X-ray CT Apparatus Local High-Resolution Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional X-ray CT apparatus face challenges in preventing an increase in radiation dose while acquiring high-resolution images of specific regions of interest, as they often require high-dose X-ray scans to achieve high resolution, leading to increased radiation exposure.
Innovation Solution
The X-ray CT apparatus employs a control method that adjusts the irradiation region and uses a successive approximation method for image reconstruction, allowing for low-dose scanning in standard resolution mode and high-resolution scanning only in specified regions of interest, thereby reducing radiation dose and enhancing image quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high-dose X-ray scanning is used to achieve high resolution imaging, then spatial resolution is improved, but radiation dose increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adjusting the X-ray irradiation region to match the region of interest specified by the observer. Instead of uniformly scanning the entire subject at high resolution, the system concentrates high-resolution scanning only on the specified region while using lower resolution for other areas, thereby reducing overall radiation dose while maintaining high spatial resolution where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the imaging process into two stages: first acquiring a standard-resolution image of the entire subject, then identifying a region of interest and performing successive approximation reconstruction only for that specific region. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high resolution in the region of interest without applying high-dose scanning to the entire subject.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If standard-resolution scanning is used to reduce radiation dose, then radiation dose is reduced, but spatial resolution deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary low-dose standard-resolution scanning to acquire an initial image of the entire subject. This preliminary action allows the system to identify the region of interest and then apply successive approximation reconstruction only to that specific region, achieving high resolution locally without requiring high-dose whole-body scanning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the standard-resolution image as an intermediary to guide the high-resolution reconstruction process. The standard-resolution image helps identify the region of interest, which then becomes the target for successive approximation reconstruction. This intermediary approach allows the system to transition from low-dose whole-body scanning to targeted high-resolution imaging of specific regions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the acquisition of high-resolution images with reduced radiation exposure by optimizing X-ray dosage and image processing, allowing for precise high-resolution imaging of specific areas without increasing the overall radiation dose.
Implementation Method 1
emit X-rays to a subject and detect the X-rays that have passed through the subject to collect projection data
Data Source
AI summary
A medical image diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment includes an input circuitry, a scan control circuitry, and a reconstruction control circuitry. The input circuitry receives a specifying operation for specifying, from a region of a first medical image acquired such that the first medical image contains less noise, a region for which a second medical image that is a higher-definition image than the first medical image is acquired. The scan control circuitry adjusts an irradiation region of X-rays in a slice direction and a channel direction such that a part corresponding to the region on which the specifying operation is received by the input circuitry is irradiated with the X-rays. The reconstruction control circuitry performs reconstruction, on the first medical image as an initial image, by the successive approximation method by using projection data collected after the irradiation region of the X-rays is adjusted by the scan control circuitry.