Radiological imaging method

Inventors

BEUCHER, Jérôme • Desaute, Pascal • KYRGYZOV, Khrystyna • LEMOUSSU, Audrey • MORICHAU-BEAUCHANT, Pierre • OUAMARA, Hamid

Assignees

EOS Imaging SA

Abstract

A radiological imaging method including: 2 radiation sources with imaging directions orthogonal to each other, performing vertical scanning of a standing patient along a vertical scanning direction, wherein the radiological method includes at least one operating mode in which: a frontal scout view is made so as to identify a specific bone(s) localization within the frontal scout view, both driving current intensity and voltage intensity modulations of the frontal radiation source, depending on patient thickness and on the identified specific bone(s) localization along the vertical scanning direction, are performed simultaneously, preferably synchronously, and automatically, so as to improve a compromise between: lowering the global radiation dose received by a patient during the vertical scanning, and increasing the local image contrasts of the identified specific bone(s) localization at different imaging positions along the vertical scanning direction, for the frontal image.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a radiological imaging method in which two radiation sources with imaging directions orthogonal to each other, one frontal radiation source and one lateral radiation source, slide vertically to perform vertical scanning of a standing patient along a vertical scanning direction. The method uses at least one operating mode in which a preliminary vertical scanning is performed to obtain scout views, and is configured to identify specific bone(s) localization within the scout view(s) along the vertical scanning direction.

After scout view processing to identify specific bone(s) localization, the invention automatically modulates the driving current intensity and the driving voltage intensity along the vertical scanning direction depending on patient thickness and on the identified specific bone(s) localization along the vertical scanning direction. The driving current intensity modulation and the driving voltage intensity modulation are performed simultaneously, preferably synchronously, and automatically.

The objective of the modulation is to improve a compromise between lowering the global radiation dose received by a patient during the vertical scanning and increasing the local image contrasts of the identified specific bone(s) localization at different imaging positions along the vertical scanning direction. The compromise is specified for the frontal image and/or for the lateral image, depending on which scout view and which source(s) are used for the operating mode.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims cover vertical scanning of a standing patient using orthogonal frontal and lateral radiation sources, with scout-view-based bone localization and automatic simultaneous, preferably synchronous, modulation of driving current intensity and driving voltage intensity along the scan direction to balance global dose and local bone contrast. Independent claim set: three independent claims (clm-00001, clm-00002, clm-00003).

Across the independent claims, the coverage centers on vertical scanning of a standing patient using orthogonal frontal and lateral radiation sources, where scout views are processed to identify specific bone(s) localization along the vertical scanning direction and where driving current intensity and driving voltage intensity are modulated simultaneously, preferably synchronously, and automatically along the vertical scanning direction to reduce global radiation dose while increasing local bone image contrast.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications