Bone suppression in X-ray imaging

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9875531-B2
Application number	US-201314433392-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2013
Priority date	Oct 5, 2012
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

The present invention relates to medical image viewing in relation with navigation in X-ray imaging. In order to provide improved X-ray images, for example for cardiac procedures, allowing a facilitated perception while ensuring that increased details are visible, a medical image viewing device ( 10 ) for navigation in X-ray imaging is provided that comprises an image data providing unit ( 12 ), a processing unit ( 14 ), and a display unit ( 16 ). The image data providing unit is configured to provide an angiographic image of a region of interest of an object. The processing unit is configured to identify a suppression area for partial bone suppression within the angiographic image, and to identify and locally suppress predetermined bone structures in the angiographic image in the suppression area, and to generate a partly-bone-suppressed image. Further, the display unit is configured to display the partly-bone-suppressed image.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medical image viewing device for navigation in X-ray imaging, comprising:
a processor configured to receive an angiographic image of a region of interest of an object, to identify a suppression area for partial bone suppression within the angiographic image, and to identify and locally suppress bone structures in the angiographic image in the suppression area of the region of interest, while providing bone structures outside the suppression area, yet in the region of interest, to generate a partly-bone-suppressed image; and
a display configured to display the partly-bone-suppressed image.

2. The medical image viewing device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further configured to receive a current fluoroscopy image of the region of interest from an image acquisition device; to track a device in the current fluoroscopy image; to register the current fluoroscopy image and the angiographic image; to transfer a position of the tracked device to the angiographic image and to define a predefined region around the position of the device as the suppression area.

3. The medical image viewing device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive a sequence of angiographic images and a sequence of fluoroscopy images from an image acquisition device; to register the identified bone structures in the suppression area on each angiogram image; to determine to which of the angiogram images a current fluoroscopy image corresponds; to estimate motion between the determined angiogram image and the current fluoroscopy image; and to compute an intersection between the registered bone structures and the identified suppression area and to output the region of interest including the suppression area in which the bone structures are to be suppressed.

4. A medical imaging system, comprising:
an X-ray image acquisition device comprising an X-ray source and an X-ray detector, and configured to provide X-ray images of an object; and
the medical image viewing device according to claim 1 , wherein the angiographic image is received from the X-ray image acquisition device.

5. A method for providing improved X-ray image navigation information using a image processor, the method comprising steps:
a) receiving an angiographic image of a region of interest of an object;
b) identifying a suppression area in the region of interest for partial bone suppression within the angiographic image based, at least in part, on the angiographic image and at least one fluoroscopic image provided by an X-ray image acquisition device;
c) identifying and locally suppressing bone structures in the angiographic image in the suppression area, while maintaining the bone structures outside the suppression area, yet in the region of interest, to generate a partly-bone-suppressed image; and
d) providing the partly-bone-suppressed image to a display for displaying the partly-bone-suppressed image.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein step b) comprises identifying the suppression area by an input device.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein step b) comprises:
b1) providing a current fluoroscopy image of the region of interest;
b2) tracking a device in the current fluoroscopy image;
b3) registering the fluoroscopy image and the angiographic image; and
b4) transferring a position of the tracked device to the angiographic image and defining a predefined region around the position of the device as the suppression area.

8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising combining the partly-bone-suppressed image with image data from the current fluoroscopy image to form a partly-bone-suppressed roadmap; wherein the partly-bone-suppressed roadmap is displayed.

9. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising receiving a sequence of angiographic images; and receiving a sequence of fluoroscopy images; and
wherein step c) comprises sub-steps:
c3) registering the identified bone structures on each angiogram image;
c4) determining to which of the angiograms the current fluoroscopy image corresponds;
c5) estimating motion between the determined angiogram and the current fluoroscopy image; and
c6) computing an intersection between the registered bone structures and the identified suppression area and outputting the region of interest including the suppression area in which the bone structures are to be suppressed.

10. The method according to claim 5 , wherein in step c) comprises:
i) computing a full suppression image for every detected bone, wherein the suppression is only visualized in the suppression area; or
ii) suppressing each bone structure intersecting with the suppression area along its complete detected length.

11. The method according to claim 5 , wherein bone structures outside the suppression area are kept visible as anatomical markers facilitating navigation.

12. The method according to claim 5 , wherein step c) comprises sub-steps:
c1) detecting and segmenting bone structures; and
c2) estimating respective contributions of the segmented bond structures to the at least one fluoroscopic image.

13. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the region of interest is a heart; and wherein the method provides navigation support in cardiac procedures.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program, executable by a computer processor, for providing X-ray image navigation information using a image processor, the computer readable medium comprising:
receiving code for receiving an angiographic image of a region of interest of an object;
identifying code for identifying a suppression area in the region of interest for partial bone suppression within the angiographic image based, at least in part, on the angiographic image and at least one fluoroscopic image provided by an X-ray image acquisition device;
suppressing code for identifying and locally suppressing bone structures in the angiographic image in the suppression area, while maintaining the bone structures outside the suppression area, yet in the region of interest, to generate a partly-bone-suppressed image; and
display code for causing the partly-bone-suppressed image to be displayed.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Goossen Andre
• Florent Raoul
• Levrier Claire
• Von Berg Jens

Classifications

• A61B6/504

  for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography · CPC title

• G06T5/50 Primary

  using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction · CPC title

• G06T2207/10121

  Fluoroscopy · CPC title

• A61B2090/364

  Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body · CPC title

• G06T7/20

  Analysis of motion (motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51) · CPC title