Radioactive-emission-measurement optimization to specific body structures
US8094894B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 1, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jan 10, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 14, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/10072
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Systems, methods, and probes are provided for functional imaging by radioactive-emission-measurements, specific to body structures, such as the prostate, the esophagus, the cervix, the uterus, the ovaries, the heart, the breast, the brain, and the whole body, and other body structures. The nuclear imaging may be performed alone, or together with structural imaging, for example, by x-rays, ultrasound, or MRI. Preferably, the radioactive-emission-measuring probes include detectors, which are adapted for individual motions with respect to the probe housings, to generate views from different orientations and to change their view orientations. These motions are optimized with respect to functional information gained about the body structure, by identifying preferred sets of views for measurements, based on models of the body structures and information theoretic measures. A second iteration, for identifying preferred sets of views for measurements of a portion of a body structure, based on models of a location of a pathology that has been identified, makes it possible, in effect, to zoom in on a suspected pathology. The systems are preprogrammed to provide these motions automatically.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.