US 12,121,382 B2
X-ray tomosynthesis system providing neural-net guided resolution enhancement and thinner slice generation
Dejun Wang, Beijing (CN); Buer Qi, Beijing (CN); Tao Tan, Nuenen (NL); Gireesha Chinthamani Rao, Pewaukee, WI (US); Gopal B. Avinash, Concord, CA (US); Qingming Peng, Beijing (CN); Yaan Ge, Beijing (CN); Sylvain Bernard, Montigny le Bretonneux (FR); and Vincent Bismuth, Paris (FR)
Assigned to GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed by GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed on Mar. 9, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/690,258.
Prior Publication US 2023/0284986 A1, Sep. 14, 2023
Int. Cl. A61B 6/40 (2024.01); A61B 6/00 (2006.01); A61B 6/02 (2006.01); G06N 3/045 (2023.01); G06T 3/4046 (2024.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01)
CPC A61B 6/4429 (2013.01) [A61B 6/025 (2013.01); A61B 6/5205 (2013.01); G06N 3/045 (2023.01); G06T 3/4046 (2013.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tomosynthesis apparatus, comprising:
a support assembly including an x-ray source and a multielement x-ray detector rotatable in opposition about a patient support; and
a processor communicating with the support assembly and configured to:
(a) operate the support assembly to obtain reduced-resolution projection attenuation data of a first volume of a patient on the patient support;
(b) use machine learning to identify in the first volume a region of interest of clinical significance having a second volume less than the first volume, the region of interest of clinical significance being a disease region within the first volume;
(c) selectively reconstruct the projection attenuation data of the second volume at a high resolution to produce a first set of slices having a first slice thickness and high resolution in the region of interest and a second set of slices having a second slice thickness larger than the first slice thickness and reduced resolution outside of the second volume; and
(d) output the first set and second set of slice images to provide an image of a single volume including the first volume and the second volume.