Various methods and systems are provided for manufacturing a radiation shielding component of an imaging apparatus. In one embodiment, the radiation shielding component may be manufactured by infiltrating metal particles with a binder solution and then curing the binder solution impregnated with the metal particles. In another embodiment, the radiation shielding component may be printed with metal powder, infiltrated with a binding agent, and then cured to polymerize the binding agent.

An apparatus and method for reducing the blurriness of tomographic (3D) images constructed from a gamma camera system with one or more VASH (variable-angle slant-hole) collimators. A conventional gamma camera with a VASH collimator exhibits a loss of spatial resolution from the fact that the gamma-ray is entering the detector element at an angle other than normal to the surface. This depth dependence of the spatial localization causes a blurring of the spatial resolution, which is dependent on the incident angle relative to the normal, on the thickness of the detector element and on the stopping length of the gamma-ray in the detector element material. The invention provides an apparatus and method for correcting the spatial location where the gamma ray is recorded to improve the spatial resolution of the system.

A processor detects a structure of interest from a plurality of tomographic images indicating a plurality of tomographic planes of an object. The processor selects a tomographic image from the plurality of tomographic images according to a frequency band in a region in which the structure of interest has been detected. The processor generates a composite two-dimensional image using the selected tomographic image in the region in which the structure of interest has been detected and using a predetermined tomographic image in a region in which the structure of interest has not been detected.

A reconstruction unit generates a plurality of tomographic images representing a plurality of tomographic planes of a subject by reconstructing a plurality of projection images acquired by performing tomosynthesis imaging. A synthesis unit synthesizes the plurality of tomographic images to generate a composite two-dimensional image. A display control unit displays the composite two-dimensional image on a display, and in a case where one tissue of a first tissue and a second tissue that are present in the subject in association with each other is selected in the displayed composite two-dimensional image, emphasizes and displays the selected one tissue and the other tissue associated with the selected one tissue.

Methods and systems are provided for reconstruction error assessment for an interventional tool utilized in an image guided interventional procedure. In one example, an error model based on a target lesion position within a tissue, one or more interventional tool parameters, and imaging system parameters may be utilized to estimate an expected reconstruction error for the interventional tool. In another example, when the interventional tool is within the tissue, the expected reconstruction error may be utilized along with observed tool shape and size to infer an actual tool position and shape within the tissue.

A station for tomotactic-guided biopsy in prone includes a table with an aperture, and a tomosynthesis imaging system. A biopsy gun can be mounted on a stage arm assembly disposed below the table. The imaging system and stage arm assembly can be independently rotated and linearly repositioned in one or more dimensions, thereby allowing the tomotactic scan axis to be located relative to a breast being imaged.

The invention includes a method including the steps of obtaining a plurality of images, each of the images in the plurality having at least one corresponding region, generating a merged image, the merged image also having the corresponding region. The step of generating includes selecting an image source from the plurality of images to source image data for the corresponding region in the merged image by comparing attributes of the corresponding regions of the plurality of images to identify the image source having preferred attributes.

A system for processing breast tissue images includes an image processing computer and a user interface operatively coupled to the image processing computer, wherein the image processing computer is configured to obtain image data of breast tissue, processing the image data to generate a set of reconstructed image slices, the reconstructed image slices collectively depicting the breast tissue, process respective subsets of the reconstructed image slices to generate a set of image slabs, each image slab comprising a synthesized 2D image of a portion of the breast tissue obtained from a respective subset of the set of reconstructed image slices.

A method for processing breast tissue image data includes processing image data of a patient's breast tissue to generate a high-dimensional grid depicting one or more high-dimensional objects in the patient's breast tissue; determining a probability or confidence of each of the one or more high-dimensional objects depicted in the high-dimensional grid; and modifying one or more aspects of at least one of the one or more high-dimensional objects based at least in part on its respective determined probability or confidence to thereby generate a lower-dimensional format version of the one or more high-dimensional objects. The method may further include displaying the lower-dimensional format version of the one or more high-dimensional objects in a synthesized image of the patient's breast tissue.

According to one embodiment, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus includes an X-ray irradiator, a scatterer, a grid, and a detector. The X-ray irradiator irradiates X-rays. The scatterer is provided between the X-ray irradiator and an object, that scatters the irradiated X-rays. The grid is provided between the scatterer and the object, that transmits the scattered X-rays within a predetermined angular range. The detector detects X-rays transmitted through the object together with an incident angle of the X-rays.