PET-CT Top Board Sagging Correction via Weight Distribution Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In medical image diagnosis devices like PET-CT, the difference in sagging of the top board due to weight variation between PET and X-ray CT gantries complicates accurate alignment and fusion of PET and X-ray CT images, making it difficult to generate highly accurate fused images.
Innovation Solution
An image diagnosis device with a positioning image collection unit, weight distribution estimation unit, top board sagging amount estimation unit, and alignment adjustment unit that estimates the weight distribution and sagging of the top board, allowing for precise alignment and correction of captured images to produce accurate fused images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If PET and X-ray CT gantries are sequentially arranged in tandem to perform examinations in succession, then the device can generate both PET and X-ray CT images using a single integrated system, but the different distances from the couch to each gantry cause different amounts of top board sagging due to patient weight, making accurate alignment and fusion of the two image types difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurement of top board sagging using positioning images acquired by the X-ray CT gantry before the actual PET imaging. By estimating the sagging amount in advance based on the positioning image data and the known relationship between object weight and sagging, the system can pre-correct the top board position, ensuring accurate alignment when the PET image is later fused with the X-ray CT image.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses positioning images from the X-ray CT gantry as feedback to estimate the object's weight distribution and the resulting top board sagging. This feedback information is then used to calculate correction amounts that adjust the top board position, creating a closed-loop control system that compensates for sagging effects and enables precise image fusion.
2Device complexity
If the top board position is not visible in PET images, then the PET imaging process is simpler, but alignment of top boards between PET and X-ray CT captured images becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces positioning images from the X-ray CT gantry as an intermediary element. These positioning images serve as a reference that contains visible top board position information, which is then used to estimate sagging and guide the alignment process. This intermediary allows the system to transfer alignment information from the X-ray CT domain (where the top board is visible) to the PET domain (where it is not visible), enabling precise alignment without modifying the PET imaging process itself.
3Manufacturing precision
If weight distribution estimation and sagging correction are implemented to improve image fusion accuracy, then aligned fused images can be generated, but additional processing steps and computational complexity are required
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a computational model that copies the physical relationship between object weight and top board sagging. By using positioning image data to estimate weight distribution and then applying a pre-determined sagging model, the system can predict and correct top board position without requiring complex real-time measurements or additional hardware. This copying approach simplifies the processing while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
An image diagnosis device comprising: a positioning image collection unit configured to collect a positioning image for an object; a weight distribution estimation unit configured to estimate a weight distribution of the object from the collected positioning image; a top board sagging amount estimation unit configured to estimate an amount of sagging of a top board on which the object is placed, from the estimated weight distribution; and an alignment adjustment unit configured to perform alignment for each captured image of the object, based on the estimated amount of sagging of the top board.