / or the second-order distortion. In particular, the method may include applying one or more transformations to the image data to compensate for the first-order distortion and / or the second-order distortion. To correct the first-order distortion, the method may include applying one or more transformations to the image data to correct for skew distortion caused by an off-center position of the projector and / or to correct for curvature of the inner surface of the bore. To correct the second-order image distortion, the method may further include detecting an off-center gaze position of the patient using data indicative of the real-time position, and applying a perspective transformation to the image data to fit the projected image to the off-center gaze position. In other words, correcting the second-order image distortion may include determining whether the projected image appears distorted to the patient due to an off-center gaze of the patient based on the patient's current position in the bore and the projector's current projection direction, determining a perspective transformation that transforms the image data to correct for the off-center gaze position, and transforming the image data according to the determined perspective transformation. Primary and / or secondary distortion correction may be performed only if the patient's gaze direction determines that the patient is looking directly at the projected image. An appropriate transformation for distortion correction can be determined using data defining the display surface, particularly if the display surface is formed by the inner surface of a bore. The predetermined transformation can be selected based on data defining the current patient position and the current projection direction, e.g., using one or more look-up tables to relate the patient position and projector direction to a particular transformation. Data indicative of the real-time position of the anatomical region of interest can be obtained using a patient positioning system, e.g., a camera-based positioning system, and / or using the medical imaging device itself. Patient positioning can include eye tracking to determine the patient's current eye position and / or gaze direction and / or viewpoint.Detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest can include detecting motion exceeding a threshold distance, velocity, or acceleration using data indicative of real-time position. Detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest can further include detecting the motion via a sensor or marker attached to the patient, such as a motion sensor, marker, RF coil (e.g., on the body), or helmet coil.

[0014] Referring again to the first aspect, a computer-implemented method for implementing motion suppression in a medical imaging device is provided. The method includes the steps of acquiring image data defining an image to be displayed on a patient in a bore of the medical imaging device, controlling a display device to display the image on the patient in the bore, acquiring data indicative of a real-time position of an anatomical region of interest during a medical imaging scan, detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest using the data indicative of the real-time position, and adapting the displayed image to implement patient motion suppression in response to detecting the motion. Adapting the image to implement patient motion suppression can include, in this example, changing the location at which the image is displayed and / or modifying the image content itself, e.g., modifying the image content to depict motion of the anatomical region of interest. The anatomical region of interest can include any part of the patient's anatomy, including, for example, a leg or an arm.

[0015] According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of correcting second order distortion during intra-bore projection in a medical imaging device. The method includes acquiring image data defining an image to be displayed on a patient within a bore of the medical imaging device, acquiring data indicative of a real-time position of the patient within the bore during a medical imaging scan, detecting an off-center gaze position of the patient using the data indicative of the real-time position, applying a perspective transformation to the image data to adapt the image for the off-center gaze position, and controlling a projector to project an image onto a display surface within the bore using the transformed image data. The term "controlling" as used herein in relation to a projector can refer to controlling the image content output by the projector and / or controlling the position and / or projection direction of the projector.

[0016] According to a third aspect there is provided a method of controlling a medical imaging device comprising controlling the medical imaging device to perform a medical imaging scan for imaging an anatomical region of interest of a patient, and performing, during the medical imaging scan, the method of the first and / or second aspects.

[0017] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a controller configured to perform the method of any of the first to third aspects. The controller may comprise a computing device having a processor configured to perform the method of any of the first to third aspects.

[0018] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a medical imaging apparatus comprising the controller of the fourth aspect.

[0019] According to a sixth aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the method of any of the first to third aspects.

[0020] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the method of any of the first to third aspects.

[0021] Thus, what is provided by the present disclosure is a form of motion-suppressed in-bore projection display based on modified distortion correction.

[0022] The present invention may include one or more aspects, examples, or features whether or not specifically disclosed, alone or in any combination thereof. Any feature or sub-aspect of one of the above aspects applies to any of the other aspects, as appropriate.

[0023] These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

[0024] A detailed description will now be given, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an exemplary medical imaging device. [Diagram 2] 1 illustrates an exemplary medical imaging device. [Diagram 3] 1 illustrates an exemplary medical imaging device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates a computing device that can be used in accordance with the systems and methods disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary medical imaging device 100, which in this example is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device. The MRI device 100 has a housing 102 with typical components of an MRI device, such as a magnet, magnetic field gradient coils used to generate magnetic spins in an imaging zone, and a radio frequency transceiver for manipulating the orientation of the magnetic spins in the imaging zone and receiving radio frequency signals from the imaging zone. A bore 104 is formed through the housing 102, and a patient 106 can be positioned for imaging by a patient support 108 such that the imaging zone includes an anatomical region of interest. The MRI device 100 has a computer-implemented control system 110 having a user interface 112. The control system 110 controls the operation and functions of the MRI device 100. In particular, the control system 110 controls the MRI device 100 to perform an MRI scan according to a particular scan sequence. Individual scans in the sequence may include, for example, a gradient echo scan, an echo planar scan, a spin echo scan, or a diffusion scan, as known in the art. The acquired magnetic resonance data is used to reconstruct one or more magnetic resonance images.

[0027] An intra-bore communication system 200 is provided to provide intra-bore patient communication. The intra-bore communication system 200 can provide voice communication between the patient 106 in the bore 104 and the MR technician at the user interface 112. The intra-bore communication system 200 can also include an emergency button to allow the patient 106 to request attention during the MR scan and can turn off voice communication during the MR scan. In particular, the intra-bore communication system 200 has an intra-bore projector for projecting an image 204 onto the inner surface of the bore 104. The image 204 can be a passive image or the projection can be used to provide the patient 106 with a graphical user interface similar to a touch screen. The projected image 104 can include any one or more of image content, text content, and interactive soft keys.

[0028] 2 shows an intrabore projector 206 used to project an image 204 onto the inner surface 114 of the bore 104. The intrabore projector 206 is movably mounted on an annular gantry 208 such that the intrabore projector 206 is rotatable around the bore 104 to project the image 204 onto different regions of the inner surface 114 of the bore 104. In particular, the intrabore projector 206 can be moved to a position that projects the image 204 onto a region of the inner surface 114 that coincides with a detected gaze direction of the patient 106. A patient positioning system 210 disposed within the bore 104 can be used to detect the current position of the patient 106, in particular the current gaze direction of the patient 106. In the illustrated example, the patient positioning system 210 comprises a camera.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a detected gaze direction 212 of the patient 106 which is used to position an intrabore projector 206 on the gantry 208 so as to project an image 204 onto a region of the inner surface 114 of the bore 104 which coincides with the detected gaze direction 212.

[0030] From Figures 2 and 3, it is clear that if left uncorrected, image distortions will occur due to the curvature of the inner surface 114 of the bore 104 and the off-center location of the projector 206. By "off-center projection" or "off-axis projection" herein is meant that the in-bore projector 206 is not located on an axis extending perpendicularly from the center of the projected image 204, or that the display surface is not in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the projector, as is evident from Figure 2. In this case, projecting rectangular content will generate a trapezoid on the flat inner surface 114 due to distortions caused by off-axis projection. Image distortions resulting from off-center projection and curvature of the bore walls are referred to herein as first order distortions. The control system 110 is configured to correct the first order distortions by transforming the image data in software using one or more transformations, such as keystone correction, thereby enabling the rectangular image 204 to be projected onto the curved inner surface 114 of the bore 104 during off-axis projection. Known techniques such as 3D projection mapping can be used to correct for first order distortions.

[0031] In addition to the first-order distortion, the present disclosure contemplates the formation of second-order distortion caused by the patient's off-axis eye position. An off-center or off-axis eye position occurs when the patient's gaze direction 212 does not coincide with an axis extending perpendicularly from the center of the projected image 204, or in other words, when the display surface does not lie in a plane perpendicular to the patient's gaze direction. Second-order distortion results from the fact that the projected image 204, which is actually rectangular on the bore wall, is perceived as non-rectangular when the patient 106 observes the image 204 from such an off-axis eye position. The control system 110 is further configured to correct the second-order distortion by transforming the image data such that the patient 106 sees rectangular image content without distortion, as if the patient's head were in an optimal position relative to the projected image 204. The patient positioning system 210 is used to measure the patient's 106 eye position and gaze direction. The second-order correction to be applied can be defined as the inverse of the (virtual) image transformation applied for the first-order correction when the projector and viewpoint are in the same off-axis position. Known dynamic anamorphic image projection methods, such as those described in "Dynamic anamorphosis", Franc Solina et al, Proceedings of ENACTIVE / 07, 4th International Conference on Enactive Interfaces, Grenoble, France, November 19-22, 2007, can be used to correct for second order distortions.

[0032] In some applications, the control system 110 can be configured to control the intrabore projector 206 to project the image 204 onto a region of the inner surface 114 that coincides with the detected gaze direction of the patient 106. Thus, if the patient 106 turns his head to the left or moves his eyes to the left, the projected image 204 on the bore wall is also moved to the left. At the same time, the image data is corrected for first and second order distortions in the manner described above to morph the image 204, so that, even from a new viewpoint, the patient 106 still sees rectangular content on the curved bore wall. Instead of simply tracking the gaze direction, the present disclosure proposes to reposition the image in such a way as to restrict the patient's head and eye movements for better quality medical imaging. In particular, the projected image 204 is further modified to intuitively guide the patient 106 to restrict the patient's head and eye movements and to return to the original position after any movement. Next, several methods for achieving patient motion suppression are described.

[0033] The first approach to achieving patient motion suppression is referred to herein as negative compensation. Using this approach, if the patient 106 turns his head to the left, the projected image 204 on the bore wall is moved to the right and vice versa. Similarly, if the patient moves his gaze direction down, the image is moved up. Thus, when the patient 106 starts to move his head or gaze direction, the patient 106 loses view of the image 204 more quickly than if the image 204 was stationary. This prompts the patient 106 to return to his original position, effectively suppressing the patient motion and thereby improving image quality. The patient's movements, particularly the changes in gaze direction, detected by the patient positioning system 210 are communicated to the control system 110, which controls the in-bore projector 206 according to the negative compensation approach, i.e., to move the image 204 in the direction opposite to the direction the gaze direction is moving, and, optionally, simultaneously adapt the image data to correct for primary and / or secondary image distortions.

[0034] A second approach to achieving patient motion suppression is referred to herein as positive overcompensation. Using this approach, if the patient 106 moves their gaze direction in one direction (e.g., to the left), the projected image 204 on the bore wall is moved in the same direction (e.g., to the left), but by an amplification factor k relative to the movement that would be required for the image 204 to simply track the changing gaze direction 212. Thus, the patient 106 receives feedback about his or her movement that is somewhat exaggerated by the strong movement of the projected image 204. Again, the patient 106 begins to lose view of the image 204 as a result of the movement, effectively suppressing the patient's motion and thereby improving image quality.

[0035] Different scans have different sensitivities to motion, and the present disclosure further proposes to increase the amplification factor k depending on the scan motion sensitivity, advantageously so that the patient motion suppression effect is stronger for more motion sensitive scans.

[0036] A further approach to realizing patient motion suppression includes adapting the image content to depict the detected motion of the anatomical region of interest in the projected image itself. This is particularly effective if the detected motion of the anatomical region of interest is depicted in the image with an amplification factor k and if the image is a stereographic 3D image depicting, for example, a simplified model of the patient's body. The stereographic image provides a 3D viewing experience that is more realistic and can be combined with the depiction of the patient's motion. Any known technique for realizing a 3D display can be used, including, for example, stereographic techniques using glasses or head-mounted displays. The amplification factor k is used to define the 3D vector of each pixel. Thus, if the anatomical region of interest includes the head and / or eyes, as in the two approaches described above, the head and / or eye motion can be depicted in the image to prevent the patient from moving. However, this approach is also applicable to other body parts, and the depicted body parts establish a ground truth regarding the patient's motion. Furthermore, especially in a 3D display, image slices can be visualized in the image. Using this approach, the head can be positioned on a headrest so that 3D head movements can be visualized and the head can be precisely repositioned.

[0037] In one use case, the images can be adapted to provide guidance for cinematic studies where the head (or other anatomical region of interest) needs to be moved by rolling left and right or by nodding. Medical imaging is performed continuously or in discrete steps. The patient's head is depicted in the images with a visualization of the required positions to assist the patient in maintaining the head in the currently required position or in rapidly moving the head to the next required position. The visualization can include a symbolic depiction of the head in the required position. The visualization can include a sequence of positions the patient needs to follow, synchronized in time with the MRI sequence. Patient motion suppression using amplification factors may be performed as described elsewhere herein.

[0038] In another use case, medical imaging is performed at multiple head orientations relative to the magnetic field for quantitative MRI (T2* and magnetic susceptibility). In this case, the head needs to be positioned and locked at each different angle for the duration of the sequence. Uncomfortable positions may not be maintained by the patient for the required period and therefore may have to be repeated.

[0039] In yet another use case, a monoscopic VR display renders an image of the head against a reference grid so that the patient can follow a prescribed movement path (e.g., in one plane corresponding to a nodding movement). Deviations from the optimal movement path are displayed against the reference plane. Once the movement along the movement path is completed, the display switches to a different plane (e.g., a second plane corresponding to a left-right movement of the head). Stereoscopic VR can be applied to more complex movements such as free rotation (both "nodding" and left-right movements) of the anatomical region of interest such as the head, neck, knee, hip, or other joints to find the pain point or area. Here, a 3D reference grid can be displayed to help the patient see the required movement path of the anatomical region of interest. The anatomical region of interest can be symbolically (e.g., using lines, connecting points) depicted against the 3D reference grid. The movement of the anatomical region of interest may be tracked and stored so that the same movement can be repeated to better define the pain area.

[0040] In any of the above approaches, the amplification factor can be determined based at least in part on the anatomical region of interest. Each source of motion i can be amplified with a different amplification factor ki when depicted in the projection image. The depiction can be symbolic, for example, using symbols, emojis, animations, etc. The motion sources include tongue position associated with amplification factor k1, facial expression associated with factor k2, eye movement associated with factor k3, and / or head movement associated with factor k4. For example, head movement and tongue movement can be depicted simultaneously in the projection image. The individual movements are detected by various sensors, for example, low frequency sound or tactile systems, or additional cameras mounted on the head coil or the like to provide high resolution for face and tongue tracking.

[0041] Details of the MRI apparatus are provided herein for purposes of illustration only, and it will be understood that the techniques described herein may be applied to any form of medical imaging diagnostic that is subject to motion artifacts, including, for example, computed tomography scans.

[0042] Although the method is described herein as being performed by the control system 110 of the MRI apparatus 100, it will be appreciated that the method may equally be performed by a dedicated controller, by a controller of another component (e.g., an in-bore communication system or a projector controller), or by multiple controllers forming a distributed control system.

[0043] Although a separate camera is shown to implement the patient positioning system, it will be understood that other forms of patient positioning may be used, or the medical imaging device itself may be used to implement patient positioning.

[0044] Although the projector described above is located within the bore, it will be appreciated that the projector may be located outside the bore and still be configured to project an image onto the display surface. In other arrangements, a non-projection based display device, such as a virtual reality display or an augmented projector taunt display device, may replace the projector.

[0045] 4, there is shown a high level diagram of an exemplary computing device 800 that can be used in accordance with the systems and methods disclosed herein. The computing device 800 has at least one processor 802 that executes instructions stored in a memory 804. The instructions may be, for example, instructions for implementing a function described as being performed by one or more components described above, or instructions for implementing one or more of the methods described above. The processor 802 can access the memory 804 via a system bus 806. In addition to storing executable instructions, the memory 804 can also store conversational inputs, scores assigned to the conversational inputs, and the like.

[0046] Computing device 800 further includes a data store 808 accessible by processor 802 via system bus 806. Data store 808 may include executable instructions, log data, etc. Computing device 800 further includes an input interface 810 that allows external devices to communicate with computing device 800. For example, input interface 810 may be used to receive instructions from an external computer device, from a user, etc. For example, 800 also includes an output interface 812 that interfaces computing device 800 with one or more external devices. For example, computing device 800 may display text, images, etc. via output interface 812.

[0047] It is contemplated that external devices communicating with computing device 800 via input interface 810 and output interface 812 may be included in an environment that provides virtually any type of user interface with which a user may interact. Examples of user interface types include graphical user interfaces, natural user interfaces, and the like. For example, a graphical user interface may accept input from a user using an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, remote control, and provide output on an output device such as a display. Furthermore, a natural user interface may enable a user to interact with computing device 800 in a manner that is not subject to the constraints imposed by input devices such as a keyboard, mouse, remote control, and the like. Rather, a natural user interface may rely on voice recognition, touch and stylus recognition, on-screen and adjacent-screen gesture recognition, air gestures, head and eye tracking, voice and speech, vision, touch, gestures, machine intelligence, and the like.

[0048] Moreover, although depicted as a single system, it should be understood that computing device 800 may be a distributed system such that, for example, several devices may be in communication over a network connection and collectively perform the tasks described as being performed by computing device 800.

[0049] Various functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. A computer-readable medium includes a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium can be any available storage medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of non-limiting examples, such computer-readable storage media can include flash storage media, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disk, as used herein, include compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital versatile disks (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray disks (BDs), where disks typically reproduce data magnetically and disks typically reproduce data optically using lasers. Additionally, propagated signals are not included within the scope of computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media also includes communication media, including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A connection may be, for example, a communications medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of communications media. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0050] Alternatively, or in addition, the functionalities described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), program specific integrated circuits (ASICs), program specific standard products (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0051] It will be appreciated that the circuits described above may have other functions in addition to those described above, and that these functions may be performed by the same circuitry.

[0052] Applicant discloses each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features solely to the extent that such feature or combination can be implemented based on the specification as a whole in light of the common general knowledge of those skilled in the art, regardless of whether such feature or combination solves any problem disclosed herein, and without being limited by the scope of the claims. Applicant indicates that aspects of the invention may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features.

[0053] It should be noted that the category forms are each described with reference to a different subject matter. In particular, some examples are described with reference to a method, and other examples are described with reference to an apparatus. However, a person skilled in the art will gather from the description that, unless otherwise notified, any combination of features belonging to one category, as well as any combination between features relating to different categories, is also considered to be disclosed by the present application. However, all features can be combined to provide a synergistic effect that is greater than the simple sum of the features.

[0054] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or explanatory and not restrictive. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

[0055] The term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps.

[0056] The indefinite articles "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used herein should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or unless it is clear from the context that a singular form is intended.

[0057] A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims.

[0058] The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0059] The computer program may be stored / distributed on a suitable medium, such as an optical storage medium or a solid-state medium, supplied together with or as part of other hardware, but may also be distributed in other forms, such as via the Internet or other wired or wireless communication systems.

[0060] Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.

[0061] Unless otherwise stated or clear from the context, as used herein, the phrases "one or more of A, B, and C," "at least one of A, B, and C," and "A, B, and / or C" are intended to mean all possible permutations of one or more of the listed items. That is, the phrase "X includes A and / or B" is satisfied by any of the following instances: X includes A; X includes B; or X includes both A and B.

Claims

**Claim 1** A computer-implemented method for achieving motion suppression in a medical imaging device, comprising: obtaining image data that defines an image to be displayed to a patient within a bore of the medical imaging device; controlling a display device to display the image to the patient within the bore; obtaining data indicating a real-time position of an anatomical region of interest including the patient's head and / or eyes during a medical imaging scan; detecting motion of the anatomical region of interest using the data indicating the real-time position; responding to detecting the motion by adapting the displayed image to achieve motion suppression of the patient by repositioning the displayed image to a location with respect to the bore that prompts the patient to return the patient's head and / or eyes to their original positions, wherein repositioning includes repositioning a frame of the displayed image; A method having the above steps. **Claim 2** The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in response to detecting movement of the patient's head and / or eyes to one side, moving the displayed image towards the side opposite to the one side. **Claim 3** The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in response to detecting movement of the patient's head and / or eyes to one side, moving the displayed image to the same side, wherein the movement of the image is amplified with respect to the movement of the head and / or eyes by an amplification factor k. **Claim 4** The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising, in response to detecting movement of the patient's head and / or eyes towards their original positions, moving the displayed image back towards its original position. **Claim 5** The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of adapting the displayed image includes depicting the detected movement of the anatomical region of interest within the displayed image. **Claim 6** The method according to claim 5, wherein the detected movement of the anatomical region of interest is depicted in the displayed image using an amplification factor k. **Claim 7** The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, claim 5, or claim 6, further comprising the step of controlling the display device to render the image as a stereoscopic image.

8. The method according to claim 3 or 6, further comprising the step of determining the amplification factor based at least in part on the anatomical region of interest.

9. The method according to claim 3 or 6, further comprising the step of determining the amplification factor based at least in part on the motion sensitivity of the medical imaging scan.

10. Detecting a line-of-sight position off-center from the patient's center using the data indicating the real-time position; Applying a perspective transformation to the image data to adapt the displayed image to the off-center line-of-sight position; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, claim 5, or claim 6, further comprising.

11. A method of controlling a medical imaging device, comprising: Controlling the medical imaging device to perform a medical imaging scan to image an anatomical region of interest of a patient; During the medical imaging scan, performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, claim 5, or claim 6; A method, comprising.

12. A controller configured to execute the method according to claim 1.

13. A medical imaging device having the controller according to claim 12.

14. A computer-readable medium having instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, claim 5, or claim 6.

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