ROI selection in image registration
Granted: June 12, 2007
Patent Number:
7231076
A method and system is presented for automatically selecting a region of interest (ROI) within an image of an object, for example when performing non-rigid image registration between the image and another image of the object. In this way, the need for user interaction can be minimized or eliminated during image registration. The ROI is determined by defining an entropy measure H of the image, and selecting the region within the image in which the entropy measure is maximized, In this…
Apparatus and method for registering 2D radiographic images with images reconstructed from 3D scan data
Granted: April 17, 2007
Patent Number:
7204640
A method and system is provided for registering a 2D radiographic image of a target with previously generated 3D scan data of the target. A reconstructed 2D image is generated from the 3D scan data. The radiographic 2D image is registered with the reconstructed 2D images to determine the values of in-plane transformation parameters (x, y, ?) and out-of-plane rotational parameters (r, ?), where the parameters represent the difference in the position of the target in the radiographic…
Apparatus and method for determining measure of similarity between images
Granted: March 6, 2007
Patent Number:
7187792
A method and system is presented in image-guided radiosurgery for determining the measure of similarity of two digital images, for example a 2D x-ray image and a 2D DRR synthesized from 3D scan data. A two-dimensional array of pixel values of a difference image is formed by subtracting each pixel value of the second image from the corresponding pixel value of the first image. The pattern intensity function is constructed by taking the summation of asymptotic functions of the gradients of…
Apparatus and method for radiosurgery
Granted: January 30, 2007
Patent Number:
7171257
A method and system is presented for treating moving target regions in a patient's anatomy by creating radiosurgical lesions. The method includes determining a pulsating motion of a patient separately from a determining of a respiratory motion, and directing a radiosurgical beam, from a radiosurgical beam source, to a target in the patient based on the determining of the pulsating motion. Directing the radiosurgical beam to the target may include creating a lesion in the heart to inhibit…
Treatment target positioning system
Granted: January 23, 2007
Patent Number:
7166852
A wireless treatment target positioning system for therapeutic radiation treatment includes a patient positioning system and a treatment target locating system. The treatment target locating system includes a room beam coordinate system and a localizing system. The room beam coordinate system includes devices for generating laser beams intersecting at a single point that is spatially coincident with an iso-center of the treatment system. The localizing system includes a movable reference…
Patient positioning assembly for therapeutic radiation system
Granted: December 26, 2006
Patent Number:
7154991
A patient positioning assembly for therapeutic radiation treatment includes a support device for supporting the patient during treatment, and a controller for controlling the motion of the support device so that the treatment target within the patient is properly aligned with respect to a radiosurgical treatment apparatus throughout the treatment. The controller generates motion command signals for implementing corrective motions of the support device. The corrective motions align the…
Radiosurgery X-ray system with collision avoidance subsystem
Granted: September 5, 2006
Patent Number:
7103144
A method for preventing an emission head or arm assembly from entering an exclusion zone. The method may include calculating a variable dimension exclusion zone of a radiosurgery system, and preventing at least one of the emission head or arm assembly from entering the variable dimension exclusion zone. The method may also include establishing a exclusion zone of a radiosurgery system, the radiosurgery system comprising an x-ray source having an emission head, moving the emission head…
Radiosurgery x-ray system with collision avoidance subsystem
Granted: September 5, 2006
Patent Number:
7103145
A method for preventing an emission head or arm assembly from entering an exclusion zone or for preventing a collision between an object and the emission head and/or arm assembly. The method may include modeling a treatment room using a computer-aided design (CAD) tool, and calculating an exclusion zone for a radiosurgery system in the treatment room using the modeled treatment room.
Radiosurgery x-ray system with collision avoidance subsystem
Granted: May 16, 2006
Patent Number:
7046765
The present invention provides a radiosurgery and/or radiotherapy x-ray system including a collision avoidance subsystem for detecting and avoiding obstacles during treatment. The system includes an x-ray source having an emission head at a distal end of an articulated arm assembly extending from a base unit, with the head being adapted for selectively emitting an x-ray beam along a beam axis, and including an associated controller for selectively orienting the head whereby the beam…
Frameless radiosurgery treatment system and method
Granted: August 17, 2004
Patent Number:
6778850
A method and apparatus for selectively and accurately localizing and treating a target within a patient are provided. A three dimensional mapping of a region surrounding the target is coupled to a surgical intervention. Two or more diagnostic beams at a known non-zero angle to one another may pass through the mapping region to produce images of projections within the mapping region in order to accurately localize and treat the target wherein the images are captured using one or more…
Apparatus and method for compensating for respiratory and patient motions during treatment
Granted: December 31, 2002
Patent Number:
6501981
An apparatus and method for performing treatment on an internal target region while compensating for breathing and other motion of the patient is provided in which the apparatus comprises a first imaging device for periodically generating positional data about the internal target region and a second imaging device for continuously generating positional data about one or more external markers attached to the patient's body or any external sensor such as a device for measuring air…
Apparatus and method for compensating for respiratory and patient motion during treatment
Granted: November 7, 2000
Patent Number:
6144875
An apparatus and method for performing treatment on an internal target region while compensating for breathing and other motion of the patient is provided in which the apparatus comprises a first imaging device for periodically generating positional data about the internal target region and a second imaging device for continuously generating positional data about one or more external markers adapted to be attached to the patient's body or any external sensor such as a device for…
3-dimensional radiation dosimeter
Granted: July 4, 1995
Patent Number:
5430308
A three-dimensional dosimetry system and method for calibrating and mapping the expected radiation dose to be applied to a particular volume of tissue. In one embodiment, a stack of film is positioned within a radiation generation apparatus and is exposed to radiation. The film is scanned by a scanner and the scanner output is sent to a computer where it is compared to reference data of the desired dose distribution.
Apparatus for and method of carrying out stereotaxic radiosurgery and radiotherapy
Granted: June 27, 1995
Patent Number:
5427097
There is disclosed herein a technique for carrying out stereotaxic radiosurgery or radiotherapy on a particular target region within a patient by a radiosurgical/radiotherapeutic beam of radiation which is at least intermittently directed along a beam path through the target region. One particular beam generating arrangement illustrated is carried by a robotic arm which is movable in at least three dimensions. In accordance with one embodiment disclosed herein, a method and apparatus are…
Apparatus for and method of performing stereotaxic surgery
Granted: May 4, 1993
Patent Number:
5207223
A method and an apparatus are set forth for selectively irradiating a target within a patient. A 3-dimensional mapping is provided of a mapping region surrounding the target. A beaming apparatus emits a collimated beam. Diagnostic beams at a known non-zero angle to one another pass through the mapping region. They produce images of projections within the mapping region. Electronic representations of the images are compared with the reference data thereby locating the target. The relative…
Sheet-contacting thickness gauges
Granted: December 24, 1991
Patent Number:
5074050
A contacting thickness gauge comprising a unique surface follower (46). The bottom surface (56) of the surface follower (46) has both contacting areas (64,66) and non-contacting areas (62). The surface follower (46) is in substantially continuous contact with a moving sheet (2) and embodies an electrically conductive target having a target surface that intersects a magnetic field but is substantially free from contact with the sheet during normal operation. The surface follower (46) is…
Apparatus and process for measuring physical parameters of sheet material
Granted: August 23, 1988
Patent Number:
4766315
An apparatus and process for measuring physical parameters of sheet material via infrared absorption phenomena is disclosed. The invention employs an integral filter-detector package comprising at least two optical filter-detector combinations. The package is contained within a conventional sensor housing which traverses back and forth across the sheet material. The package may comprise an additional filter-detector combination that is selected to produce a detector response having a…
Air shower apparatus and method
Granted: June 7, 1988
Patent Number:
4748906
A hooded air shower system for controlling the diameter profile of a rotating cylinder. Air is supplied to an air chamber and then channeled into a plurality of conduits that correspond to a plurality of cross-machine zones of the cylinder. The air temperature is regulated within each conduit and separate channeling is maintained until the air is directed to the cylinder. An obstructing device substantially restricts movement of the air along the cylinder to one circumferential…
Measurement of moisture-stratified sheet material
Granted: March 22, 1988
Patent Number:
4733078
A process and apparatus for measuring moisture content of moisture-stratified sheet material such as paper is disclosed. The effective reflectivities of two areas of an infrared moisture sensor that generally face opposite surfaces of the sheet are made significantly different, so that the sensitivity of the measurement to conditions prevailing in a high-moisture stratum of the sheet is increased.
Measuring the speed of ultrasound in a moving web of paper
Granted: March 15, 1988
Patent Number:
4730492
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for producing electrical signals that can be used to measure the speed of ultrasound in a moving web of paper. The apparatus employs a hollow cylinder in which a plurality of transducers are positioned to contact the web. Power supplied to the cylinder through mercury slip is filtered by power conditioning circuitry in the interior of the cylinder, thus enabling the delivery of clean electrical pulses to the emitting transducers. Signals from the…
