Dual-Energy Contrast Imaging With Artifact Region Suppression

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing contrast imaging techniques often include artifacts composed of materials with high radiation absorbance, which affect the clarity of radiographic images by obscuring the contrast medium.

Innovation Solution

An image processing device and method that acquires low-energy and high-energy images, specifies an artifact region, and generates a second difference image where the influence of artifacts is suppressed, using image processing to emphasize regions other than the artifact region.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If contrast imaging is performed to emphasize the contrast medium, then the visibility of the contrast medium is improved, but artifacts composed of high-radiation-absorbance materials obscure the contrast medium and reduce image clarity

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisibility of contrast mediumVSAvoidartifact obscuration

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image processing into distinct stages: acquiring low-energy and high-energy images, generating a difference image, specifying artifact regions, and generating a corrected difference image. This segmentation allows independent processing of contrast medium enhancement and artifact suppression, resolving the contradiction between visibility enhancement and obscuration reduction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and removes artifact regions from the difference image through artifact region specification and corrected difference image generation. By taking out the harmful artifact components while preserving the contrast medium information, the patent achieves both high visibility of the contrast medium and reduced obscuration effects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If artifact regions are specified and corrected to suppress artifact influence, then image clarity is improved, but the processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveartifact influenceVSAvoidprocessing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by acquiring both low-energy and high-energy images before generating the difference image. This preliminary acquisition enables subsequent artifact region specification and corrected difference image generation, reducing the need for complex real-time processing while maintaining image clarity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a difference image as a copy or derivative of the original low-energy and high-energy images. This copying approach simplifies the processing by working with a simplified representation that highlights contrast medium while reducing artifact complexity, making subsequent artifact suppression more manageable.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

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

The method produces a difference image where the contrast medium is clearly shown while minimizing the impact of artifacts, enhancing image clarity.

Implementation Method 1

a low-energy image captured by irradiating an object, into which a contrast medium has been injected, with radiation having first energy emitted from a radiation source and detecting the radiation with a radiation detector

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectRadiation emission and detection: Radiation

Data Source

PatentUS12471871B2Image processing device, image processing method, and image processing program to reduce influence of artifacts in contrast imaging

Publication Date: 2025.11.18 FUJIFILM CORP

AI summary

A processor of an image processing device acquires a low-energy image captured by irradiating an object, into which a contrast medium has been injected, with radiation having first energy emitted from a radiation source and detecting the radiation with a radiation detector, a high-energy image captured by irradiating the object with radiation having second energy higher than the first energy emitted from the radiation source and detecting the radiation with the radiation detector, and a first difference image indicating a difference between the high-energy image and the low-energy image, specifies an artifact region including an artifact from the first difference image, and generates a second difference image which indicates the difference between the high-energy image and the low-energy image and in which an influence of an artifact component caused by the artifact has been suppressed on the basis of the artifact region.