KR101769476B1 - Apparatus and method for increasing spatial resolution of medical image using charge sharing - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing is disclosed. The present invention increases the spatial resolution of a medical image using a charge sharing phenomenon. According to the present invention, by increasing the spatial resolution of the medical image based on the charge sharing phenomenon, the resolution of the medical image can be improved without reducing the physical pixel size.

Description

[0001] Apparatus and method for increasing spatial resolution of medical images using charge sharing [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using a charge sharing phenomenon.

Medical image sensors can be classified into indirect detection method and direct detection method. The indirect detection system consists of a scintillator that converts radiation into visible light, a sensor that converts visible light into an electrical signal, and a signal processing circuit that processes electrical signals. That is, the indirect detection method acquires a medical image through two conversion processes in which radiation is converted into visible light and visible light is converted into an electric signal. On the other hand, the direct detection system consists of a sensor for converting the radiation into an electric signal and a signal processing circuit for processing the electric signal. That is, the direct detection method acquires a medical image through one conversion process in which radiation is converted into an electrical signal.

However, the indirect detection method has a problem in that when the visible light is generated due to the radiation reacting with the scintillator, the visible light is spread isotropically, which affects the adjacent pixels, thereby lowering the resolution of the medical image. In the direct detection system, the electron-hole pair generated by the reaction of the radiation with the sensor moves to the signal processing circuit, drifts and diffuses, and the distribution area of the charges increases. There is a problem that the resolution of a medical image is deteriorated by affecting adjacent pixels.

Since medical images are directly related to diagnosis and treatment, various technologies are being developed to increase the resolution of images. Since there is a limit to physically reducing the pixel size, it is necessary to develop a technique that can increase the resolution of the medical image without reducing the physical pixel size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing that increases the spatial resolution of a medical image using a charge sharing phenomenon.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing, the apparatus comprising: an image acquisition unit acquiring a medical image based on a magnitude of incident radiation energy; When the medical image is acquired through the image acquisition unit, the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is obtained for each pixel, and if there is no charge sharing based on the acquired energy magnitude and the coordinate value of the pixel, A position detector for detecting a position of a pixel to be incident; And an image processor for correcting the medical image acquired by the image acquisition unit based on the position of the pixel detected through the position detector to acquire a final medical image.

The position detector may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on a pixel-by-pixel basis, with the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a preset threshold value, have.

The position detector may logically divide a pixel into a plurality of virtual pixels, and based on the energy magnitude of each pixel and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel, detect the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon.

Wherein the image processing unit acquires a medical image through the image acquisition unit and detects a position of a pixel to which radiation should be incident when there is no charge sharing phenomenon through the position detection unit when acquiring a medical image through the image acquisition unit, And correcting the medical image acquired by the image acquiring unit based on the position of the pixel detected through the plurality of correction medical images by repeating a plurality of times at a predetermined time interval, The final medical image can be acquired.

Wherein the image processing unit further comprises a target object moving unit moving the target object by a predetermined distance smaller than the size of the pixel, And the final medical image can be obtained by combining the corrected medical images before and after the movement.

The target object moving unit may move the target object by the preset distance in the horizontal axis and move the target object by the predetermined distance along the vertical axis.

Wherein the image processing unit moves the corrected medical image after movement by the predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the movement of the target object and superimposes the corrected medical image on the medical image before correction, Area as the final medical image.

The image processor may enlarge the corrected medical image before and after the correction by the calculated magnification based on the predetermined distance, and synthesize the medical image before and after the enlarged movement to obtain the final medical image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of increasing the spatial resolution of an apparatus for increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing, Acquiring a medical image based on the medical image; Acquiring the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel on a pixel-by-pixel basis at the time of acquiring the medical image; Detecting a position of a pixel to which a radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the acquired energy amount per pixel and the coordinate value of the pixel; Correcting the medical image acquired based on the position of the detected pixel; And acquiring a final medical image based on the corrected medical image.

The energy magnitude obtaining step may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on a pixel-by-pixel basis, with the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a predetermined threshold value, .

The pixel position detection step may be performed by dividing the pixel logically into a plurality of virtual pixels, and detecting the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the energy magnitude of each pixel and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel have.

The final medical image acquisition step may include repeating the medical image acquisition step, the energy magnitude acquisition step, the pixel position detection step, and the image correction step a plurality of times at predetermined time intervals, And combining the medical images to obtain the final medical image.

And moving the target object by a predetermined distance smaller than the size of the pixel, wherein the image correcting step corrects the medical image obtained before and after the movement of the target object, based on the position of the detected pixel, And the final medical image acquiring step may include acquiring the final medical image by synthesizing the corrected medical images before and after the movement.

The moving target object may move the target object by the predetermined distance along the horizontal axis and move the target object along the vertical axis by the predetermined distance.

Wherein the final medical image acquisition step includes moving the corrected medical image after movement by the predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the movement of the target object and superimposing the corrected medical image on the corrected medical image before movement, To obtain the overlapped area of the final medical image.

The final medical image acquiring step may include acquiring the final medical image by enlarging the corrected medical image before and after the enlargement by a magnification calculated on the basis of the predetermined distance and synthesizing the medical images before and after the enlargement .

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program for use in a computer readable recording medium, the computer program causing the computer to execute any one of the methods.

According to the apparatus and method for increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to the present invention, by increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image based on a charge sharing phenomenon recognized as a problem, The resolution of the medical image can be improved.

1 is a block diagram for explaining an apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram for explaining charge sharing phenomenon.
3 is a view for explaining an operation of acquiring the magnitude of the radiation energy according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view for explaining an example of an operation of detecting the position of a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining another example of an operation of detecting the position of a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view for explaining an example of an operation for acquiring a final medical image according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a block diagram for explaining an apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a view for explaining an example of an operation for acquiring a final medical image according to another embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a view for explaining the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an apparatus and method for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a spatial resolution increasing apparatus for medical images using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining an apparatus for increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining charge sharing phenomenon, FIG. 4 is a view for explaining an example of an operation of detecting the position of a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 5 is a view for explaining the operation of acquiring the magnitude of radiation energy according to the embodiment 6 is a view for explaining another example of an operation of detecting a position of a pixel according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a view for explaining an example of an operation of acquiring a final medical image according to an embodiment of the present invention .

Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus 100 for increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as a first spatial resolution increasing apparatus) Increase the spatial resolution of the image. In the charge sharing phenomenon, the electron-hole pair formed by the reaction of the radiation with the sensor moves to the signal processing circuit, drifts and diffuses, and the distribution area of the charges increases. Refers to a phenomenon (indirect detection method) that affects adjacent pixels (direct detection method) or a phenomenon in which visible light generated by radiation reacting with a scintillator spreads isotropically and thereby affects adjacent pixels.

The first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 may include a sensing unit 110, an image acquisition unit 130, a position detection unit 150, and an image processing unit 170.

The sensing unit 110 senses the incident radiation generated from the radiation generating apparatus (not shown).

The image acquisition unit 130 acquires a medical image based on the magnitude of the sensed radiation energy through the sensing unit 110. For example, the image acquisition unit 130 may acquire a medical image through a photon counting method or the like. Herein, the photon counting method refers to a method of writing '1' to a pixel if the incident radiation is larger than a preset reference value.

When acquiring a medical image through the image acquisition unit 130, the position detection unit 150 detects the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon. For example, in the case where there is no charge sharing phenomenon, the radiation enters only the fifth pixel AP as shown in FIG. 2A. On the other hand, when the charge sharing phenomenon occurs, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the radiation passes through not only the fifth pixel AP but also the second pixel NP_1 adjacent to the fifth pixel AP 6 (NP_2). Such a charge sharing phenomenon lowers the resolution of a medical image. The position detecting unit 150 may use the charge sharing phenomenon in reverse to detect the exact position of the pixel to which the radiation should be incident if there is no charge sharing based on the magnitude of the radiation energy lost to adjacent pixels due to the charge sharing phenomenon have.

That is, the position detector 150 may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel by pixel. For example, the position detector 150 may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel through a time-over-threshold (ToT) method using a time exceeding a preset threshold value.

In more detail, the position detector 150 calculates the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a preset threshold value as the energy magnitude value of the corresponding pixel, Can be obtained.

Referring to Figure 3, than the reference clock threshold (V _th), (Clock), the size (V _signal) of the radiation energy impinging on in a state in which the occurrence, the position detection unit 150 is the pixel pre-set having a predetermined frequency The number of reference clocks (Clocks) corresponding to a large period can be set to an energy magnitude value (V _TOT ) of the corresponding pixel. For example, assuming that radiation is incident on one pixel as shown in the graph of FIG. 3, '2' is allocated to the first section P1, '5' is allocated to the second section P2, Is set to '3', and in the fourth period P4, '7' is set to the energy magnitude value of the corresponding pixel.

The position detector 150 can detect the precise position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the acquired energy magnitude and the coordinate value of the pixel.

4, the coordinate value of the second pixel (NP_1) is "(x1, y1)", the energy magnitude value is "A", the coordinate value of the fifth pixel (AP) And the energy magnitude value is "B", the coordinate value of the sixth pixel NP_2 is "(x3, y3)" and the energy magnitude value is "C", the position detector 150 calculates (X, Y) ", which is the positional value of the pixel AP to which the radiation will be incident, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon.

The position detection unit 150 can detect the position of the pixel AP to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the position value " (X, Y) "

For example, when a radiation of "90 keV" is incident, "60 keV" radiation is incident on the fifth pixel AP due to the charge sharing phenomenon and "30 keV" is applied to the second pixel NP_1 and the sixth pixel NP_ The energy magnitude value of the fifth pixel AP is larger than the energy magnitude value of the second pixel NP_1 and the sixth pixel NP_2 since the energy magnitude value of the pixel is proportional to the magnitude of the radiation energy. do. Accordingly, it can be seen that the radiation of "90 keV " is incident closer to the fifth pixel AP. That is, radiation of "90 keV" should be incident only on the fifth pixel (AP), but radiation is also incident on the second pixel (NP_1) and the sixth pixel (NP_2) adjacent to the fifth pixel (AP) .

At this time, the position detector 150 may divide the pixels logically into a plurality of virtual pixels (for example, exponentiation power of 2). For example, the position detector 150 may divide each pixel into four virtual pixels as shown in FIG. The position detector 150 can detect the exact position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the energy level of each pixel and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel.

5, the energy magnitude value of the second pixel NP_1 is "A" and the coordinate values of the four virtual pixels are "(x1, y1), (x2, y2), (x3, y3) , y4) ", the energy magnitude value of the fifth pixel AP is" B "and the coordinate values of the four virtual pixels are" (x5, y5), (x6, y6), (x7, y7) , y8), the energy value of the sixth pixel NP_2 is "C", and the coordinate values of the four virtual pixels are "(x9, y9), (x10, y10) , y12), the position detector 150 detects (X, Y), which is the position value of the pixel AP 'to which the radiation will be incident, in the absence of the charge sharing phenomenon through the following equation can do.

The position detection unit 150 can detect the position of the pixel AP 'to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the position value "(X, Y)" detected through the above-mentioned expression (2) .

In this way, if the pixel is logically divided into a plurality of virtual pixels and then the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident is detected without charge sharing phenomenon, the effect of physically reducing the size of the pixel can be obtained. As a result, the resolution of the medical image can be increased.

The image processing unit 170 corrects the medical image acquired by the image acquisition unit 130 based on the position of the pixel detected through the position detection unit 150 to acquire the final medical image. That is, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon, the image processing unit 170 can acquire the medical image acquired by the image acquisition unit 130 using the position value of the pixel to which the radiation is incident, when the charge sharing phenomenon does not occur It can be corrected by medical image.

At this time, the image processor 170 may repeat the medical image acquisition operation, the pixel position detection operation, and the image correction operation a plurality of times at predetermined time intervals. That is, the image processor 170 acquires the medical image through the image acquiring unit 130, and when the medical image is acquired through the image acquiring unit 130, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon through the position detector 150, And may correct the medical image acquired by the image acquisition unit 130 based on the position of the pixel detected through the position detection unit 150 a plurality of times. Then, the image processing unit 170 can acquire the final medical image by synthesizing a plurality of corrected medical images obtained by repeatedly performing.

6, the image processing unit 170 generates the medical images I1 and I2 through the image obtaining unit 130 at predetermined intervals (e.g., 1 占,) during a predetermined period ST (e.g., 1s) I2 to In). The image processor 170 detects the positions of the pixels through the position detector 160 when acquiring the medical images I1 and I2 to In and outputs the medical images I1 and I2 to In ) To obtain the corrected medical images AI1, AI2 to AIn. Then, the image processing unit 170 may synthesize a plurality of corrected medical images AI1 and AI2 to AIn to obtain a final medical image FI.

Hereinafter, a method of increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 acquires a medical image based on the magnitude of incident radiation energy (S110).

In acquiring the medical image, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 acquires the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel by pixel (S120). For example, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel through the ToT method using a time that exceeds a predetermined threshold value. That is, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 uses the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a preset threshold value as the energy magnitude value of the corresponding pixel, The magnitude of the radiation energy can be obtained.

The first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 detects the position of the pixel to which the radiation should be incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the acquired energy magnitude and the coordinate value of the pixel (S130). That is, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 can detect the position of a pixel to which radiation is incident, if there is no charge sharing phenomenon through [Equation 1].

At this time, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 may logically divide a pixel into a plurality of virtual pixels. The first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 can detect the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident through Equation (2), if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the energy magnitude of each pixel and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel have.

Then, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 corrects the acquired medical image based on the position of the detected pixel (S140). That is, if the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 does not have charge sharing phenomenon, the medical image can be corrected to a medical image that can be acquired in the case where no charge sharing phenomenon occurs using the position value of the pixel to which the radiation is incident have.

Finally, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 acquires a final medical image based on the corrected medical image (S150). At this time, the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 may repeatedly perform the medical image acquisition operation, the pixel position detection operation, and the image correction operation at a predetermined time interval a plurality of times. The first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 may acquire a final medical image by synthesizing a plurality of corrected medical images obtained by repeating the operation.

The effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

8 is a diagram for explaining the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to test the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention, a test using a 256 x 256 array detector having a pixel size of 55 um x 55 um in three test environments Respectively.

In the first test environment, the image was acquired according to the conventional method using the detector described above, and the acquired image is shown in FIG. 8 (a). In the second test environment, the image was acquired according to the method of applying the spatial resolution increasing method (the pixel is not logically divided) of the medical image using the charge sharing according to the embodiment of the present invention using the detector described above, An image is shown in Fig. 8 (b). In the third test environment, the image is acquired according to a method of applying a space resolution increasing method (dividing a pixel logically into four virtual pixels) using charge sharing according to an embodiment of the present invention using the detector described above , And the acquired image is shown in (c) of FIG.

As can be seen from the image shown in FIG. 8, the image (see FIGS. 8B and 8C) to which the spatial resolution increasing method of the medical image according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied, (See Fig. 8 (a)), the line arrangement is smoother. 8 (c)) applied to the logical division method of the pixel according to the embodiment of the present invention is smaller than the image (see Fig. 8 (b)) to which the logical division method of the pixel is not applied You can see that the array is more clearly distinguished.

9 and 10, an apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining an apparatus for increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is an example of an operation for acquiring a final medical image according to another embodiment of the present invention Fig.

Referring to FIG. 9, an apparatus 200 for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing (hereinafter referred to as a second spatial resolution increasing apparatus) according to the present embodiment calculates a spatial resolution And the spatial resolution of the medical image is increased through the acquired image before and after the movement of the target object.

For this, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may include a sensing unit 210, an image acquisition unit 230, a position detection unit 250, an image processing unit 270, and a target object moving unit 290 . Since the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is substantially identical in operation to the first spatial resolution increasing apparatus 100 according to the previous embodiment, only differences from the previous embodiment will be described below.

The target object moving unit 290 can move a target object (e.g., a patient, etc.) by a predetermined distance. Here, the predetermined distance may be a distance smaller than the size of the pixel. For example, the predetermined distance may be set to 1/2, 1/3, etc. of the pixel size. As described above, the reason why the target object is moved by a distance smaller than the pixel size is that the medical image acquired before and after the movement of the target object must include a region overlapping each other when viewed in pixel units, Because.

At this time, the target object moving unit 290 moves the target object by a preset distance along the horizontal axis, and moves the target object by a predetermined distance along the vertical axis. Of course, the target object moving unit 290 may move to the horizontal axis and the vertical axis, respectively, and calculate a point to be finally positioned, and may move at a distance corresponding to the distance in the diagonal direction.

The image processing unit 270 may correct the medical images acquired before and after the target object moves through the target object moving unit 290 based on the positions of the pixels detected through the position detecting unit 250. That is, the image processing unit 270 can acquire the medical image corrected by the method according to the previous embodiment before the target object moves. In addition, the image processing unit 270 can acquire the medical image corrected by the method according to the embodiment after the target object has moved.

For example, if the predetermined distance, which is the distance that the target object moves, is 1/2 of the pixel size, the image processing unit 270 moves the target object once to obtain a total of two corrected medical images , A medical image acquired after moving by 1/2 of the pixel size). On the other hand, if the predetermined distance that is the distance that the target object moves is 1/3 of the pixel size, the image processing unit 270 moves the target object twice to obtain three corrected medical images , A medical image acquired after moving by 1/3 of the pixel size, and a medical image acquired after moving again by 1/3 of the pixel size).

Then, the image processing unit 270 can obtain the final medical image by synthesizing the corrected medical images before and after the movement.

That is, the image processing unit 270 may move the corrected medical image after moving to a predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the movement of the target object, and superimpose the corrected medical image on the corrected medical image before movement. Then, the image processing unit 270 can obtain the overlapped area of the corrected medical image before and after the movement as the final medical image. Here, the energy magnitude value of each pixel belonging to the final medical image may be a value obtained by adding the energy magnitude value of the corresponding pixel of the medical image after moving to the energy magnitude value of the corresponding pixel of the medical image before movement.

At this time, the image processing unit 270 can enlarge the medical image before and after the movement corrected by the calculated magnification based on the predetermined distance. For example, if the predetermined distance is "1/2 of the pixel size, " the magnification may be" 2 ". On the other hand, if the predetermined distance is 1/3 of the pixel size, the magnification may be "3 ". That is, the image processing unit 270 can enlarge each pixel by the calculated magnification. For example, if the magnification is "2 ", the image processing unit 270 can enlarge each pixel to a pixel having a 2 X 2 array. Then, the image processing unit 270 can synthesize the medical images before and after the enlarged movement to acquire the final medical image.

Referring to FIG. 10, the image processor 270 may acquire the first medical image BI corrected by the method according to the embodiment before moving the target object. The image processing unit 270 can acquire the second medical image AI corrected by the method according to the above-described embodiment after moving the target object by a predetermined distance "1/2 of the pixel size " . Here, each pixel of the first medical image BI and the second medical image AI can be enlarged by "2" which is a magnification calculated on the basis of "1/2 of the pixel size "

Then, the image processing unit 270 moves the second medical image AI by 1/2 of the pixel size, which is a predetermined distance in the opposite direction to the movement of the target object, and superimposes the second medical image AI on the first medical image BI . Then, the image processing unit 270 can acquire the overlapping area of the first medical image BI and the second medical image AI as the final medical image FI.

A method of increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of increasing a spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The method of increasing the spatial resolution of the medical image using the charge sharing according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as the method of increasing the spatial resolution of the medical image using charge sharing according to the previous embodiment, This will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 11, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 acquires a medical image based on the magnitude of incident radiation energy (S210).

In acquiring the medical image, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 acquires the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel by pixel (S220).

In operation S230, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 detects the position of the pixel to which the radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the acquired energy magnitude and the pixel-by-pixel coordinate value.

Then, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 corrects the acquired medical image based on the position of the detected pixel (S240).

Thereafter, when the corrected medical image is the pre-movement image of the target object (S250-Y), the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 moves the target object by a predetermined distance, and then, in steps S210, S220, Step S240 is performed. Here, the predetermined distance may be a distance smaller than the size of the pixel. At this time, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may move the target object by a predetermined distance along the horizontal axis and move the target object by a predetermined distance along the vertical axis. Of course, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may calculate a point to be finally positioned after moving along the horizontal axis and the vertical axis, respectively, and may move at a distance corresponding to the distance in the diagonal direction.

That is, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may acquire the medical image corrected by the method according to the previous embodiment before the target object moves. In addition, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may acquire the medical image corrected by the method according to the above embodiment after the target object has moved.

On the other hand, if the corrected medical image is an image after movement of the target object (S250-N), the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 synthesizes the medical images before and after the corrected movement to synthesize the final medical images (S260). That is, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may move the corrected medical image by a predetermined distance in the direction opposite to the movement of the target object, and superimpose the corrected medical image on the corrected medical image before movement. Then, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 can obtain the overlapped region of the medical image before and after the corrected movement as the final medical image. At this time, the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 may enlarge the medical image before and after the movement corrected by the calculated magnification based on the predetermined distance.

11, assuming that the predetermined distance that is the distance that the target object moves is 1/2 of the pixel size, the present invention is not limited to this, and the target object may be moved a plurality of times according to a preset distance The corrected medical images can be obtained. For example, if the predetermined distance, which is the distance that the target object moves, is 1/3 of the pixel size, the object of the second spatial resolution increasing apparatus 200 is moved twice to obtain a total of three corrected medical images A medical image acquired after moving by 1/3 of the pixel size, and a medical image acquired after moving again by 1/3 of the pixel size).

The effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of the medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

12 is a view for explaining the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In order to test the effect of the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention, a test using a 256 x 256 array detector having a pixel size of 55 um x 55 um in three test environments Respectively.

In the first test environment, the image was obtained according to the conventional method using the detector described above, and the obtained image is shown in FIG. 12 (a). In the second test environment, the image was acquired according to the method of applying the spatial resolution increasing method (pixel not logically divided) of the medical image using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention using the detector described above, An image is as shown in Fig. 12 (b). The third test environment acquires images according to a method of applying spatial resolution increasing method (dividing pixels logically into four virtual pixels) using charge sharing according to another embodiment of the present invention using the above detector And the obtained image is as shown in FIG. 12 (c).

12 (b) and 12 (c)) applied to the method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied to an image according to a conventional method (See Fig. 12 (a)), the edge portions are smoother.

The present invention can also be embodied as computer-readable codes on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording apparatuses in which data that can be read by a computer is stored. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, and an optical data storage device. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may be distributed to computer devices connected to a wired / wireless communication network, and a computer-readable code may be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

100, 200: Spatial resolution increasing device of medical image using charge sharing,
110, 210: sensing unit, 130, 230: image acquisition unit,
150, 250: position detection unit, 170, 270: image processing unit,
290: target object moving unit

Claims (17)

An image acquiring unit acquiring a medical image based on a magnitude of incident radiation energy;
When the medical image is acquired through the image acquisition unit, the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is obtained for each pixel, and if there is no charge sharing based on the acquired energy magnitude and the coordinate value of the pixel, A position detector for detecting a position of a pixel to be incident; And
An image processing unit for correcting the medical image acquired by the image acquisition unit based on the position of the pixel detected through the position detection unit to obtain a final medical image;
A spatial resolution enhancement device for medical images using charge sharing. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the position detector detects the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a predetermined threshold value as the energy magnitude value of the pixel, An apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of medical images using sharing. The method of claim 1,
The position detection unit may divide the pixel logically into a plurality of virtual pixels, and based on the pixel-by-pixel energy magnitude and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel, if the charge sharing phenomenon is absent, An apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of an image. The method of claim 1,
Wherein the image processing unit acquires a medical image through the image acquisition unit and detects a position of a pixel to which radiation should be incident when there is no charge sharing phenomenon through the position detection unit when acquiring a medical image through the image acquisition unit, And correcting the medical image acquired by the image acquiring unit based on the position of the pixel detected through the plurality of correction medical images by repeating a plurality of times at a predetermined time interval, An apparatus for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing to acquire a final medical image. The method of claim 1,
Further comprising a target object moving unit for moving the target object by a predetermined distance smaller than the size of the pixel,
Wherein the image processing unit corrects the medical images acquired respectively before and after the target object moves through the target object moving unit based on the positions of the pixels detected through the position detection unit, And acquiring the final medical image using charge sharing. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the target object moving unit moves the target object by the predetermined distance in the horizontal axis and moves the target object on the vertical axis by the predetermined distance. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the image processing unit moves the corrected medical image after movement by the predetermined distance in a direction opposite to the movement of the target object and superimposes the corrected medical image on the medical image before correction, And acquiring the region as the final medical image. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the image processing unit is configured to expand the medical image before and after the correction by the magnification calculated on the basis of the predetermined distance and synthesize the medical image before and after the enlarged movement to acquire the final medical image, Space resolution increasing device. A method of increasing the spatial resolution of a device for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing,
Acquiring a medical image based on a magnitude of incident radiation energy;
Acquiring the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel on a pixel-by-pixel basis at the time of acquiring the medical image;
Detecting a position of a pixel to which a radiation is incident if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the acquired energy amount per pixel and the coordinate value of the pixel;
Correcting the medical image acquired based on the position of the detected pixel; And
Acquiring a final medical image based on the corrected medical image;
A method for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing comprising: The method of claim 9,
The energy magnitude obtaining step may obtain the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on a pixel-by-pixel basis, with the number of reference clocks corresponding to a period in which the magnitude of the radiation energy incident on the pixel is greater than a predetermined threshold value, A method for increasing spatial resolution of medical images using charge sharing. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the pixel position detection step comprises the steps of dividing a pixel logically into a plurality of virtual pixels and detecting the position of the pixel to which the radiation will enter if there is no charge sharing phenomenon based on the energy magnitude of each pixel and the coordinate value of the virtual pixel A Method for Increasing Spatial Resolution of Medical Images Using Shared. The method of claim 9,
The final medical image acquisition step may include repeating the medical image acquisition step, the energy magnitude acquisition step, the pixel position detection step, and the image correction step a plurality of times at predetermined time intervals, A method of increasing the spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing comprising combining medical images to obtain the final medical image. The method of claim 9,
Further comprising moving the target object by a predetermined distance less than the size of the pixel,
Wherein the image correction step comprises: correcting the medical images acquired before and after moving the target object based on the positions of the detected pixels,
Wherein the final medical image acquiring step acquires the final medical image by synthesizing the corrected medical images before and after the movement. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the moving the target object comprises moving the target object along the horizontal axis by the predetermined distance and moving the target object along the vertical axis by the predetermined distance. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the final medical image acquisition step includes moving the corrected medical image after movement by the predetermined distance in the direction opposite to the movement of the target object and superimposing the corrected medical image on the corrected medical image before movement, And acquiring the superimposed area of the medical image as the final medical image. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the final medical image acquiring step includes a step of acquiring the final medical image by enlarging the corrected medical image before and after the correction by the magnification calculated on the basis of the predetermined distance, A Method for Increasing Spatial Resolution of Medical Images Using. A computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium for causing a computer to execute a method for increasing spatial resolution of a medical image using charge sharing as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 16.

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