Fluoroscopy Frame Rate Adaptation for Bolus Flow Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Fluoroscopy systems face challenges in balancing frame rates to minimize radiation exposure while ensuring smooth visualization of moving structures, often leading to unnecessary increased radiation due to conservative settings for capturing moving structures.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically adapts frame rates by detecting events, such as the entry and exit of a bolus, using entropy-based metrics to optimize frame rates dynamically during the examination, minimizing time spans of higher rates to specific movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a higher frame rate is used to capture moving structures smoothly, then the visualization quality is improved, but the radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the frame rate based on real-time detection of bolus agent flow. When the bolus is detected moving through the region of interest, the system automatically increases the frame rate to capture the movement smoothly. When the bolus is not present or stationary, the system reduces the frame rate to minimize radiation exposure. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the frame rate flexible rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the fluoroscopy images for bolus agent flow and uses this feedback to automatically adjust the frame rate. The detection unit analyzes each frame to determine whether the bolus is present and moving, then the frame rate determination unit adjusts the acquisition rate accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that high frame rates are only used when necessary, optimizing both visualization quality and radiation reduction.
2Reliability
If a conservative time span with higher frame rate is set to avoid missing moving structures, then the capture reliability is improved, but the radiation exposure increases unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-adjustment by automatically detecting bolus flow and modifying the frame rate without requiring manual intervention or pre-set conservative time spans. The detection unit continuously monitors the images, and when bolus flow is detected, the system automatically switches to a higher frame rate. This self-service capability eliminates the need for conservative pre-settings while maintaining capture reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the frame rate parameter dynamically based on the detected bolus flow conditions. When the bolus is detected moving through the region of interest, the frame rate parameter is increased to ensure smooth capture. When the bolus is absent or stationary, the parameter is reduced to minimize radiation. This parameter adaptation resolves the contradiction by avoiding unnecessary conservative settings.
3Reliability
If more frames per second are captured to improve visualization, then the temporal resolution is improved, but the computational effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the frame rate parameter based on real-time bolus detection. When the bolus is present and moving, the system increases the frame rate to maintain high temporal resolution for smooth visualization. When the bolus is absent or stationary, the system reduces the frame rate to decrease computational effort. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize between temporal resolution and computational complexity as needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic monitoring of bolus flow conditions and adjusts the frame rate accordingly. Instead of maintaining a constant high frame rate, the system periodically evaluates whether high temporal resolution is necessary based on bolus presence and movement. This periodic action allows the system to maintain high computational resources only when needed, reducing overall computational effort while preserving temporal resolution when required.
Data Source
AI summary
Example embodiments relate to a system for smart frame rate adaptation by tracking bolus agent flow in fluoroscopy, a method for using said system, and a computer program product. A system for acquiring a number of medical images of a patient is suggested. The system comprises a medical imaging unit configured to acquire the number of medical images with a particular value of a frame rate; an image analysis unit configured to analyze the acquired number of medical images; an event detection unit configured to detect at least one event based on the analyzed acquired number of medical images; and a frame rate determination unit configured to determine a modified value of the frame rate based on the detected at least one event and the particular value of the frame rate. The system can minimize the radiation exposure of the patient.