Scattered Ray Reduction in Medical Image Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical image processing techniques struggle to accurately reduce scattered X-ray components in images without causing excessive correction, especially in images with direct radiation components or those transmitted through partially thin portions of an object, leading to increased calculation time and potential display delays in real-time applications.
Innovation Solution
A medical image processing apparatus that transforms pixel values higher than a reference value into lower values, generates a scattered ray image by approximating the scattering function based on the transformed image and X-ray conditions, and subtracts this image from the original to produce a scattered ray reduced image, thereby reducing scattered ray components without excessive correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If scattered ray correction processing is executed using conventional frequency space transformation methods, then scattered ray components can be reduced, but the method cannot properly handle images with direct radiation components or non-direct radiation components transmitted through partially thin portions, resulting in excessive correction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transforming pixel values based on their intensity characteristics. Pixel values are classified into different ranges (e.g., high, medium, low intensity) and transformed differently according to their local properties. This allows the scattering function to be adjusted locally for different radiation types (direct vs. non-direct) without applying a uniform correction across the entire image, thereby preventing excessive correction in regions with direct radiation components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of pixel value transformation based on intensity thresholds. By defining different transformation rules for pixel values above and below reference thresholds, the system adapts the scattering correction parameters dynamically. This enables proper handling of both direct radiation components (high pixel values) and non-direct radiation components (lower pixel values) with appropriate correction strength for each region.
2Measurement precision
If repetitive operation is performed multiple times to improve scattered ray reduction accuracy, then scattered ray components are reduced more effectively, but calculation time increases significantly, causing display delays in real-time applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing the scattering correction only once with an optimized transformation method, rather than repeating the operation multiple times. The single-pass correction uses intensity-based pixel value transformation to achieve sufficient accuracy without the computational burden of iterative processing. This partial action approach maintains real-time display capability while providing effective scattered ray reduction.
3Measurement precision
If conventional scattered ray correction methods are applied to images with direct radiation components, then scattered ray components are reduced, but the correction becomes excessive for regions with high direct radiation intensity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by transforming pixel values based on their intensity characteristics. Pixel values are classified into different ranges (e.g., high, medium, low intensity) and transformed differently according to their local properties. This allows the scattering function to be adjusted locally for different radiation types (direct vs. non-direct) without applying a uniform correction across the entire image, thereby preventing excessive correction in regions with direct radiation components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of pixel value transformation based on intensity thresholds. By defining different transformation rules for pixel values above and below reference thresholds, the system adapts the scattering correction parameters dynamically. This enables proper handling of both direct radiation components (high pixel values) and non-direct radiation components (lower pixel values) with appropriate correction strength for each region.
Data Source
AI summary
An X-ray image processing apparatus includes a storage unit, a transformed image generation unit, a scattered ray image generation unit, and a scattered ray reduced image generation unit. The storage unit stores a medical image. The transformed image generation unit generates a transformed image by transforming pixel values, of a plurality of pixel values constituting the medical image, which are higher than a reference value obtained based on a representative value of the plurality of pixel values into pixel values lower than the reference value. The scattered ray image generation unit generates a scattered ray image based on the transformed image and a scattering function. The scattered ray reduced image generation unit generates a scattered ray reduced image with reduced scattered rays by using the medical image and the scattered ray image.