Cyclic Object Imaging Without ECG Electrodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical imaging techniques, such as PET/SPECT, face challenges with movement unsharpness due to cyclic heart movements, particularly in patients with irregular heart rates, which compromises the advantage of high spatial resolution and requires additional time-consuming ECG electrode application and potentially poor signal quality.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses a combination of imaging modalities with different spatial resolution and sensitivity, such as MR and SPECT/PET, to continuously record and segment image data, assigning it to specific phases of the cardiac cycle without ECG electrodes, improving signal-to-noise ratio and reducing movement artifacts by translating image data using movement vectors determined from MR data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If ECG gating technique is used to compensate movement unsharpness, then movement artifacts are satisfactorily compensated, but additional time-consuming ECG electrode application is required and measuring time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the imaging device's own recorded image data to determine movement phases and gating timing, eliminating the need for external ECG electrodes and ECG signal processing. The imaging device serves itself by extracting temporal phase information directly from the images it captures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts movement phase information directly from the image data recorded by the imaging device, removing the dependency on ECG electrodes and ECG signal processing. This extraction approach eliminates the time-consuming electrode application and ECG signal analysis steps.
2Measurement precision
If ECG gating technique is used to compensate movement unsharpness, then movement artifacts are satisfactorily compensated, but ECG electrodes interfere with electromagnetic fields requiring special ECG systems
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging device determines gating timing autonomously using its own image data, eliminating the need for separate ECG electrode systems and their associated electromagnetic field interference issues. The system becomes self-sufficient without requiring additional specialized hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts phase information directly from image data, removing the ECG electrode system entirely from the imaging process. This eliminates the complexity of managing ECG electrodes and their electromagnetic field interactions with the imaging device.
3Measurement precision
If ECG gating technique is used to compensate movement unsharpness, then movement artifacts are compensated, but signal quality is insufficient in patients with irregular heart rates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses image data from the imaging device itself to determine movement phases, providing a reliable basis for gating that is independent of ECG signal quality. The imaging device's own images serve as the trusted reference for timing, ensuring reliable operation even in patients with irregular heart rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts phase information directly from image data rather than relying on ECG signals. This approach eliminates the reliability issues associated with ECG signal quality in patients with cardiac disorders, as the phase determination is based on actual image content rather than electrical signals that may be pathologically altered.
4Measurement precision
If ECG gating technique is used to compensate movement unsharpness, then movement artifacts are compensated, but data is discarded and measuring time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the imaging data into different temporal phases (e.g., systole, diastole) based on movement characteristics extracted from the images themselves. This segmentation allows selective processing of data from specific phases without discarding other data, improving overall data utilization efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts gating timing based on real-time movement phase detection from image data, rather than relying on fixed ECG-based timing. This dynamic approach optimizes data usage by aligning measurements with actual movement phases, improving productivity and reducing wasted measurement time.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and a device are disclosed for imaging cyclically moving objects using a first and a second imaging method which differ at least with regard to the spatial resolution or the sensitivity. In at least one embodiment of the process, images of the object are continuously recorded by the first imaging method. Temporally different phases of a movement cycle of the object are extracted from the images recorded by the first imaging method. Images of the object are recorded by the second imaging method. The image data recorded in each case in a same, repeating phase of the of the movement cycle by the second imaging method are summed and temporally assigned to the different phases of the movement cycle.