Reference Gate Selection for Respiratory Motion Artifacts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional imaging systems face challenges in reducing imaging artifacts caused by object motion, particularly respiratory motion, which can lead to suboptimal image quality due to the selection of non-ideal reference gates during image acquisition.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for selecting a reference gate in multi-modality imaging systems by acquiring a four-dimensional emission dataset, sorting it into gates, calculating slice activity values, generating maximum difference values, and selecting a reference gate based on these values to improve image registration and quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a reference gate is selected for image registration, then the imaging artifacts are reduced, but the image quality may be reduced if the reference gate has fewer pixels or reduced pixel intensity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the selection criteria for the reference gate from arbitrary or intensity-based selection to a criterion based on maximizing the number of pixels with intensity above a threshold. This parameter change ensures that the reference gate has optimal pixel density and intensity for registration while still being able to reduce motion artifacts through the gating process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual or heuristic reference gate selection with an automated algorithm that objectively selects the gate with the maximum number of high-intensity pixels. This substitution ensures consistent, reproducible selection of optimal reference gates without operator bias or subjectivity.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the patient holds their breath during the scan, then respiratory motion artifacts are reduced, but the scan duration increases and patient compliance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the emission dataset into multiple temporal gates based on respiratory cycle information. This segmentation allows the system to process and register data from different respiratory phases independently, enabling motion correction without requiring the patient to hold their breath throughout the entire scan.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous scanning while using respiratory gating to selectively process data from specific phases of the respiratory cycle. This allows the scan to continue uninterrupted while still achieving motion correction through the gating and registration process, eliminating the need for breath-holding interruptions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for selecting a reference gate includes acquiring a four-dimensional (4D) emission dataset of an object of interest, sorting the 4D emission dataset into a plurality of gates, calculating a slice activity value for each slice in the plurality of gates, generating a maximum difference value for each gate using the plurality of slice activity values, and selecting a reference gate based on the locations of the maximum difference values. An imaging system and a non-transitory computer readable medium are also described herein.