Patent Number: 
Section: description

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an X-ray CT system in one embodiment. As shown, the system is comprised of a gantry apparatus for irradiating a subject with X-rays and detecting X-rays having passed through the subject, and an operating console 200 for performing several kinds of operating settings for the gantry apparatus 100, and reconstructing an X-ray tomographic image based on data output from the gantry apparatus 100 for display. The gantry apparatus 100 comprises a main controller 1 for controlling the entire apparatus 100, and the following components. Reference numeral 2 designates an interface for communicating with the operating console 200, and 3 designates a planar annular gantry having a cavity portion for carrying a subject (human subject) laid on a table 14 (in a direction perpendicular to the drawing""s plane, which will be referred to as a Z-axis or a body axis hereinbelow). Reference numeral 4 designates an X-ray tube which is an X-ray generating source, and the X-ray tube 4 is driven and controlled by an X-ray tube controller 5. Reference numeral 6 designates a filter unit, which characterizes the present invention, and the filter unit 6 supports at least two types of filters which can be switched as desired in this embodiment. The particulars of the structure of the filter unit 6 and the filters supported thereon will be described in detail later. Reference numeral 7 designates a motor for switching between the filters of the filter unit 6, and 8 designates a filter controller for driving and controlling the motor 7. Reference numeral 9 designates a filter (made of a material such as Teflon) in a shape having a thin central portion and thick end portions in order to reduce the X-ray attenuation at the central portion and enhance the X-ray attenuation at the end portions, which is generally known and referred to as a bow-tie filter. Reference numeral 10 designates a collimator having a slit for defining a range of X-ray irradiation. Reference numeral 12 designates a rotary motor for rotating the gantry 3, and 13 designates a motor controller for driving the rotary motor 12. Reference numeral 14 designates a table for resting the subject, 15 a table motor for carrying the table 14 in the Z-axis direction, and 16 a table motor controller for driving and controlling the table motor 15. Reference numeral 17 designates an X-ray detecting section for detecting X-rays having passed through the subject, comprised of a detecting array in which about 1,000 X-ray detecting elements are arranged in a row. Some X-ray CT systems have a plurality of such detecting arrays. Such systems are called multi-slice X-ray CT systems. For brevity of description, the present invention will be described with reference to a single-slice X-ray CT system having only one detecting array, but it will be easily recognized that the present invention also applies to multi-slice X-ray CT systems. Reference numeral 18 designates a data collecting section for collecting data obtained by the X-ray detecting section 17 and converting the data into digital data. The operating console 200 is constituted by a xe2x80x9cworkstation,xe2x80x9d which comprises a CPU 51 for controlling the entire apparatus, a ROM 52 storing a boot program and BIOS, and a RAM 53 that serves as a main storage device, as shown, and the following components. An HDD 54 is a hard disk device, which stores an OS, and a diagnosis program for supplying several kinds of instructions to the gantry apparatus 100 and reconstructing an X-ray tomographic image based on data received from the gantry apparatus 100. In addition, it stores correction data 54a-54c as shown (which will be described in detail later). A VRAM 55 is a memory for developing image data to be displayed, and the image data can be displayed on a CRT 56 by developing the image data and the like there. Reference numerals 57 and 58 designate a keyboard and a mouse, respectively, for performing several kinds of settings. Reference numeral 59 designates an interface for communicating with the gantry apparatus 100. In performing a scan, and in the aforementioned configuration, an operator (technician or physician) operates the operating console to specify a region to be scanned in the subject, and thereafter prescribes a scan schedule in detail. Then, the operator gives a scan start instruction. A program running on the operating console in turn issues several control commands to the gantry apparatus 100 (main controller 1) according to the prescribed scan schedule. The main controller 1 on the gantry apparatus 100 supplies control signals to the X-ray tube controller 5, filter controller 8, collimator controller 11, motor controller 13 and table motor controller 16 according to the control instruction commands. Consequently, X-rays generated at the X-ray tube 4 and having passed through the subject can be detected by the X-ray detecting section 17, and the digital data of the X-rays can be obtained from the data collecting section 18. The main controller 1 transfers the data to the operating console 200 via the interface 2. Since the gantry 3 is rotated by the rotary motor 12 and the table 14 is also carried along the Z-axis, digital data of transmitted X-rays at different rotation angles and different Z-axis positions are sequentially transferred to the operating console 200. One scanning technique which involves stopping the table 14 and fixing the table 14 at a certain Z-axis position, rotating the gantry 3 one time in this condition, and then carrying the table 14 to a next scan position and rotating the gantry 3 again, is called an axial scan; and another scanning technique which involves simultaneously rotating the gantry 3 and carrying the table 14 is called a helical scan. Either of the scanning techniques may be employed. The program running on the operating console 200 then performs processing to reconstruct an X-ray tomographic image by a known processing method based on the received data, and sequentially displays the results on the CRT 56.  less than  less than Description of the Filter Unit greater than  greater than  X-rays generated from the X-ray tube 4 have a continuous spectral distribution, rather than a specific wavelength of X-rays (line spectrum). The lower-energy (longer-wavelength) X-rays in those X-rays tend to be absorbed by the subject, while the higher-energy (shorter-wavelength) X-rays tend to be transmitted. That is, when X-rays having a continuous spectrum are applied to the subject, there is a tendency for only the high-energy X-rays to be transmitted through the subject. This phenomenon is generally referred to as the beam-hardening effect of X-rays. Since the X-rays transmitted through the subject are high-energy X-rays, it is desired that no low-energy X-rays be applied to the subject from the beginning. Therefore, it has been made mandatory to provide a filter having a thickness of at least 2.5 mm in aluminum equivalent between the X-ray tube and the subject, rather than directly applying the X-rays generated from the X-ray tube 4. By passing the X-rays through a filter having such a property, lower-energy X-rays can be attenuated by the filter, thereby preventing the subject from being exposed to unnecessary radiation. However, there is room for further improvement on this technique in which a scan is performed using only one filter having a thickness of 2.5 mm in aluminum equivalent. The reason of this is as follows. As described earlier when X-rays having a continuous spectrum are applied to the subject, lower-energy X-rays are absorbed by the subject in a larger proportion. Since the abdomen of the subject is the region having the largest cross section, X-rays that reach the X-ray detecting section 17 mostly have a high energy in scanning such a region. Thus, when a scan is performed on the abdomen, the beam-hardening effect is most prominent. Therefore, a filter having a thickness of more than 2.5 mm in aluminum equivalent may safely be used in scanning the abdomen. On the other hand, the head of the subject has a smaller cross section than the abdomen, resulting in a smaller beam-hardening effect. Moreover, since the brain is largely composed of white matter and gray matter and, in addition, the difference in CT value between them is small, it is difficult to reconstruct an X-ray tomographic image having a sufficient contrast. To enhance the contrast of an X-ray tomographic image, it is necessary to make more X-rays reach the X-ray detecting section 17, and to increase the S/N ratio. Therefore, in scanning the head of the subject, it is desired that a thinner filter (but not less than 2.5 mm in aluminum equivalent) than that used in scanning the abdomen be used. In scanning the thorax, since the lungs are hollow and the contrast that depends upon the existence of the subject""s tissue is high from the start, an X-ray tomographic image can be reconstructed with a sufficiently high quality using only high-energy X-rays. Therefore, for a filter employed in scanning the thorax, a thicker filter (a filter having a higher attenuation factor) than for the abdomen can be used, thereby cutting low-energy X-rays applied to the subject to prevent unnecessary radiation exposure. In summary, when the thicknesses of filters used in scanning the head. abdomen and thorax are represented as Ta, Tb and Tc, in aluminum equivalent, the following relationship holds: 2.5 mmxe2x89xa6Ta less than Tb less than Tc. Consequently, a scan for obtaining signals having a sufficient S/N ratio can be performed according to the scan region, and yet the exposure to the subject can be decreased to the minimum required amount. The filter thicknesses for particular regions are desirably as follows: the filter thickness Ta for the head: 2.5-3.5 mm in aluminum equivalent, the filter thickness Tb for the abdomen: 6.0-8.0 mm in aluminum equivalent, and the filter thickness Tc for the thorax: 10.0-12.0 mm in aluminum equivalent. Although aluminum is taken as a standard here, if copper is to be used, the thickness may be 0.2 mm for the abdomen and 0.25 mm for the thorax, for example. FIG. 2 illustrates an X-ray transmission spectrum distribution in using these filters. It will be recognized that the spectrum of transmitted X-rays is shifted toward higher energy with the increasing filter thickness, although the amount of transmitted X-rays tends to decrease. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the configuration around the filter unit 6 in the present embodiment. As shown, the filter unit 6 supports three filters 6a, 6b and 6c (having respective thicknesses of Ta, Tb and Tc) provided slidably in the subject-carrying direction (Z-axis). The filter unit 6 is provided on its side with teeth 30, with which a gear 31 secured to a driving spindle of the motor 7 engages, as shown. The gear 31 is rotated by driving the motor 7, so that the position of the filter unit 6 can be changed freely along arrow A (Z-axis) in the drawing. Reference numeral 32 designates a sensor comprising a light-emitting element 33 and a light-receiving element 34 at the illustrated positions. When the gantry apparatus 100 is activated, the main controller 1 supplies a drive control signal for the motor 7 to the filter unit controller 8 to move the filter unit 6, and determines a home position of the filter unit 6 as the point where the light-receiving element 34 changes from a state incapable of detecting a light from the light-emitting element 33 into a state capable of detecting the light (or vice versa). By counting the number of pulses supplied to the motor 7 starting with the home position, the position of the filter unit 6 is identified. Thus, a desired one of the filters 6a-6c can be positioned just below the X-ray tube 4. After the initialization processing for the activation as described above, the main controller 1 selects the most suitable filter by issuing a control command to the filter controller 8 according to an instruction command from the operating console 200. For example, when a selection command that means the filter 6c is to be employed is received from the operating console 200, a shift amount with respect to the current position is calculated, and a control signal corresponding to the amount is supplied to the motor controller 8 to enable a scan employing the filter 6c.   less than  less than Control of a Scan greater than  greater than  FIG. 4 illustrates a start menu for scan scheduling displayed on the CRT 56 of the operating console 200. As shown, a model image is displayed on the left of the screen, and logical buttons 40-42 are displayed on the right for determining the region to be scanned. The selection of one of the buttons is achieved by moving a cursor 43 linked to the mouse 58 to a desired button and clicking a button on the mouse 58. Upon clicking any one of the buttons 42-44, the CPU 51 outputs a filter selection command corresponding to the selected region to the gantry apparatus 100 via the interface 59. Thereafter, the main controller 1 in the gantry apparatus 100 interprets the received command, and issues a control command to the filter controller 8 based on the received command, as described earlier. Then, a detailed scan schedule for the selected region will be specified on the operating console 200. However, since this process has no direct relation with the present invention and is a known procedure, a detailed description will be omitted. Since the filters 6a-6c have different transmission properties (or attenuation properties), as shown in FIG. 2, the electric signal output from the X-ray detecting section 17 is naturally one affected by filter employed. Specifically, even if the same region of the subject is scanned, the signal obtained employing the filter 6a is different from the signal obtained employing the filter 6b.  Therefore, the operating console 200 is required to perform reconstruction processing for an X-ray tomographic image suited to the filter employed during the scan by the gantry apparatus 100. Therefore, respective correction data corresponding to the filters 6a-6c to be employed are stored in the HDD 54 of the operating console 200. When the region to be measured has been determined, the appropriate correction data selected from among the correction data 54a-54c is used to correct data transferred from the gantry apparatus 100, and thereafter, the reconstruction processing for an X-ray tomographic image is performed. It should be noted that the correction data 54a-54c also take the properties of the bow-tie filter 9 into account. In summary, the CPU 51 of the operating console 200 is operated according to the flow chart shown in FIG. 5. This program is previously stored in the HDD 54, and is loaded into the RAM 53 for execution. First, at Step S1, the scan region selection screen is displayed as shown in FIG. 4, and the operator (technician or physician) is prompted to select which region is to be scanned. After the selection, a decision is made on which region was selected at Step S2. If the head was selected as the scanned object, the process goes to Step S3 and an instruction command for the filter 6a selection is issued to the gantry apparatus 100 to employ the filter 6a. Then, the gantry apparatus 100 controls the movement of the filter unit 6 as described earlier, positions the specified filter just below the X-ray tube 4 and fixes the filter at that position. Then, the process goes to Step S4 to select the correction data 54a for the filter 6a and reads the data 54a out to a predefined region in the RAM 53. If the thorax was selected as the scanned object, an instruction command for the filter 6c selection is issued at Step S5, the correction data 54c for the filter 6c is selected at Step S6, and the data 54c is read out to a predefined region in the RAM 53. If the abdomen was selected as the scanned object, an instruction command for the filter 6b selection is issued at Step S7, the correction data 54b for the filter 6b is selected at Step S8, and the data 54b is read out to a predefined region in the RAM 53. In any case, the process goes to Step S9, and a detailed scan schedule is prescribed for the selected scan region. The prescription includes, for example, items about the range of the carrying direction to be scanned (from which position to which position), about which interval is to be selected for reconstructed X-ray tomographic images, and the like. These items are known and a description thereof will be omitted. Then, at Step S10, when the operator orders a scan to be started, processing are carried out to transfer several kinds of control commands to the gantry apparatus 100 according to the scan schedule, and to cause the gantry apparatus 100 to control the driving operations of the motor controller 13, table motor controller 16 and X-ray tube controller 5 according to the supplied commands, and to transfer X-ray transmission data collected by the data collecting section 18 (data from all the channels in the X-ray detecting section 17) to the operating console. The operating console 200 receives the data transferred from the gantry apparatus 100 at Step S11. The process then goes to Step S12, and the correction data previously read out to the RAM 53 is used to perform correction processing on the received data. Then, at Step S13, known processing for reconstruction of an X-ray tomographic image is executed, and processing for outputting the image (display processing etc.) is executed at Step S14. According to the present embodiment as described above, by employing the most suitable filter corresponding to the region to be measured in a subject, the subject is only exposed to the minimum required radiation and the quality of the reconstructed X-ray tomographic image can be improved.  less than  less than Second Embodiment greater than  greater than  Although the filter to be employed is determined according to the region to be measured in the former embodiment, the size of subjects widely varies. Especially, the cross-sectional area of the abdomen is different among individuals. For example, a scan of the abdomen of a large person exhibits a more prominent hardening effect than that of a thin person. The same is true for an adult and a child. Therefore, in this second embodiment, the parameters for determining the filter to be employed additionally include the size of the subject, as well as the region to be measured. It should be noted that the number of types of filters should be increased as compared with the first embodiment because the size of the subject is additionally considered. FIG. 6 shows a measured region selection screen in accordance with the second embodiment. As shown, fields 60 and 61 are provided for inputting the height and weight as the size of a subject. If the size of a subject is assumed to be classified into, for example, three grades: large, medium and small, since the number of the measured region is also three, nine filters at maximum may be needed. Assume that the filters are represented as f1, f2, . . . , f9. The operator first inputs the height and weight of a subject to be scanned, and then performs the operation to select the region to be measured. Consequently, an appropriate filter is determined from among the filters f1, f2, . . . , f9, and an instruction command for the filter selection is sent to the gantry apparatus 100. It will be easily recognized that the HDD 54 on the operating console 200 is provided with the same number of correction data sets as the number of filters. In determining the filter to be employed, a table as exemplarily shown in FIG. 7 may be stored in the HDD 54 to select the filter with reference thereto. As a result, since the filter to be employed can be determined additionally considering the size of the subject, the exposed dose to the subject is further reduced, and an X-ray tomographic image can be reconstructed with high accuracy. It should be noted that although only one example is described of the switching structure of the filter unit of the gantry apparatus 100 for the first and second embodiments, other structures may be contemplated. The point is that it should be possible to perform a scan employing a desired filter from among filters having different transmission properties. Moreover, although the regions to be scanned have been described as three regions: the head, thorax and abdomen in the above embodiments, the minimum requirement is two regions: the head and abdomen. Moreover, the regions to be measured may include four regions or more for fine definition. Moreover, although the filter in the embodiments is described as being made of aluminum, there is no limitation on the material. The point is that filters having transmission properties like those shown in FIG. 2 should be used, and other materials such as copper or the like may be employed. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the apparatuses and methods for implementing the aforementioned embodiments, but the scope of the present invention includes the case in which the aforementioned embodiments are achieved by a software program code supplied to a computer (CPU or MPU) in the aforementioned system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus operates the several devices according to the program code. In this case, the software program code per se is regarded as achieving the functions of the embodiments. Therefore, the program code per se, and means, particularly, a storage medium storing the program code, for supplying the program code to the computer are contained within the scope of the present invention. For the storage medium for storing such a program code, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, ROM or the like may be employed, for example. Furthermore, the program code may be downloaded via a medium that is a network (e.g., the Internet). Many widely different embodiments of the invention may be configured without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the specification, except as defined in the appended claims.