Patent ID: 8792965
Filing Date: 2014-07-29
Classification: A61B,G06T

Abstract:
1. A method, for detection, diagnosis, or treatment of a lesion in a patient's breast using a cone beam computed tomography (CT) guided biopsy system, the method comprising: providing a patient table, configured to position a patient for a biopsy procedure; providing a cone beam CT module, configured to output a cone beam CT image of at least a portion of the patient's breast; providing a compression module configured (i) to stabilize the breast during imaging and biopsy and (ii) to revolve around the breast; determining, from a diagnostic scan of the breast, an angular position of the compression module based on skin-to-lesion distance; orienting the compression module based on the angular position and compressing the breast with the compression module; outputting from the cone beam CT module a 3D reconstruction of at least a portion of the breast that includes a lesion; determining a path through which to guide a biopsy needle to the lesion, based on the 3D reconstruction; providing a multi-axis transport module, configured to move the biopsy needle along the path to the lesion; moving the biopsy needle from a location outside the patient's body to the lesion; taking projections (a) along two separated arcs, together forming less than a complete revolution about the breast and avoiding full coverage of the biopsy needle and corresponding biopsy gun, and (b) while collimating to expose only the biopsy needle and a portion of the breast including the lesion in an area not greater than 1 cm plus a maximum detected size of the lesion; reconstructing an image from the projections taken along the two arcs, and a part of the diagnostic scan, the part corresponding to data missing between the two arcs; and correcting for metal artifacts by (I) applying a derivative method to localize the biopsy needle in the projections, and (II) decreasing discontinuity by (A) decreasing a projection value of the biopsy needle proportionally according to its original value, and (B) using spline interpolation based on reduced sampling values at a location of the biopsy needle.