Proximity detector for body contouring system of a medical camera
US5376796A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 25, 1992 |
| Grant date | Dec 27, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 25, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01T1/1648
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A direct measurement system for proximity detection of a body profile for use within nuclear medicine. The measurement system includes two or three proximity detector units mounted on a gantry structure of a nuclear medicine camera which each emit an energy beam which is swept across a portion of a target body. Each detector is capable of directly measuring the distance from the proximity detector unit to the target body with a beam sample. The detectors then create a body profile of the target body which is used to minimize the distance between the collimator of a scanning camera and the target body surface thus improving image quality of the scanning camera. There is relative motion between the object and the gantry along a cranial-caudal axis of a target body for scanning successive body profiles. Successive body profiles are combined together to achieve a complete body contour of the target body. The proximity detector units are stationary with respect to movement of the scanning camera toward said target body. Body contour data is also used for attentuation correction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.