A method and apparatus to automatically control the timing of an image acquisition by an imaging system in developing a correlation model of movement of a target within a patient.

In a method to control a medical apparatus of an installation having: a contact device for a patient, at least one electrical potential sensor that can be coupled to the body of said patient is integrated into the contact device. A signal evaluation device is provided with measurement signals generated with the electrical potential sensor for evaluation. The medical apparatus is connected with the signal evaluation device, and measurement signals that relate to the breathing and/or cardiac activity of the patient are acquired with the at least one electrical potential sensor coupled to the body of said patient upon contact of the patient with the contact device. Trigger signals are generated with the signal evaluation device based on the measurement signals that relate to the breathing cycle and/or the cardiac cycle of the patient. Operation of the medical apparatus is controlled based on the trigger signals.

An image-guided therapy delivery system includes a therapy generator configured to generate a therapy beam directed to a time-varying therapy locus within a therapy recipient, an imaging input configured to receive imaging information about a time-varying target locus within the therapy recipient, and a therapy controller. The therapy generator includes a therapy output configured to direct the therapy beam according to a therapy protocol. The therapy controller is configured to automatically generate a predicted target locus using information indicative of an earlier target locus extracted from the imaging information, a cyclic motion model, and a specified latency, and automatically generate an updated therapy protocol to align the time-varying therapy locus with the predicted target locus.

Method for positioning an artificial heart valve at the anatomic position of a malfunctioning heart valve of a heart of a patient, by employing a catheter bearing the artificial heart valve and a valve fixation device, at the tip of the catheter, the method including the procedures of receiving a marking input associated with an image of the heart, and respective of the anatomic position, in a medical positioning system (MPS) coordinate system, moving the tip toward the anatomic position, constantly detecting the current position of the artificial heart valve, and producing an indication when the current position substantially matches the anatomic position, thereby enabling the catheter to fix the malfunctioning heart valve in place, by the valve fixation device.

An apparatus for cone beam computed tomography can include a support structure, a scanner assembly coupled to the support structure for controlled movement in at least x, y and z orientations, the scanner assembly can include a DR detector configured to move along at least a portion of a detector path that extends at least partially around a scan volume with a distance D1 that is sufficiently long to allow the scan volume to be positioned within the detector path; a radiation source configured to move along at least a portion of a source path outside the detector path, the source path having a distance D2 greater than the distance D1, the distance D2 being sufficiently long to allow adequate radiation exposure of the scan volume for an image capture by the detector; and a first gap in the detector path.

Apparatus and methods are described including inserting a tool into a blood vessel, and, while the tool is within the blood vessel, acquiring an extraluminal image of the blood vessel. In the extraluminal image of the blood vessel, a location of a portion of the tool with respect to the blood vessel is detected automatically. In response to detecting the location of the portion of the tool, a target portion of the blood vessel that is in a vicinity of the portion of the tool is designated automatically. Using the extraluminal image, quantitative vessel analysis is performed on the target portion of the blood vessel. Other embodiments are also described.

A method for vascular modeling is disclosed. The method, in some embodiments, comprises receiving a plurality of 2-D angiographic images of a portion of a vasculature of a subject, and processing the images to automatically detect 2-D features, for example, paths along vascular extents, which are projected into 3-D to determine homologous features among blood vessels. In some embodiments, projection and/or image registration is iteratively altered to improve feature position matching. Based on 3-D vascular extents and their registration to 2-D images, additional features such as vascular width are optionally determined and added to the model.

In one embodiment, a medical image processing apparatus which analyzes blood flow dynamics in a predetermined region of a subject, the blood flow dynamics being generated from medical images obtained by imaging the predetermined region in time sequence over a plurality of time phases. The medical image processing apparatus includes memory circuitry configured to store a program; and processing circuitry configured to correct pixel values of a second medical image according to an amount of deformation of the second medical image when the second medical image is aligned with a first medical image by executing the program read out from the memory circuitry, the first medical image and the second medical image being among the medical images in the plurality of time phases,

A method for co-registration of angiography and intravascular images is described in which intravascular images are in the form of a sequence of images obtained from an intravascular imaging device which is pulled back through a vessel. The method includes generating a three-dimensional reconstruction of the trajectory of the intravascular device within the vessel from two or more bi-dimensional angiography images of such vessel which have been obtained from different perspectives. The method also includes determining a first position of an element of the device within the 3D reconstruction of the trajectory and correlating the position of such element with a correspondent point in the reconstructed trajectory during pull back. Further, the method includes correlating each intravascular image of the sequence with a corresponding spatial position within at least one of the bi-dimensional angiography images. A corresponding system and computer program are also described.

A method and system is disclosed for acquiring image data of a subject. The image data can be collected with an imaging system with at least two different power characteristics. The image data can be reconstructed using dynamic or enhanced reconstruction techniques.