X-ray CT Differential View Image for Motion Artifact Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
X-ray CT devices face challenges in accurately diagnosing angiostenosis due to motion artifacts, leading to misdiagnosis and the need for reexamination or incorrect operations, especially when using electrocardiography-gated scans.
Innovation Solution
The X-ray CT device creates a differential view image by eliminating background information from X-ray transmission images using a forward projection operation, allowing for clearer visualization of blood vessels and improved diagnostic accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrocardiography-gated scan is used to reduce motion artifacts, then diagnostic ability is improved, but misdiagnosis rate increases due to residual motion artifacts and false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes background information from X-ray transmission images through forward projection operations, isolating only the blood vessel information. This extraction process eliminates interfering background structures that cause false positives in stenosis diagnosis, thereby reducing misdiagnosis rates while maintaining the diagnostic ability provided by electrocardiography-gated scanning.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces forward projection operations as an intermediary process between image acquisition and diagnosis. This intermediary step generates synthesized background images that are subtracted from original transmission images, creating differential images that highlight blood vessels while suppressing background artifacts. This mediator process resolves the contradiction by filtering out false positive information.
2Loss of information
If conventional X-ray transmission images are displayed, then complete anatomical information is provided, but background information overlaps with blood vessel information making diagnosis difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts blood vessel information from the composite X-ray transmission images by subtracting forward-projected background images. This extraction isolates the blood vessels from overlapping background structures, making them easily detectable while preserving the ability to reconstruct complete anatomical information from the original data.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention segments the X-ray transmission image into two components: background information and blood vessel information. By separating these components through differential imaging, the blood vessels become distinct and easily detectable, while the background information remains available for complete anatomical assessment when needed.
3Loss of time
If high-time-resolution imaging is performed to capture heart motion, then motion artifacts are reduced, but background structures still obscure blood vessel visualization
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts blood vessel signals from the high-time-resolution X-ray transmission images by removing background contributions through forward projection. This extraction process maintains the temporal resolution benefits for capturing heart motion while simultaneously eliminating background obscuration that hinders blood vessel detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies differential imaging to enhance the local quality of blood vessel visualization. By subtracting background information, the contrast and detectability of blood vessels are locally improved without sacrificing the global temporal resolution achieved through rapid imaging, thus resolving the contradiction between time resolution and detection difficulty.
Data Source
AI summary
A view image of high time resolution acquired in an imaging process of X-ray CT is displayed. In this display, by subtracting a background image obtained by forward projection calculation of a CT image from the view image, background is removed from the view image, and only a focused site is imaged. A transmission image of the focused site showing high display contrast and not easily influenced by a motion artifact can be thereby obtained. Thereby, in an X-ray CT device for diagnostic imaging, degradation of diagnostic ability due to motion artifacts can be prevented.