WO2016172838A1

WO2016172838A1 - Magnetic resonance imaging system and magnetic resonance imaging method

Info

Publication number: WO2016172838A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/077624
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宋晓甲; 周中良
Original assignee: Ge医疗系统环球技术有限公司; 宋晓甲; 周中良
Priority date: 2015-04-28
Filing date: 2015-04-28
Publication date: 2016-11-03

Abstract

Disclosed are a magnetic resonance imaging system and a magnetic resonance imaging method. The magnetic resonance imaging system comprises: a position information acquisition device (100) configured to acquire position-related position information of a to-be-imaged object supported by a bracket (500), relative to a support (500); and a magnetic resonance scanning device (300) configured to scan the to-be-imaged object according to the position information, to obtain magnetic resonance images of the to-be-imaged object. Therefore, the magnetic resonance imaging system and the magnetic resonance imaging method can reduce the time for magnetic resonance imaging operations and improve the accuracy of alignment.

Description

Magnetic resonance imaging system and magnetic resonance imaging method

Technical field

The present invention relates to magnetic resonance imaging systems and magnetic resonance imaging methods.

Background technique

According to current magnetic resonance imaging systems, an operator (eg, a doctor) needs to enter a scanning chamber to manually operate a magnetic resonance system's stent before scanning a target to be scanned (eg, a patient) to be supported by the stent to be scanned The target moves into the hole of the magnet located in the magnetic resonance system. Then, the operator needs to visually check whether the predetermined portion of the object to be scanned or the object to be scanned is aligned with the scanning position in the hole, and it is necessary to manually operate the holder several times to adjust the position of the object to be scanned when misalignment is observed. Then, it is necessary to start scanning the scan target after the operator exits the scan room.

The above described operation prior to starting the scan increases the time of the magnetic resonance imaging operation and reduces the user experience. In addition, since the operator checks the alignment with the eyes, it is difficult to ensure the accuracy of the alignment.

Summary of the invention

It is an object of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention to overcome the above and/or other problems in the prior art. Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a magnetic resonance imaging system and a magnetic resonance imaging method that can shorten scanning operation time and/or can improve alignment accuracy

According to an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a magnetic resonance imaging system comprising: position information acquiring means configured to acquire a position related to a position of a target to be imaged supported by a support relative to a support Information; a magnetic resonance scanning apparatus configured to scan an imaging target according to position information to obtain a magnetic resonance image of an object to be imaged.

According to another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a magnetic resonance imaging method, characterized in that the method comprises: acquiring positional information related to a position of a target to be imaged supported by a support relative to a support; treating according to positional information The imaging target is scanned to obtain a magnetic resonance image of the object to be imaged.

Other features and aspects will become apparent from the following detailed description.

DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood by describing the exemplary embodiments of the invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a magnetic resonance imaging system according to an exemplary embodiment;

2 is a schematic view showing a field of view indicator according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a magnetic resonance imaging method, according to an exemplary embodiment.

detailed description

The specific embodiments of the present invention are described in the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that in the actual implementation of any one embodiment, as in the course of any engineering project or design project, in order to achieve the developer's specific objectives, in order to meet system-related or business-related restrictions, A variety of specific decisions are often made, and this can change from one implementation to another. Moreover, it will also be appreciated that while the efforts made in such development may be complex and lengthy, the techniques disclosed in this disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure. Some design, manufacturing or production changes based on the content are only conventional technical means, and it should not be understood that the content of the present disclosure is insufficient.

Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the claims and the description should be construed in the ordinary meaning of the ordinary skill of the art. The words "first", "second" and similar terms used in the specification and claims of the present invention do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. The words "a" or "an" and the like do not denote a quantity limitation, but mean that there is at least one. The words "including" or "comprising" or "comprises" or "comprises" or "an" Other components or objects. The words "connected" or "connected" and the like are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, nor are they limited to direct or indirect connections.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a magnetic resonance imaging system according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a magnetic resonance imaging system according to an exemplary embodiment may include a position information acquiring device 100 and a magnetic resonance scanning device 300.

The position information acquisition device 100 can acquire an object to be imaged that is supported by the stent 500 (for example, Patient position information relative to the position of the stent 500. In particular, the location information acquiring apparatus 100 may include an image sensor 110 and a processor 130. The image sensor 110 may acquire a positioning image (eg, an image signal) including the stent 500 and an object to be imaged supported by the stent 500. For example, image sensor 110 can be a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic resonance scanning device 300 may include a magnet 310 having a hole, the holder 500 may be disposed at a front portion of the magnet 310, and the image sensor 110 may be disposed on a front plate of the magnet 310. As such, the positioning image can be acquired by the image sensor 110 before moving the object to be imaged to the scanning position in the hole of the magnet 310.

In an exemplary embodiment, image sensor 110 may transmit the resulting image signal to processor 130, which may process the received image signal to obtain an image comprising stent 500 and a target to be imaged. Although the processor 130 is illustrated as a separate component in FIG. 1, the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto, and for example, the processor 130 may be disposed in the scan room to be combined with the magnetic resonance scanning device 300, or may be disposed in In the operating room.

As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic resonance imaging system can also include a display 710. Display 710 can be disposed in the operating room and can receive images acquired by image sensor 110, for example, via processor 130 and displayed in real time. In the current exemplary embodiment, an operator can view an image displayed in real time by the display 710 in an operation room, and can manually select an image displayed by the display 710 at a certain time as a positioning image. Alternatively, in another exemplary embodiment, the image acquired by the image sensor 110 may be automatically selected as a positioning image.

The processor 130 can process the location image to obtain location information related to the location of the object to be imaged relative to the cradle 500. In particular, the processor 130 can identify an object to be imaged from the location image. For example, when the object to be imaged is a human body, the processor 130 may identify the entire body and/or various parts of the human body from the positioning image according to the feature information of each part of the human body set in advance. In addition, the processor 130 can also identify the stand 500 from the positioning image. For example, the processor 130 may identify the bracket from the positioning image according to the feature information of the preset bracket. After identifying the object to be imaged and the stent, the processor 130 may obtain the position information according to the position of the object to be imaged and/or the respective parts of the object to be imaged relative to the position of the stent in the positioning image.

Then, when the processor 130 obtains the location information, the bracket 500 can be automatically or manually operated according to the obtained position information to move the target to be imaged to the scanning position, so that the target to be imaged or the desired portion of the target to be imaged is The scanning position is aligned.

In particular, in order to move the object to be imaged to the scanning position, the magnetic resonance imaging system may include a scanning area setting device 700. The scan area setting device 700 can set the scan area of the object to be imaged according to the positioning image. Such a scan area may be part of the target to be imaged. When the scanning area setting device 700 sets the scanning area, the holder 500 may be operated automatically or manually to move the object to be imaged into the hole of the magnet 310, thereby aligning the set scanning area with the scanning position. To this end, the scan area setting device 700 can include a display 710 and a field of view (FOV) indicator 730. As described above, the display 710 can display a positioning image. Field of view indicator 730 can also be displayed on display 710. The field of view indicator 730 can represent a scan area that the magnetic resonance scanning device can scan. For example, the visual field indicator 730 may have the same shape as the scan area of the magnetic resonance scanning device, and may have a size proportional to the size of the scanning area of the magnetic resonance scanning device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a field of view indicator according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the operator can move the field of view indicator 730 (eg, using a mouse drag) onto the object to be imaged in the location image to set the portion of the object to be imaged that is covered by the field of view indicator 730. Is the scan area. In such a case, the size of the display of the visual field indicator 730 in the display 710 can be determined based on the positioning image. For example, the processor 130 may determine the size of the visual field indicator 730 based on the ratio of the size of the identified stent to the size of the positioned image and the ratio of the size of the predetermined scanning region to the size of the stent.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the position information of the object to be imaged may be acquired by the position information acquiring means, and the object to be imaged may be aligned with the scanning position according to the position information. Therefore, the accuracy of the alignment can be improved, and the time of the entire imaging operation can be shortened. Further, since the operator can perform the above operation in the operation room without entering the scanning room, the time of the entire imaging operation can be further shortened.

As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic resonance imaging method according to an exemplary embodiment may include acquiring step S100 of positional information related to a position of the object to be imaged supported by the stent relative to the stent, and scanning the object to be imaged according to the positional information. Step S300 to obtain a magnetic resonance image of the object to be imaged.

In step S100 of acquiring location information, a positioning image including the cradle and the object to be imaged may be acquired. The location image can then be processed to obtain location information related to the location of the object to be imaged relative to the stent.

For example, the respective objects to be imaged and/or the target to be imaged and the support may be identified from the positional image to obtain positional information based on the identified position of the target to be imaged and/or its respective parts relative to the support.

In the step S300 of scanning the imaging target according to the position information, the object to be imaged may be moved to the scanning position according to the positioning image. Specifically, the scanning area of the object to be imaged may be set according to the positioning image, and the object to be imaged may be moved into the hole of the magnet to align the set scanning area with the scanning position. When setting the scanning area, the positioning image may be displayed in the display; and the visual field indicator displayed in the display may be moved to the target to be imaged in the positioning image to cover the portion of the object to be imaged covered by the visual field indicator Set to the scan area. Here, the size of the visual field indicator can be determined based on the ratio of the identified stent in the positioning image.

According to an exemplary embodiment, position information of an object to be imaged may be acquired, and an object to be imaged may be aligned with a scanning position according to the position information. Therefore, the accuracy of the alignment can be improved, and the time required for the magnetic resonance imaging method can be shortened. Further, since the operator can perform the above steps in the operation room without entering the scanning room, the time required for the magnetic resonance imaging method can be further shortened.

Some exemplary embodiments have been described above. However, it should be understood that various modifications can be made. For example, if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if the components of the described systems, architecture, devices, or circuits are combined and/or replaced or supplemented with additional components or equivalents thereof, A suitable result can be achieved. Accordingly, other embodiments are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A magnetic resonance imaging system, characterized in that the magnetic resonance imaging system comprises:

a position information acquiring device configured to acquire position information related to a position of the object to be imaged supported by the bracket relative to the bracket;

The magnetic resonance scanning device is configured to scan the imaging target according to the position information to obtain a magnetic resonance image of the object to be imaged.
The magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 1, wherein the position information acquiring means comprises:

An image sensor configured to acquire a positioning image including a stent and an object to be imaged;

The processor is configured to process the positional image to obtain positional information related to the position of the object to be imaged relative to the stent.
The magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 2, wherein the holder is configured to move the object to be imaged to the scanning position based on the position information.
A magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic resonance scanning device comprises a magnet having a hole, the holder being disposed at a front portion of the magnet, and the image sensor being disposed on a front plate of the magnet to thereby target the object to be imaged A positioning image is acquired before moving to the scanning position in the hole of the magnet.
A magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to identify the object to be imaged and the cradle from the locating image such that the position of the object to be imaged relative to the cradle in the locating image is determined To get location information.
The magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to identify each part of the object to be imaged and the support from the positional image, so that the respective parts of the target to be imaged are relative to the stand according to the identified Position the image in the location to get location information.
A magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 5 or claim 6, wherein the magnetic resonance imaging system further comprises:

a scan area setting device configured to set a scan area of the object to be imaged according to the positioning image,

Wherein the holder moves the object to be imaged into the hole of the magnet to align the set scanning area with the scanning position.
A magnetic resonance imaging system according to claim 7, wherein the scanning area setting means comprises:

a display configured to display a positioning image acquired by the image sensor;

A field of view indicator, displayed on the display, and can be moved to the object to be imaged in the location image to set a portion of the object to be imaged that is covered by the field of view indicator as the scan area.
The magnetic resonance system of claim 8 wherein the processor determines the size of the field of view indicator based on the ratio of the identified stent in the positional image.
A magnetic resonance imaging method, characterized in that the method comprises:

Obtaining positional information related to a position of the object to be imaged supported by the support relative to the support;

The imaging target is scanned according to the position information to obtain a magnetic resonance image of the object to be imaged.
The method of claim 10 wherein the step of obtaining location information comprises:

Obtaining a positioning image including the stent and the target to be imaged;

The positional image is processed to obtain positional information related to the position of the object to be imaged relative to the stent.
The method according to claim 11, wherein when the positioning image is processed, the object to be imaged and the bracket are identified from the positioning image, thereby determining the position of the object to be imaged relative to the bracket in the positioning image according to the identified image. To get location information.
The method according to claim 11, wherein when the positioning image is processed, each part of the object to be imaged and the bracket are identified from the positioning image, so that the respective parts of the target to be imaged are relative to the bracket according to the identified The location information is obtained by locating the location in the image.
The method of claim 10 wherein the step of scanning the object to be imaged comprises:

The object to be imaged is moved to the scanning position according to the position information.
The method of claim 14 wherein the step of moving the object to be imaged to the scanning position comprises:

Setting a scan area of the object to be imaged according to the positioning image;

The object to be imaged is moved to align the set scan area with the scan position.
The method of claim 15 wherein the step of setting the scan area comprises:

Displaying a positioning image in the display;

The field of view indicator displayed in the display is moved to the object to be imaged in the positioning image to set a portion of the object to be imaged covered by the field of view indicator as the scanning area.
The method of claim 16 wherein the step of setting the scan area further comprises:

The size of the field of view indicator is determined based on the proportion of the identified stent in the positioned image.