Dynamic Medical Imaging Protocol Adjustment Using Patient-Specific Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dynamic medical imaging sequences often require redoing due to issues with organ motion and contrast agent flow, leading to sub-optimal image quality and inefficient use of resources, as current protocols are not adequately standardized or adaptable to individual patient needs.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for adjusting dynamic medical imaging acquisition protocols using anatomic and dynamic models to compensate for temporal variations in patient anatomy and physiology, allowing for more precise timing and motion compensation during image acquisition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dynamic medical imaging is performed using traditional acquisition protocols, then imaging can be conducted with standard settings, but image quality deteriorates due to organ motion and contrast agent flow variations
Solution Approach 1:
The acquisition protocol is transformed from a static, pre-defined set of parameters to a dynamic protocol that adapts in real-time based on detected organ motion and contrast agent flow. The system continuously monitors physiological parameters and adjusts acquisition timing, duration, and other parameters dynamically to maintain optimal image quality throughout the imaging sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The system modifies multiple acquisition parameters including timing, duration, and other imaging settings based on detected physiological variations. By changing these parameters adaptively rather than using fixed protocols, the system maintains reliable image quality across different patients and physiological conditions.
2Reliability
If manual adjustment of acquisition protocols is performed by technicians, then some customization is possible, but image quality remains sub-optimal due to lack of standardization and experience-dependent variability
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic protocol adjustment without requiring manual intervention by technicians. The automated system analyzes patient-specific physiological parameters and independently optimizes acquisition settings, eliminating experience-dependent variability and ensuring standardized, reproducible image quality across different operators and facilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates real-time feedback from physiological monitoring to automatically adjust acquisition parameters. By continuously monitoring organ motion and contrast agent flow and using this feedback to modify the protocol, the system achieves optimal image quality without manual intervention.
3Productivity
If acquisition protocols are designed for slow low-resolution scanners, then they work with legacy equipment, but they are inefficient for modern fast high-resolution scanners leading to redundant imaging
Solution Approach 1:
The protocol automatically adapts its timing and acquisition parameters based on the actual scanner speed and resolution capabilities. For fast high-resolution scanners, the protocol utilizes the enhanced capabilities by adjusting timing to match the faster acquisition rate, thereby eliminating the need for redundant imaging while maintaining compatibility with slower scanners through dynamic parameter adjustment.
4Loss of information
If patients spend considerable time in the imaging device for dynamic studies, then comprehensive dynamic information can be captured, but patient motion increases corrupting image accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic physiological signals such as respiratory cycles and cardiac beats to synchronize the image acquisition. By timing acquisitions to specific phases of these periodic motions and using the detected motion patterns to adjust timing, the system captures comprehensive dynamic information while compensating for or minimizing the effects of periodic patient motion.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to automatically adjusting an acquisition protocol for dynamic medical imaging, such as dynamic CT, MRI or PET imaging. The protocols are adjusted based on anatomic and dynamic models (10, 12, 14) which are individualized or fitted to each patient based on a scout scan (6, 8). The adjustment can compensate for changes in the patient due to patient motion (e.g. breathing or heartbeat) or flow of contrast or tracing agent during the sequence. This ensures that changes in the reconstructed images are indicative of pathological changes in the patient and not caused by patient motion or changes in scanning parameters or timing. The dynamic model can be a motion model (12) used to predict the motion of anatomic/physiologic features, typically organs, during scanning, or a haemodynamic model (14) used to predict flow of the contrast agent allowing for precise timing of the scanning sequence.