X-ray CT apparatus and image reconstruction method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9406121-B2
Application number	US-201314372250-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 18, 2013
Priority date	Apr 24, 2012
Publication date	Aug 2, 2016
Grant date	Aug 2, 2016

Abstract

To generate a reconstructed image suitable to characteristics of a bilaterally symmetric site and possible to an appropriate image diagnosis, a computation device: computes a back projection phase width at a rotational center and distance between the rotational center location which is a reference location and a pixel to be reconstructed; according to the distance between the rotational center location and the pixel to be reconstructed, sets a function (f 1 ) changing the back projection phase width; computes a back projection phase width in the pixel to be reconstructed, substituting a value of the distance between the rotational center location and a pixel to be reconstructed in the function (f 1 ); computes a view weighting, on the basis of the back projection phase width in the post-correction pixel to be reconstructed and a slope width of a view weighting function; and reconstructs a CT image, using the view weighting.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An X-ray CT apparatus comprising:
an X-ray generation device including a cathode and anode, to irradiate an X-ray from around a test object;
an X-ray detection device including plural detectors to detect the X-ray penetrating the test object;
a data collection device that collects data detected by the X-ray detection device; and
a computation device that inputs the data collected by the data collection device to create projection data and reconstructs a CT image using the projection data,
wherein the computation device calculates a back projection phase width in each pixel on the basis of a reduction rate of the back projection phase width relative to a reference position regulated by one or more reference points on an axial plane at a position apart from the reference position only by a reference distance, calculates a view weight using the back projection phase width in each pixel, and reconstructs the CT image using the view weight.

2. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel in accordance with a function of the distance.

3. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel so as to have the same value in a concentric manner from the reference position as a rotational center position in the axial plane.

4. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel so as to be monotonically narrowed relative to the distance from the reference position as a test object center position in the axial plane and so as to have the same value in a concentric manner.

5. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel so as to be monotonically narrowed relative to the distance from the reference position as a reconstruction center position in the axial plane and so as to have the same value in a concentric manner.

6. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device limits a lower limit of a slope width of a view weighting function regulating the view weight and a lower limit of the back projection phase width.

7. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel on the basis of the back projection phase width at a preliminarily-set reference position and the back projection phase width at the position apart from the reference position only by the reference distance.

8. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device changes a value of a base variable to calculate the back projection phase width in each pixel in accordance with a site.

9. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the computation device changes a value of a base variable to calculate the back projection phase width in each pixel in accordance with a reconstruction filter.

10. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein it is possible to obtain the projection data by axial scanning, and the computation device narrows the back projection phase width in each pixel in accordance with a distance from a reference slice in the body axis direction.

11. An X-ray CT apparatus comprising:
an X-ray generation device including a cathode and anode, to irradiate an X-ray from around a test object;
an X-ray detection device including plural detectors to detect the X-ray penetrating the test object;
a data collection device that collects data detected by the X-ray detection device; and
a computation device that inputs the data collected by the data collection device to create projection data and reconstructs a CT image using the projection data,
wherein the computation device calculates a back projection phase width in each pixel on the basis of a distance from a reference position regulated by one or more reference points on an axial plane, calculates a view weight using the back projection phase width in each pixel, and reconstructs the CT image using the view weight,
wherein the computation device limits a lower limit of a slope width of a view weighting function regulating the view weight and a lower limit of the back projection phase width, and
wherein the lower limit γ min of the slope width satisfies γ min ≧0, and the lower limit F min of the back projection phase width satisfies F min ≧0.5+γ min .

12. An image reconstruction method in an x-ray CT apparatus which includes an X-ray generation device including a cathode and anode, to irradiate an X-ray from around a test object, an X-ray detection device including plural detectors to detect the X-ray penetrating the test object, a data collection device that collects data detected by the X-ray detection device, and a computation device that inputs the data collected by the data collection device to create projection data and reconstructs a CT image using the projection data, the method comprising the steps executed by the computation device of:
calculating a back projection phase width in each pixel on the basis of a reduction rate of the back projection phase width relative to a reference position regulated by one or more reference points on an axial plane at a position apart from the reference position only by a reference distance, calculating a view weight using the back projection phase width in each pixel, and reconstructing the CT image using the view weight.

13. An X-ray CT apparatus comprising:
an X-ray generation device including a cathode and anode, to irradiate an X-ray from around a test object;
an X-ray detection device including plural detectors to detect the X-ray penetrating the test object;
a data collection device that collects data detected by the X-ray detection device; and
a computation device that inputs the data collected by the data collection device to create projection data and reconstructs a CT image using the projection data,
wherein the computation device calculates a back projection phase width in each pixel on the basis of a distance from a reference position regulated by one or more reference points on an axial plane, calculates a view weight using the back projection phase width in each pixel, and reconstructs the CT image using the view weight, and
wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel from the reference position other than a rotational center position in the axial plane as to have the same value in a concentric manner from the reference position.

14. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel so as to be monotonically narrowed relative to the distance from the reference position as a test object center position in the axial plane.

15. The X-ray CT apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the computation device calculates the back projection phase width in each pixel so as to be monotonically narrowed relative to the distance from the reference position as a reconstruction center position in the axial plane.

Assignees

• Hitachi Medical Corp

Inventors

• Goto Taiga
• Takahashi Hisashi
• Hirokawa Koichi

Classifications

• G06T12/20 Primary

  Inverse problem, i.e. transformations from projection space into object space · CPC title

• G06T7/0012 Primary

  Biomedical image inspection · CPC title

• A61B6/032

  Transmission computed tomography [CT] · CPC title

• G06T2211/412

  Dynamic · CPC title

• A61B6/5205

  involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data · CPC title