Method for determining a property map of an object, particularly of a living being, based on at least a first image, particularly a magnetic resonance image

US8290568B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen Universitätsklinikum · DE

Inventors

• Bernd J. Pichler · Scheyern, DE
• Matthias Hofmann · Schweinfurt, DE
• Bernhard Schölkopf · Bingen, DE
• Florian Steinke · Munich, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Jan 9, 2009
• Grant date: Oct 16, 2012
• Expiry date: Jun 27, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06T2207/30196
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

It is disclosed a system and method (12) for determining a property map (82) of an object, particularly a human being, based on at least a first image (84), particularly an magnetic resonance (MR) image, of the object. In the method (12), a structure of reference pairs is defined in a first step (96), wherein each reference pair (16-26) comprises at least two entries (62). The first entry represents a property value, particularly an attenuation value. The second entry (62) preferably represents a group of image points (67) belonging together, which is extracted particularly from MR images (28) and comprises an interesting image point corresponding to the property value. In another step (98) of the method (12) a plurality of training pairs (16-26) is provided. A structure of the training pairs (16-26) corresponds to the structure of reference pairs, and the entries of respective training pairs (16-26) are known. In another step (100) of the method (12), an assignment between the first entries and the other entries (62-66) of the training pairs (16-26) is determined by machine learning, thus allowing prediction of a property value (88) corresponding to an arbitrary point (90) of the …