Patent Description:
With the development of computer science, medical imaging technology has rapidly evolved, and various novel medical imaging devices are being designed and manufactured. Those new medical imaging devices bring about the enormity of changes in operation manners and operation functions, resulting in a high work efficiency. In the meanwhile, there are demands for new methods for controlling the devices.

At present, most imaging systems encapsulate software in traditional manners, which is component-based. In encapsulating control signals based on different components, each control signal for a single component is encapsulated into a signal control method, such that a master control module (also referred to as master control device) of an imaging system may use the signal control method to control each single of the components in a radiation exposure process. The master control device of the imaging system performs normal control sequences, according to timing control requirement of different components, as well as different control methods corresponding to different components, so as to control the components to implement their corresponding functions.

Taking X-ray equipment for mammography as an example, the X-ray equipment for mammography includes a full-field digital mammography (FFDM) device and a digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). As for digital mammography, its core functions are tomographic imaging, 3D image reconstruction, and application functions of FFDM. The control of flat-panel components is a core factor in a radiation exposure control. FFDM and DBT have different radiation exposure manners, and thus, different types of flat-panel components are used. To control radiation exposure processes of flat-panel components of different types, a designer of an imaging system needs to adopt different control processes and control methods, according to the control characteristics of flat-panel components of different types, resulting in numerous sub-exposure control process of the system, and bringing about difficulties in the system design and maintenance. In addition, due to differences in control sequences of the flat-panel components of different types, it is necessary to consider the compatibility and rationality of those sub-exposure control processes, when synergizing different components, which inconveniences system debugging and maintenance. Thus, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for controlling a radiation exposure process more simply and efficiently. <CIT> discloses control method and system concerning an image sensor, in which when the sensor receives an exposure request signal, the exposure window is opened for exposure.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system comprising at least one storage device storing a set of instructions, and at least one processor configured to communicate with the at least one storage device may be provided. When executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is directed to perform operations including obtaining exposure instructions including an exposure state of an imaging device; determining first components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling the first components to implement the target operation instructions is provided.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further directed to perform operations including transmitting state information of the first components to a master control device after the first components preform the one or more target operations.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further directed to perform operations including determining a correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations of the first components, and determining the one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state based on the correspondence relationship.

The exposure states are obtained by dividing an exposure process of the radiation exposure on the subject into one or more phases, each of the one or more phases corresponding to an exposure state.

The exposure states include an exposure preparation state and state, an exposure start state, and optionally at least one of an exposure end state, or an idle state.

In some embodiments, the at least one processor is further directed to perform operations including obtaining information of second components; determining an exposure process of the second components and operations of the second components in the exposure process based on the information of the second components; identifying one or more target operations of the second components corresponding to the exposure state by separating the operations of the second components in the exposure process according to the exposure states; and generating target operation instructions for controlling the second components to implement the one or more target operations.

In some embodiments, the imaging device includes a digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), a full-field digital mammography (FFDM), a computed tomography (CT) device, a digital radiography (DR), or a computed radiography (CR).

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a system comprising at least one storage device storing a set of instructions, and at least one processor configured to communicate with the at least one storage device may be provided. When executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is directed to perform operations including obtaining exposure triggering parameters; determining an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; and transmitting the exposure instructions to first components for controlling the first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a system comprising at least one storage device storing a set of instructions, and at least one processor configured to communicate with the at least one storage device may be provided. When executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor is directed to perform operations including obtaining, by a master control device, exposure triggering parameters; determining, by the master control device, an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating, by the master control device, exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; transmitting, by the master control device, the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state; obtaining, by the component managing device, the exposure instructions of the exposure state; determining, by the component managing device, one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating, by the component managing device, target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling, by the component managing device, the first components to implement the target operation instructions.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented on a computing device having at least one computer readable storage medium storing a set of instructions and at least one processor executing the set of instructions for controlling a radiation exposure on a subject may be provided. The method may include obtaining exposure instructions including an exposure state of an imaging device; determining first components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling the first components to implement the target operation instructions is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented on a computing device having at least one computer readable storage medium storing a set of instructions and at least one processor executing the set of instructions for controlling a radiation exposure on a subject may be provided. The method may include obtaining exposure triggering parameters; determining an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; and transmitting the exposure instructions to first components for controlling the first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a method implemented on a computing device having at least one computer readable storage medium storing a set of instructions and at least one processor executing the set of instructions for controlling a radiation exposure on a subject may be provided. The method may include obtaining, by a master control device, exposure triggering parameters; determining, by the master control device, an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating, by the master control device, exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; transmitting, by the master control device, the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state; obtaining, by the component managing device, the exposure instructions of the exposure state; determining, by the component managing device, one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating, by the component managing device, target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling, by the component managing device, the first components to implement the target operation instructions.

According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising at least one set of instructions, wherein when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, the at least one set of instructions causes the computing device to perform a method may be provided. The method may include obtaining exposure instructions including an exposure state of an imaging device; determining first components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling the first components to implement the target operation instructions is provided.

According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising at least one set of instructions, wherein when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, the at least one set of instructions causes the computing device to perform a method may be provided. The method may include obtaining exposure triggering parameters; determining an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; and transmitting the exposure instructions to first components for controlling the first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising at least one set of instructions, wherein when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, the at least one set of instructions causes the computing device to perform a method may be provided. The method may include obtaining, by a master control device, exposure triggering parameters; determining, by the master control device, an exposure state of an imaging device based on the exposure triggering parameters; generating, by the master control device, exposure instructions including the determined exposure state; transmitting, by the master control device, the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling first components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state; obtaining, by the component managing device, the exposure instructions of the exposure state; determining, by the component managing device, one or more target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure state; generating, by the component managing device, target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the first components; and controlling, by the component managing device, the first components to implement the target operation instructions.

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present disclosure and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.

It will be understood that the term "system," "engine," "unit," "module," and/or "block" used herein are one method to distinguish different components, elements, parts, section or assembly of different level in ascending order. However, the terms may be displaced by another expression if they may achieve the same purpose.

Generally, the word "module," "unit," or "block," as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions. A module, a unit, or a block described herein may be implemented as software and/or hardware and may be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or another storage device. In some embodiments, a software module/unit/block may be compiled and linked into an executable program. It will be appreciated that software modules can be callable from other modules/units/blocks or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response to detected events or interrupts. Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution on computing apparatuss (e.g., processor <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>) may be provided on a computer-readable medium, such as a compact disc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any other tangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally stored in a compressed or installable format that needs installation, decompression, or decryption prior to execution). Such software code may be stored, partially or fully, on a storage device of the executing computing apparatus, for execution by the computing apparatus. Software instructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM). It will be further appreciated that hardware modules/units/blocks may be included in connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or can be included of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules/units/blocks or computing apparatus functionality described herein may be implemented as software modules/units/blocks, but may be represented in hardware or firmware. In general, the modules/units/blocks described herein refer to logical modules/units/blocks that may be combined with other modules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocks despite their physical organization or storage. The description may be applicable to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations that systems implement according to some embodiments in the present disclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of the flowchart may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operations may be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, one or more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or more operations may be removed from the flowcharts.

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for radiation exposure process control. The radiation exposure process may be divided into at least one exposure state. The system may obtain exposure instructions including at least one exposure state, determine one or more target operations of components of an imaging device in each of the at least one exposure state, generate target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and control the components to implement the target operation instructions.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a convenient way in which radiation exposure control functionality can be introduced into an existing imaging device without the need to modify the imaging system significantly may be provided. This is achieved by providing an insert system (e.g., the control device <NUM>) coupled to a main system comprising a digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), a full-field digital mammography (FFDM), a computed tomography (CT) device, a digital radiography (DR), and/or a computed radiography (CR) and supporting software of the insert system for installing on the main system.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary imaging system <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the imaging system <NUM> may include an imaging scanner <NUM>, a control device <NUM>, a storage device <NUM>, one or more terminals <NUM>, and a network <NUM>. The components in the imaging system <NUM> may be connected in various ways. Merely by way of example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the imaging scanner <NUM> may be connected to the control device <NUM> through the network <NUM>. As another example, the imaging scanner <NUM> may be connected with the control device <NUM> directly as indicated by the bi-directional arrow in dotted lines linking the imaging scanner <NUM> and the control device <NUM>. As a further example, the storage device <NUM> may be connected with the control device <NUM> directly (not shown in <FIG>) or through the network <NUM>. As still a further example, one or more terminal(s) <NUM> may be connected with the control device <NUM> directly (as indicated by the bi-directional arrow in dotted lines linking the terminal(s) <NUM> and the control device <NUM>) or through the network <NUM>.

The imaging scanner <NUM> may scan a subject or a portion thereof that is located within its detection region, and generate imaging signals relating to the (part of) subject. In the present disclosure, the terms "subject" and "object" are used interchangeably. In some embodiments, the subject may include a body, a substance, or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the subject may include a specific portion of a body, such as the head, the thorax, the abdomen, or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the subject may include a specific organ, such as the breast, the heart, the esophagus, the trachea, the bronchus, the stomach, the gallbladder, the small intestine, the colon, the bladder, the ureter, the uterus, the fallopian tube, etc. In some embodiments, the imaging scanner <NUM> may include a DBT scanner, an FFDM scanner, a CT scanner, a DR scanner, a CR scanner, or the like. In some embodiment, the imaging scanner <NUM> may be a multi-modality device.

[<NUM>] Merely for illustration purposes, a DBT scanner may be provided as an example for better understanding the imaging scanner <NUM>, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The DBT scanner may include a gantry <NUM>, a detecting region <NUM>, and a scanning table <NUM>. The gantry <NUM> may support one or more radiation sources and/or detectors (not shown). A subject (e.g., the breast of a patient) may be placed on the scanning table <NUM> for imaging scan. When the DBT scanner performs an imaging scan, a radiation exposure process (also referred to as exposure process) may be implemented involving a plurality of components (e.g., a flat-panel detector, a high-voltage generator, etc.). The plurality of components may perform a variety of operations to prepare for radiation exposure on the subject. In the radiation exposure, a radiation source may emit radioactive rays to the subject, and one or more detectors may detect radiation rays emitted from the detecting region <NUM>. The radiation rays emitted from the detecting region <NUM> may be used to generate image data. The one or more detectors used may include, for example, a cesium iodide detector, a gas detector, etc..

The control device <NUM> may process data and/or information obtained and/or retrieve from the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, the storage device <NUM> and/or other storage devices, and control the components, devices, modules, etc., of the imaging system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the control device <NUM> may include a master control module (also referred to as master control device) and a component managing module (also referred to as component managing device). The master control module and/or the component managing module may process data and/or information, and generate control instructions to direct one or more components in the imaging system <NUM> to implement exemplary methods or operations in the present disclosure. For example, the master control device may determine an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, and generate exposure instructions of the determined exposure state. As another example, component managing device may determine components and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure state. In some embodiments, the control device <NUM> may be a single server or a server group. The server group may be centralized or distributed. In some embodiments, the control device <NUM> may be local or remote. For example, the control device <NUM> may access information and/or data stored in the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, and/or the storage device <NUM> via the network <NUM>. As another example, the control device <NUM> may be directly connected with the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, and/or the storage device <NUM> to access stored information and/or data. In some embodiments, the control device <NUM> may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the control device <NUM> may be implemented on a computing apparatus <NUM> having one or more components illustrated in <FIG> in the present disclosure.

The storage device <NUM> may store data and/or instructions. In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may store data obtained from the terminal(s) <NUM> and/or the control device <NUM>. For example, the storage device <NUM> may store data, images, algorithms, texts, instructions, program codes, etc. In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may store data and/or instructions that the control device <NUM> may execute or use to perform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may include a mass storage device, a removable storage device, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. Exemplary mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. Exemplary removable storage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. Exemplary volatile read-and-write memories may include a random access memory (RAM). Exemplary RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. Exemplary ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (PEROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may be implemented on a cloud platform. Merely by way of example, the cloud platform may include a private cloud, a public cloud, a hybrid cloud, a community cloud, a distributed cloud, an inter-cloud, a multi-cloud, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may be connected with the network <NUM> to communicate with one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> (e.g., the control device <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, etc.). One or more components of the imaging system <NUM> may access the data or instructions stored in the storage device <NUM> via the network <NUM>. In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may be directly connected with or communicate with one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> (e.g., the control device <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, etc.). In some embodiments, the storage device <NUM> may be part of the control device <NUM>.

The terminal(s) <NUM> may include a mobile device <NUM>-<NUM>, a tablet computer <NUM>-<NUM>, a laptop computer <NUM>-<NUM>, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mobile device <NUM>-<NUM> may include a smart home device, a wearable device, a smart mobile device, a virtual reality device, an augmented reality device, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart home device may include a smart lighting device, a control device of an intelligent electrical apparatus, a smart monitoring device, a smart television, a smart video camera, an interphone, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the wearable device may include a smart bracelet, smart footgear, a pair of smart glasses, a smart helmet, a smartwatch, smart clothing, a smart backpack, a smart accessory, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the smart mobile device may include a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming device, a navigation device, a point of sale (POS) device, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a virtual reality helmet, a virtual reality glass, a virtual reality patch, an augmented reality helmet, an augmented reality glass, an augmented reality patch, or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the virtual reality device and/or the augmented reality device may include a Google Glass, an Oculus Rift, a Hololens, a Gear VR, etc. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may remotely operate the imaging scanner <NUM>. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may operate the imaging scanner <NUM> via a wireless connection. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may receive information and/or instructions input by a user, and send the received information and/or instructions to the imaging scanner <NUM> or the control device <NUM> via the network <NUM>. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may receive data and/or information from the control device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may be part of the control device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may be omitted.

In some embodiments, the terminal(s) <NUM> may send and/or receive information to the control device <NUM> via a user interface. The user interface may be in the form of an application for exposure control implemented on the terminal(s) <NUM>. The user interface implemented on the terminal(s) <NUM> may be configured to facilitate communication between a user and the control device <NUM>. In some embodiments, a user may input a request or an instruction via the user interface implemented on a terminal <NUM>. The terminal(s) <NUM> may send the request or instruction to the control device <NUM> for controlling a radiation exposure as described elsewhere in the present disclosure (e.g., <FIG> and the descriptions thereof). In some embodiments, the user interface may facilitate the presentation or display of information and/or data (e.g., a signal, a parameter, etc) relating to exposure control received from the control device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the information and/or data may be further configured to cause the terminal(s) <NUM> to display an image to the user.

The network <NUM> may include any suitable network that can facilitate the exchange of information and/or data for the imaging system <NUM>. In some embodiments, one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> (e.g., the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, the control device <NUM>, or the storage device <NUM>) may communicate information and/or data with one or more other components of the imaging system <NUM> via the network <NUM>. In some embodiments, the network <NUM> may be any type of wired or wireless network, or a combination thereof. The network <NUM> may be and/or include a public network (e.g., the Internet), a private network (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN)), etc.), a wired network (e.g., an Ethernet network), a wireless network (e.g., an <NUM> network, a Wi-Fi network, etc.), a cellular network (e.g., a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a frame relay network, a virtual private network ("VPN"), a satellite network, a telephone network, routers, hubs, switches, server computers, and/or any combination thereof. Merely by way of example, the network <NUM> may include a cable network, a wireline network, a fiber-optic network, a telecommunications network, an intranet, a wireless local area network (WLAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a public telephone switched network (PSTN), a Bluetooth™ network, a ZigBee™ network, a near field communication (NFC) network, or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network <NUM> may include one or more network access points. For example, the network <NUM> may include wired and/or wireless network access points such as base stations and/or internet exchange points through which one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> may be connected with the network <NUM> to exchange data and/or information.

It should be noted that the above description of the imaging system <NUM> is merely provided for the purposes of illustration, not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, components contained in the storage management system <NUM> may be combined or adjusted in various ways, or connected with other components as sub-systems, and various variations and modifications may be conducted under the teaching of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications may not depart the spirit and scope of this disclosure. For example, the control device <NUM> may be a standalone device out of the imaging system <NUM>, and the imaging system <NUM> may connect to the control device <NUM> via the network <NUM>. All such modifications are within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or software components of an exemplary computing apparatus <NUM> on which the control device <NUM> may be implemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the computing apparatus <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a storage <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) <NUM>, and a communication port <NUM>.

The processor <NUM> may execute computer instructions (program codes) and perform functions of the control device <NUM> in accordance with techniques described herein. The computer instructions may include, for example, routines, programs, objects, components, signals, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particular functions described herein. For example, the processor <NUM> may process data obtained from the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, and/or any other component of the imaging system <NUM>. Specifically, the processor <NUM> may process information of one or more components and generate control instructions (e.g., exposure instructions). In some embodiments, the exposure instructions may be stored in the storage device <NUM>, the storage <NUM>, etc. In some embodiments, the exposure instructions and/or one or more exposure states may be displayed on a display device by the I/O <NUM>. In some embodiments, the processor <NUM> may perform instructions obtained from the terminal(s) <NUM>. In some embodiments, the processor <NUM> may include one or more hardware processors, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC), an application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), an application-specific instruction-set processor (ASIP), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a physics processing unit (PPU), a microcontroller unit, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an advanced RISC machine (ARM), a programmable logic device (PLD), any circuit or processor capable of executing one or more functions, or the like, or any combinations thereof.

Merely for illustration, only one processor is described in the computing apparatus <NUM>. However, it should be noted that the computing apparatus <NUM> in the present disclosure may also include multiple processors. Thus operations and/or method steps that are performed by one processor as described in the present disclosure may also be jointly or separately performed by the multiple processors. For example, if in the present disclosure the processor of the computing apparatus <NUM> executes both operation A and operation B, it should be understood that operation A and operation B may also be performed by two or more different processors jointly or separately in the computing apparatus <NUM> (e.g., a first processor executes operation A and a second processor executes operation B, or the first and second processors jointly execute operations A and B).

The storage <NUM> may store data/information obtained from the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, or any other component of the imaging system <NUM>. In some embodiments, the storage <NUM> may include a mass storage device, a removable storage device, a volatile read-and-write memory, a read-only memory (ROM), or the like, or any combination thereof. For example, the mass storage may include a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a solid-state drive, etc. The removable storage may include a flash drive, a floppy disk, an optical disk, a memory card, a zip disk, a magnetic tape, etc. The volatile read-and-write memory may include a random access memory (RAM). The RAM may include a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a double date rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), a thyristor RAM (T-RAM), and a zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM), etc. The ROM may include a mask ROM (MROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable programmable ROM (PEROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk ROM, etc. In some embodiments, the storage <NUM> may store one or more programs and/or instructions to perform exemplary methods described in the present disclosure. For example, the storage <NUM> may store a program for the control device <NUM> for controlling components (e.g., a flat-panel detector) to perform target operations in an exposure process according to one or more exposure states of the exposure process.

The I/O <NUM> may input or output signals, data, and/or information. In some embodiments, the I/O <NUM> may enable user interaction with the control device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the I/O <NUM> may include an input device and an output device. Exemplary input devices may include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, a microphone, or the like, or a combination thereof. Exemplary output devices may include a display device, a loudspeaker, a printer, a projector, or the like, or a combination thereof. Exemplary display devices may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED)-based display, a flat-panel display, a curved screen, a television device, a cathode ray tube (CRT), or the like, or a combination thereof.

The communication port <NUM> may be connected with a network (e.g., the network <NUM>) to facilitate data communications. The communication port <NUM> may establish connections between the control device <NUM> and the imaging scanner <NUM>, the terminal(s) <NUM>, or the storage device <NUM>. The connection may be a wired connection, a wireless connection, or a combination of both that enables data transmission and reception. The wired connection may include an electrical cable, an optical cable, a telephone wire, or the like, or any combination thereof. The wireless connection may include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, WLAN, ZigBee, mobile network (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.), or the like, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the communication port <NUM> may be a standardized communication port, such as RS232, RS485, etc. In some embodiments, the communication port <NUM> may be a specially designed communication port. For example, the communication port <NUM> may be designed in accordance with the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) protocol.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating hardware and/or software components of an exemplary mobile device <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the mobile device <NUM> may include a communication platform <NUM>, a display <NUM>, a graphics processing unit (GPU) <NUM>, a central processing unit (CPU) <NUM>, an I/O <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, and a storage <NUM>. In some embodiments, any other suitable component, including but not limited to a system bus or a controller (not shown), may also be included in the mobile device <NUM>. In some embodiments, a mobile operating system <NUM> (e.g., iOS, Android, Windows Phone, etc.) and one or more applications <NUM> may be loaded into the memory <NUM> from the storage <NUM> in order to be executed by the CPU <NUM>. The applications <NUM> may include a browser or any other suitable mobile apps for receiving and rendering information relating to imaging information processing or other information from the control device <NUM>. User interactions with the information stream may be achieved via the I/O <NUM> and provided to the control device <NUM> and/or other components of the imaging system <NUM> via the network <NUM>.

To implement various modules, units, and their functionalities described in the present disclosure, computer hardware platforms may be used as the hardware platform(s) for one or more of the elements described herein. The hardware elements, operating systems and programming languages of such computers are conventional in nature, and it is presumed that those skilled in the art are adequately familiar therewith to adapt those technologies to control an exposure process as described herein. A computer with user interface elements may be used to implement a personal computer (PC) or another type of work station or terminal device, although a computer may also act as a server if appropriately programmed. It is believed that those skilled in the art are familiar with the structure, programming and general operation of such computer equipment and as a result, the drawings should be self-explanatory.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary control device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The control device <NUM> may include an obtaining module <NUM>, a control module <NUM>, an I/O module <NUM>, and a communication module <NUM>. One or more of the modules of the control device <NUM> may be interconnected. The connection(s) may be wireless or wired. At least a portion of the control device <NUM> may be implemented on a computing apparatus as illustrated in <FIG> or a mobile device as illustrated in <FIG>.

The obtaining module <NUM> may obtain data, information, instructions, etc. For example, the obtaining module <NUM> may obtain state information of one or more components. The state information may be obtained after the components have performed operations with respect to a prior exposure state. As another example, the obtaining module <NUM> may obtain exposure instructions for controlling one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> (more specifically, the imaging scanner <NUM>) to fulfill an exposure process. The exposure process may be divided into at least one exposure state, and each exposure state may correspond to a variety of operations of the components. The data, information, instructions, etc., may be acquired from the imaging scanner <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, or any other storage device as described elsewhere in the present disclosure.

The communication module <NUM> may be connected to a network (e.g., the network <NUM>) to facilitate data communications. The communication module <NUM> may establish connections between the control device <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, and/or the one or more terminals <NUM>. For example, the communication module <NUM> may send an image to the one or more terminals <NUM>. The connection may be a wired connection, a wireless connection, any other communication connection that can enable data transmission and/or reception, and/or any combination of these connections. The wired connection may include, for example, an electrical cable, an optical cable, a telephone wire, or the like, or any combination thereof. The wireless connection may include, for example, a Bluetooth™ link, a Wi-Fi™ link, a WiMax™ link, a WLAN link, a ZigBee™ link, a mobile network link (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.), or the like, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the communication module <NUM> may be and/or include a standardized communication port, such as RS232, RS485, etc. In some embodiments, the communication module <NUM> may be a specially designed communication port. For example, the communication module <NUM> may be designed in accordance with the digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) protocol.

It should be noted that the above description of the control device <NUM> is merely provided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, various variations and modifications may be performed in the light of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, one or more of the modules of the control device <NUM> mentioned above may be omitted or integrated into a single module. As another example, the control device <NUM> may include one or more additional modules, for example, a storage module for data storage.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary control module according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The control module <NUM> may include an operation determination unit <NUM>, an instruction generation unit <NUM>, and an exposure state determination unit <NUM>.

The operation determination unit <NUM> may determine target operations of one or more components upon receiving exposure instructions. Operations of each component in the entire exposure process may be divided, according to the at exposure state, one or more phases, and each of the one or more phases may correspond to an exposure state. The operation determination unit <NUM> may establish a correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations of the components. Upon receiving the exposure instructions, the target operations that the components need to perform may be determined according to the correspondence relationship.

The instruction generation unit <NUM> may generate instructions for controlling one or more components. In some embodiments, the instruction generation unit <NUM> may generate target operation instructions based on one or more target operations of the components. The target operation instructions may be used to control the components to perform the target operations.

Merely by ways of example, When the instruction generation unit <NUM> associated with the flat-panel detector receives the "XRAYON" instruction, which represents the exposure start state, sent by the master control device, the instruction generation unit <NUM> may generate target operation instructions according to target operations corresponding to the "XRAYON" instruction so as to control the flat-panel detector to perform target operations including a window opening operation and a signal acquisition operation. If the current frame is not the last frame of an exposure sequence, a window closing operation may be performed after a signal acquisition operation is performed. Then the flat-panel detector may be controlled to perform a next open window preparation operation. If the current frame is the last frame of the exposure sequence, a window closing operation may be performed after a signal acquisition operation is performed. Then the flat-panel detector may be controlled to perform an image output operation.

In some embodiments, the instruction generation unit <NUM> may generate exposure instructions based on exposure states.

The exposure state determination unit <NUM> may determine exposure state of an imaging device (e.g., a DBT scanner). In some embodiments, exposure state determination unit <NUM> may determine the exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters. The exposure triggering parameters may include first parameters (also referred to as first triggering parameters) and second parameters (also referred to as second triggering parameters). The first parameters may be used to activate an exposure state of the imaging system <NUM>, and second parameters representing state information of the components after the components have performed a prior exposure instruction.

It should be noted that the above description of the control module <NUM> is merely provided for the purpose of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art, various variations and modifications may be performed in the light of the present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications do not depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, one or more of the units of the control module <NUM> mentioned above may be omitted or integrated into a single unit. As another example, the control module <NUM> may include one or more additional units, for example, an obtaining unit for data, information and/or instruction acquisition.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an exemplary process <NUM> for controlling a radiation exposure process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process <NUM> may be executed by the control device <NUM>. For example, the process <NUM> may be implemented as a set of instructions (e.g., an application) stored in the storage, e.g., storage <NUM>, the storage device <NUM>, the storage <NUM>, a storage device external to and accessible by the imaging system <NUM>. The control device <NUM>, the processor <NUM>, and the CPU <NUM>, may execute the set of instructions, and when executing the instructions, it may be configured to perform the process <NUM>. The operations of the process <NUM> presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, the process may be accomplished with one or more additional operations not described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of the process <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> and described below is not intended to be limiting. The process <NUM> may be applied to cases in which the component managing device controls multiple components to fulfill a radiation exposure process, and more particularly, to cases in which an apparatus for digital mammography is used for imaging between a plurality of imaging modes. Operations in the process <NUM> may be performed by an exposure process control device, which may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation. For example, the exposure process control device may be configured as control device <NUM> or a part of the control device <NUM>.

In <NUM>, exposure instructions including at least one exposure state of an imaging device may be obtained.

In some embodiments, the obtaining module <NUM> may obtain exposure instructions for controlling one or more components of the imaging system <NUM> (more specifically, the imaging scanner <NUM>) to fulfill an exposure process. The exposure process may be divided into at least one exposure state, and each exposure state may correspond to a variety of operations of the components.

In some embodiments, the imaging device may include a DBT scanner, an FFDM scanner, a CT scanner, a DR scanner, a CR scanner, or the like. A digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) scanner may be taken as an example of the imaging device. A variety of imaging modes, such as MAMMO, TOMO, etc., may be incorporated in the DBT scanner. Exemplary imaging modes can include a manual single-shot mode (FFDM-Manual), an automatic single-shot mode (FFDM-AEC), a manual multi-shots mode (TOMO-Manual), an automatic multi-shots mode (TOMO-AEC), a manual combo-shots mode (Combo-Manual), an automatic combo-shots mode (Combo-AEC), or the like. Different imaging modes may correspond to different radiation exposure processes. For example, if the imaging mode is a single-shot mode, the imaging system <NUM> may control a plurality of components (e.g., flat-panel components) to shoot a single frame. The imaging system <NUM> may implement radiation exposure on a subject in an imaging mode relying on the components. If the imaging mode is a multi-shots mode, the imaging system <NUM> may control a plurality of components to shoot multiple frames, for example, by repeating operations in the single-shot mode.

In order to enable the imaging system <NUM> to implement multiple imaging modes, each imaging mode may be divided into several exposure states, and the exposure states may be implemented in control instructions (e.g., exposure instructions). The exposure instructions including the exposure states may be used to control the plurality of components to switch between the exposure states, fulfill the exposure process, and produce images.

The exposure states may correspond to a control process. Operations in the control process may be performed by the plurality of components so as to complete the exposure process, such that control processes of different exposure modes may be unified, and the imaging system <NUM> may be compatible with components of different types. In some embodiments, when components of different types are used, components currently used may be initialized according to models or types of the components, and a working mode and/or an exposure process suitable for the components may be determined, thus reducing workloads on data configuration, data backup, etc., in the updating or switching between components of different types, as well as lowering risks in the updating or switching.

When the master control device of the imaging system <NUM> sends exposure instructions including the at least one exposure state to the component managing device, the component managing device may determine operations to be performed by the components based on the received exposure instructions.

In some embodiments, the exposure states includes at least one of an exposure preparation state, an exposure start state, an exposure end state, and an idle state. The idle state refers that the components become idle after the exposure is fulfilled. In some embodiments, exposure instructions representing a corresponding exposure state may be preset (e.g., by a user, according to default settings of the imaging system <NUM>, etc.) and/or encapsulated. Merely by ways of example, a PREPON instruction may represent the exposure preparation state, an XRAYON instruction may represent the exposure start state, an XRAYOFF instruction may represent the exposure end state, and a PREPOFF instruction may represent the idle state.

It should be noted that the received exposure instructions may include only one of the exposure states, or multiple exposure states that may be implemented sequentially, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

In <NUM>, components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state may be determined.

After the exposure instructions sent by the master control device are received, the component managing device may determine components and target operations that the components need to perform according to the at least one exposure state in the exposure instructions.

In some embodiments, before the target operations corresponding to the at least one exposure state are determined according to the exposure instructions, the component managing device may determine a correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations of the components, and determine the one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state based on the correspondence relationship.

In some embodiments, a command interface between the components and the master control device of the imaging system <NUM> may be unified as exposure instructions including exposure states. A software control device associated with the components may need to pre-store target operations corresponding to the exposure instructions, such that the components may be controlled to perform the target operations once the exposure instructions are received.

Specifically, operations of each component in the entire exposure process are divided, according to the at exposure state, one or more phases, and each of the one or more phases may correspond to an exposure state. Then a correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations of the components may be established. Upon receiving the exposure instructions, the target operations that the components need to perform may be determined according to the correspondence relationship.

Taking a flat-panel detector as an example, operations that need to be performed during an exposure process may include an open window preparation operation, a window opening operation, a signal acquisition operation, and an image output operation. The processing device <NUM> may match the operations to the exposure states so as to establish the correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations. For example, if the exposure state is the exposure preparation state, operations that the flat-panel detector needs to perform may include the open window preparation operation. If the exposure state is the exposure start state, operations that the flat-panel detector needs to perform may include the window opening operation, signal acquisition operation, image output operation, etc..

In <NUM>, target operation instructions may be generated based on the one or more target operations of the components, and the components may be controlled to implement the target operation instructions.

In some embodiments, the component managing device may generate target operation instructions corresponding to the target operations that need to be performed according to a current exposure state, and the target operation instructions may be used to control the components to perform the target operations.

For example, when the software control device associated with the flat-panel detector receives the "XRAYON" instruction, which represents the exposure start state, sent by the master control device, the software control device may generate target operation instructions according to target operations corresponding to the "XRAYON" instruction so as to control the flat-panel detector to perform target operations including a window opening operation and a signal acquisition operation. If the current frame is not the last frame of an exposure sequence, a window closing operation may be performed after a signal acquisition operation is performed. Then the flat-panel detector may be controlled to perform a next open window preparation operation. If the current frame is the last frame of the exposure sequence, a window closing operation may be performed after a signal acquisition operation is performed. Then the flat-panel detector may be controlled to perform an image output operation.

The technical solution of the present disclosure provides a system and a method that receives exposure instructions including exposure states, rather than receives instructions of specific operations to be performed, such that the received instructions may be more concise and clear, and may reduce workloads of the master control device, thus reducing the complexity of the master control device. The system and method may also determine components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state, generate target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and control the components to implement the target operation instructions. In another word, the target operations corresponding to the at least one exposure state may be determined, then the components may be controlled to perform the target operations. In this way, the control of the exposure process may be unified into a control process of exposure states, such that the control of the exposure process may not change with types of the components, and the control of components of different types in the same imaging system may be realized without replacing software of the imaging system <NUM> When the components need to be changed or updated, code parameters of the component managing device may be changed or the component managing device may be updated, and core logic of the master control device may not need to be adjusted. The design of the imaging system <NUM> may be simplified and become more reasonable, the maintenance of the system software may be more reliable, and the components may be updated more conveniently.

In some embodiments, the exposure process may relate to a flat-panel detector and/or a high-voltage generator.

In general, the components of the imaging system <NUM> that involve in the exposure process may include a gantry, an X-ray generator, a beam limiting device, a flat-panel detector, a high-voltage generator, etc. The correspondence relationship between operations performed by the flat-panel detector and the high-voltage generator and the at least one exposure state may be clear. Therefore, the operations of the flat-panel detector and/or the high-voltage generator may be mapped to the at least one exposure state, and controlled through exposure instructions including the at least one exposure state. In some embodiments, exposure operations of other components may be controlled under the existing exposure process. It is also possible to classify the operations of other components, map the classified operations to operation instructions, and use the operation instructions to fulfill the exposure process of other components.

In some embodiments, when one or more new components (second components) of a certain type different from the original components (first components) are added into the imaging system <NUM> (e.g., the imaging scanner <NUM>) to implement the exposure process together with the first components. The control device <NUM> may obtain information of second components. The information may include, for example, the type, the manufacturing model, operations of the second components, functions of the second components, etc. The control device <NUM> may determine an exposure process of the second components and operations of the second components in the exposure process based on the information of the second components. In some embodiments, the exposure process may be divided into one or more exposure states regarding the second components. The one or more exposure states regarding the second components may be the same as or similar to the exposure states regarding the first components. The control device <NUM> may identify one or more target operations of the second components corresponding to the exposure states regarding the second components by separating the operations of the second components in the exposure process according to the exposure states. Then the control device <NUM> may generate target operation instructions for controlling the second components to implement the one or more target operations.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an exemplary process <NUM> for controlling a radiation exposure process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The operations of the process <NUM> presented below are intended to be illustrative. In some embodiments, the process may be accomplished with one or more additional operations not described, and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. Additionally, the order in which the operations of the process <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG> and described below is not intended to be limiting.

In <NUM>, the component managing device may obtain exposure instructions including at least one exposure state of an imaging device.

the component managing device may determine components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state.

In <NUM>, the component managing device may generate target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and control the components to implement the target operation instructions.

In some embodiments, the operations in <NUM> through <NUM> may be the same as or similar to the operation in <NUM> through <NUM> in the process <NUM> as illustrated in <FIG>.

In <NUM>, the component managing device may transmit state information of the components to the master control device after the components preform the one or more target operations.

In some embodiments, in order to enable the master control device to determine whether to perform operations in a next step according to state information of each component, the state information of the components may be fed back to the master control device after the target operations are performed, such that the master control device may acquire an execution state of the current components. The execution state of the current components may include, for example, whether the target operations are executed successfully, whether there is a failure in the execution, etc. Further, the master control device may determine, according to the state information of the components, whether each component satisfies preset conditions for performing operations in the next step. If each component satisfies the preset conditions for performing the operations in the next step, exposure instructions including an exposure state corresponding to the operations in the next step may be sent to each component.

In some embodiments, state information identifiers may be preset, for example, by a user, according to default settings of the imaging system <NUM>, etc. The state information identifiers may correspond to the state information of the components. When it is detected that the target operations are preformed, a state information identifier corresponding to the state information of the components may be sent to the master control device.

Taking the flat-panel detector as an example, the state information of the flat-panel detector may be defined as, for example, idle, exposure window preparation, exposure ready, exposure window open, image output, etc., and state information identifiers corresponding to the state information may be set. Table <NUM> shows a correspondence relationship between state information identifiers, state information, and operations of the flat-panel detector.

Correspondingly, the preset conditions for sending the exposure instructions are pre-stored in the master control device. Taking the flat-panel detector as an example, Table <NUM> shows a correspondence relationship between exposure instructions, exposure states, and preset conditions that the flat-panel detector needs to satisfy for sending the exposure instructions.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating a transition between exposure states of an exposure process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Transition manners and conditions for transiting between exposure states of an exposure process of a flat-panel detector may be described for illustration purposes. The exposure process may include a plurality of exposure states. As shown in <FIG>, the each bar in the figure represents an exposure state. For example, a bar labeled eldle represents an idle state, a bar labeled ePrep represents an exposure preparation state, a bar labeled eReady represents an exposure ready state, a bar labeled eExpo represents an exposure window open state, a bar labeled ePost represents an image output state, and a bar labeled eError represents an error state. A direction of an arrow in the figure indicates a direction of a transition from one exposure state to another exposure state. Text being close to the arrow (such as [genState=Ready; fpdState=ExpWinOpen]) indicates preset conditions that need to be satisfied when the exposure process transits from an exposure state on one side of the arrow to another exposure state on the other side of the arrow. Merely for illustration purposes, preset conditions that need to be satisfied when the exposure process transits from the eReady state to the eExpo state may be that the high-voltage generator is in the exposure ready state and the flat-panel detector is in the exposure window open state. Merely for illustration purposes, the control of components, according to exposure instructions, in an exposure process may be described in combination with Table <NUM>, Table <NUM>, and <FIG> by taking a flat-panel detector controlled by a software control device associated with the flat-panel detector upon receiving exposure instructions sent by the master control device as an example.

In some embodiments, if the imaging mode is a multi-shots mode or a combination of single-shot and multi-shots mode, the exposure sequence may include multiple image frames. The master control device may determine an exposure process according to the imaging mode selected by a user, then send exposure instructions to the flat-panel detector according to the exposure process. When the master control device sends a PREPON instruction to the flat-panel detector, the software control module associated with the flat-panel detector may receive the instruction sent by the master control device, determine, according to the PREPON instruction, that the operation to be performed is the open window preparation operation, and control the flat-panel detector to perform the open window preparation operation. If it is detected that the open window preparation operation of the flat-panel detector is performed, the flat-panel detector may enter into a exposure ready state, and the software control device associated with the flat-panel detector may sends the corresponding state information identifier "READY" to the master control device.

When the master control device receives the state information identifier "READY" sent by the software control device associated with the flat-panel detector and the current frame is the first frame of the exposure sequence, the imaging system <NUM> may determine that a preset condition related to the flat-panel detector for sending an XRAYON instruction is satisfied. And if preset conditions related to other components for sending the XRAYON instruction are also satisfied, the master control device may send the XRAYON instruction to the flat-panel detector. The software control device associated with the flat-panel detector may receive the instruction, and control the flat-panel detector to open the window and acquire signals according to the instruction. If it is detected that operations of the flat-panel detector are complete, the software control device associated with the flat-panel detector may determine a working state into which the flat-panel detector needs to enter according to a current frame in the exposure sequence. For example, if the current frame is the last frame of the exposure sequence, the flat-panel detector may be controlled to close the window and enter into the IMAGE_OUTPUT state. Otherwise, the flat-panel detector may be controlled to return to the PREP state and a state information identifier corresponding to the PREP state may be sent to the master control device. The master control device may determine operation instructions in the next step according to the state information identifier and the exposure process corresponding to the imaging mode selected by the user. After the master control device receives the state information identifier IMAGE_OUTPUT sent by the software control device associated with the flat-panel detector, the master control device may determine that the exposure process is complete.

When the master control device determines that the exposure process is complete, the master control device may send a PREPOFF instruction to the flat-panel detector. The software control device associated with the flat-panel detector may receive the instruction to control the panel detector to enter an idle state, and send the state information identifier "IDLE" corresponding to the idle state to the master control device.

The exposure control process may be described by taking a high-voltage generator as an example below. The working state of the high-voltage generator may be defined as an idle state, an exposure preparation state, an exposure ready state, and an exposure state. The four states may correspond to state information identifiers IDLE, PREP, READY and XRAYON, respectively. Table <NUM> shows a correspondence relationship between state information identifiers, state information, and operations of the high-voltage generator. Table <NUM> shows a correspondence relationship between exposure instructions, exposure states, and preset conditions that the high-voltage generator needs to satisfy for sending exposure instructions.

Specifically, if the imaging mode is a multi-shots mode or a combination of single-shot and multi-shots mode, the exposure sequence may include multiple image frames. When the master control device receives the state information identifier "IDLE" sent by a high-voltage module associated with the high-voltage generator and the current frame is the first frame of the exposure sequence, it may be determined that the high-voltage generator satisfies the preset conditions for sending the PREPON instruction. If other components also satisfy the preset conditions for sending the PREPON instruction, the master control device may send the PREPON instruction to the high-voltage generator, and the high-voltage module associated with the high-voltage generator may receive the instruction and send a PREP signal so as to control the anode of the tube of the high-voltage generator to start to rotate.

When the master control device receives the state information identifier "READY" sent by the high-voltage module and does not receive an exposure completion signal (i.e., a signal indicating the completion of the exposure process), it may be determined that the high-voltage generator is ready for radiation exposure (i.e., the high-voltage generator is in the exposure ready state, and the radiation exposure is not complete), and the high-voltage generator satisfies the preset conditions for sending the XRAYON instruction. The master control device may send the XRAYON instruction to the high-voltage generator when other components also satisfy the preset conditions for sending the XRAYON instruction. When the high-voltage generator receives the XRAYON instruction sent by the master control device, the high-voltage module associated with the high-voltage generator may send an exposure signal (required for the first frame) and an automatic exposure control signal to the high-voltage generator so as to control the high-voltage generator to supply power to the tube, thereby controlling the tube to emit radioactive rays to a subject.

When the master control device receives the state information identifier XRAYON sent by the high-voltage module, the master control device may determine that the high-voltage generator is in the exposure state, and control the high-voltage module to send the automatic exposure control signal to the high-voltage generator so as to control the radiation exposure. When the radiation exposure on the subject is complete, the high-voltage generator may output the exposure completion signal, such that the master control device may receive the feedback of the completion of the radiation exposure from the high-voltage generator. Then if the master control device receives the state information identifier "READY" again from the high-voltage module, it may be determined that the high-voltage generator satisfies the preset conditions for sending the PREPOFF instruction. If other components also satisfy the preset conditions for sending the PREPOFF instruction, the master control device may sends the PREPOFF instruction to the high-voltage generator, and the high-voltage module associated with the high-voltage generator may control the high-voltage generator to enter the idle state via the exposure signal and the automatic exposure control signal.

The technical solutions of the present disclosure further provides an operation for transmitting state information of the components to the master control device after the components perform the one or more target operations. The master control device may determine whether to perform subsequent part of the exposure process according to the state information of the components, thus providing a more concise transition between exposure states in the exposure process.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an exemplary process <NUM> for controlling a radiation exposure process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process <NUM> may be applied to cases in which the component managing device controls multiple components to fulfill a radiation exposure process, and more particularly, to cases in which an apparatus for digital mammography is used for imaging between a plurality of imaging modes. Operations in the process <NUM> may be performed by an exposure process control device, which may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation. For example, the exposure process control device can be configured as control device <NUM> or a part of the control device <NUM>.

In <NUM>, an exposure state may be determined based on exposure triggering parameters, and exposure instructions including the determined exposure state may be generated.

In some embodiments, the exposure triggering parameters may include first parameters (also referred to as first triggering parameters) and second parameters (also referred to as second triggering parameters). The first parameters may be used to activate an exposure state of the imaging system <NUM>, and second parameters representing state information of the components after the components have performed a prior exposure instruction.

In some embodiments, the master control device may generate exposure instructions according to the first parameters that triggers the initiation of an exposure state. In some embodiments, the first parameters may be input by a user, according to default settings of the imaging system <NUM>, etc..

In some embodiments, the master control device may include a task execution module, and an exposure module (also referred to as an exposure operation execution module). The exposure module may further include a plurality of exposure sub-modules. The task execution module may store a list of imaging tasks (also referred to as tasks) and a correspondence relationship between tasks and exposure sub-modules. In some embodiments, a task may correspond to an exposure sub-module. The task execution module may determine an exposure sub-module corresponding to the task, for example, selected by the user, according to the correspondence relationship between tasks and exposure sub-modules. The exposure sub-module may store an exposure process corresponding to the task. For example, when a user selects a puncture positioning exposure task, the task execution module may determine an exposure sub-module corresponding to the puncture positioning exposure task (e.g., a puncture positioning exposure execution module), and complete a puncture positioning exposure process using the puncture positioning exposure execution module.

The control logic of the master control device may be clearer by dividing the master control device into the task execution module and the plurality of exposure sub-modules. In addition, if it is necessary to add a new task to existing tasks, an identifier of the task may be added into the task execution module, an exposure sub-module corresponding to the task may be added into the exposure module, and a correspondence relationship between the identifier of the task and the exposure sub-module of the task may be established in the service module. In this case, the core logic of the master control device may not need to be changed, thus simplifying the research and development (R&D) process of a new task, making the R&D of a new task more convenient, as well as increasing the stability of the master control device.

In some embodiments, when a user selects an imaging task, and initiate an imaging process, for example, by clicking a start button on a user interface through a terminal <NUM>. The task execution module in the master control device may determine an exposure sub-module corresponding to the task according to the imaging task selected by the user. The exposure sub-module may determine an exposure state to be implemented based on first parameters triggered by the user and an exposure process pre-stored in the exposure sub-module, and generate exposure instructions including the exposure state. For example, after a user selects the puncture positioning exposure task and clicks a start button, the task execution module may determine a puncture positioning exposure execution module corresponding to the puncture positioning exposure task, determine an exposure state to be executed according to the exposure process pre-stored in the puncture positioning exposure execution module, and generate an corresponding exposure instruction. Merely by ways of example, if the puncture positioning exposure execution module determines that the exposure state to be implemented is the exposure preparation state, an exposure instruction including the exposure preparation state may be generated. The PREPON instruction may represent the exposure preparation state.

In some embodiments, the master control device may further generate an exposure instruction according to the second parameters representing state information of the components.

In some embodiments, during the exposure process, the exposure module in the master control device receives the state information of the components, and determines whether to perform operations in a next step (e.g., operations in a next exposure state) according to the state information of components. Specifically, if the state information of the components satisfy preset conditions for performing the operations in the next step, the exposure module may obtain second parameters representing the state information of the component, and determine the next exposure state (i.e., exposure state to be executed) according to the second parameters. For example, if the exposure module receives the state information of exposure ready fed back from each component, and a next exposure state to be implemented is exposure start state according to the stored exposure process, an exposure instruction including the exposure start state may be generated. The exposure start state may be represented using the XRAYON instruction.

In <NUM>, the exposure instructions may be transmitted to the component managing device for controlling the components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

The exposure instructions may be used to direct the component managing device to determine, according to the exposure state in the exposure instructions, target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure state.

In some embodiments, after the exposure instructions are generated, the master control device may send the exposure instructions to the component managing device, such that the component managing device may determine the target operations according to the exposure state in the exposure instructions, and generate target operation instructions to control the components to perform the target operations.

According to the technical solution described above, the exposure state may be determined according to the exposure triggering parameters, and exposure instructions including the exposure state may be generated and sent to the components. Instead of sending instructions of specific operations to be performed, the exposure instructions may be more concise and clear, and may reduce workloads of the master control device and reduce the complexity of the master control device. The exposure instructions may not change with imaging modes. Under a same imaging mode, exposure instructions may not change with type of the components, which realizes the control of components of different types in the imaging system without replacing the control software of the imaging system, thus making the design of the imaging system more simplified and reasonable, making software of the imaging system more reliable, as well as making the updating or replacement of the components much easier.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an exemplary process <NUM> for controlling a radiation exposure process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process <NUM> may be applied to cases in which the component managing device controls multiple components to fulfill a radiation exposure process, and more particularly, to cases in which an apparatus for digital mammography is used for imaging between a plurality of imaging modes. Operations in the process <NUM> may be performed by an exposure process control device, which may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation. For example, the exposure process control device may be configured as the control device 120a part of the control device <NUM>.

In <NUM>, the master control device may determine an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, and generate exposure instructions of the determined exposure state.

In <NUM>, the master control device may transmit the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling a plurality of components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

In <NUM>, the component managing device may obtain the exposure instructions including the exposure state.

In <NUM>, the component managing device may determine components and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure state.

In some embodiment, the master control device may generate and send exposure instructions, and the component managing device may direct the components to perform target operations according to the exposure instructions. In some embodiments, the operations in <NUM> and <NUM> may be the same as or similar to the operations in <NUM> and <NUM> in the process <NUM>, respectively. And the operations in <NUM> through <NUM> may be the same as or similar to the operations in <NUM> and <NUM> in the process <NUM>.

The technical solution describe above provides that the master control device may determine an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, generate exposure instructions of the determined exposure state, and transmit the exposure instructions, rather than instructions of specific operations, to the component managing device for controlling a plurality of components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state. The component managing device may obtain the exposure instructions including the exposure state, determine components and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure state, generate target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and control the components to implement the target operation instructions. In this case, the instructions interacting between the master control device and the component managing device may be unified, which makes the instructions more concise and clear, reduces workloads of the master control device, and reduces the complexity of the master control device. The exposure instruction may not need to be changed with imaging modes. And the exposure instruction may not need to be changed with types of the components in a same imaging mode either. It realizes the control of components of different types in the imaging system without replacing the control software of the imaging system, thus making the design of the imaging system more simplified and reasonable, making software of the imaging system more reliable, as well as making the updating or replacement of the components much easier.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an exemplary exposure process control device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exposure flow control device may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation. For example, the exposure process control device may be configured as the control device <NUM> or a part of the control device <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the exposure process control device may include an exposure instruction obtaining module <NUM>, a target operation determining module <NUM>, and an operation instruction generating module <NUM>.

The exposure instruction obtaining module <NUM> may obtain exposure instructions including at least one exposure state. The target operation determining module <NUM> may determine, according to the at least one exposure state in the exposure instructions, one or more target operations of a plurality of components. The operation instruction generating module <NUM> may generate target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components so as to control the components to implement the target operation instructions.

The technical solution of the present disclosure described above may provide more concise and clear instructions, reduce workloads of the master control device, and lower the complexity of the master control device by obtaining exposure instructions including exposure states, rather than instructions of specific operations to be performed by the components. Further, components and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure states may be determined, target operation instructions may be generated based on the one or more target operations of the components, and the components may be controlled to implement the target operation instructions. In another word, after the target operations corresponding to the exposure states are determined, the components may be controlled to perform the target operations, such that the control of the exposure process may not change with types of the components, and the control of components of different types in the same imaging system may be realized without replacing software of the imaging system <NUM> When the components need to be changed or updated, code parameters of the component managing device may be changed or the component managing device may be updated, and core logic of the master control device may not need to be adjusted. The design of the imaging system <NUM> may be simplified and become more reasonable, the maintenance of the system software may be more reliable, and the components may be updated more conveniently.

In some embodiments, the exposure process control device may further include a state information feedback module and a correspondence relationship establishing module (not shown in the figure).

The state information feedback module may send the state information of the components to the master control device when it is detected that the one or more target operations are complete.

The correspondence relationship establishing module may pre-establish a correspondence relationship between exposure states and operations of the components before the target operations corresponding to the exposure state are determined according to the exposure state in the exposure instruction. The correspondence relationship establishing module may determine the target operations of the components corresponding to the exposure state according to the correspondence relationship.

In some embodiments, the exposure states may include at least one of an exposure preparation state, an exposure start state, an exposure end state, and an idle state.

In some embodiments, the target operation determining module <NUM> may determine, according to the exposure state in the exposure instruction, the target operations corresponding to the exposure state. The components may include a flat-panel detector and/or a high-voltage generator.

The exposure process control device provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may execute any exposure process control method provided in the processes <NUM>, <NUM>, etc., and may have modules implementing the methods (e.g., the methods provided in the processes <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.) and beneficial effects described above.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an exemplary exposure process control device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exposure flow control device may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation. For example, the exposure process control device may be configured as the control device <NUM> or a part of the control device <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the exposure process control device may include an exposure instruction generating module <NUM> and an exposure instruction transmitting module <NUM>.

The exposure instruction generating module <NUM> may determine a current exposure state according to exposure triggering parameters, and generate exposure instructions including the exposure state. The exposure triggering parameters may include first parameters for activating the exposure state and second parameters representing state information of the components after the components have performed a prior exposure instruction.

The exposure instruction transmitting module <NUM> may transmit the exposure instructions to the components. The exposure instructions may be used to instruct the components to determine, according to the exposure state in the exposure instructions, target operations corresponding to the exposure state of the components.

The technical solution describe above provides an exposure instruction generating module <NUM> that may determine an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, and generate exposure instructions of the determined exposure state, and an exposure instruction transmitting module that may transmit the exposure instructions, rather than instructions of specific operations, to the component managing device for controlling a plurality of components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state, which makes the instructions more concise and clear, reduces workloads of the master control device, and reduces the complexity of the master control device. The exposure instruction may not need to be changed with imaging modes. And the exposure instruction may not need to be changed with types of the components in a same imaging mode either. It realizes the control of components of different types in the imaging system without replacing the control software of the imaging system, thus making the design of the imaging system more simplified and reasonable, making software of the imaging system more reliable, as well as making the updating or replacement of the components much easier.

The exposure process control device provided according to some embodiments of the present disclosure may execute any exposure process control method provided in, for example, the process <NUM>, and may have modules implementing the methods (e.g., the methods provided in the process <NUM>) and beneficial effects described above.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of an exemplary exposure process control device <NUM> according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exposure process control device <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> is merely an example, but not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, the exposure process control device <NUM> may be or include a flat-panel detector, a high-voltage generator, etc. In some embodiments, the exposure process control device <NUM> may be implemented by a general purpose computing device. The exposure process control device <NUM> may include but are not limited to one or more processors <NUM>, a system memory <NUM>, and a bus <NUM> that connects elements or components of the exposure process control device <NUM>, such as the system memory <NUM>, the one or more processors <NUM>, etc..

The bus <NUM> may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus, a memory controller, peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, the one or more processors <NUM>, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus structures. For example, the bus structures may include but not limited to, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, an Enhanced ISA Bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, a peripheral component interconnects (PCI) bus, etc..

The exposure process control device <NUM> may include a variety of computer readable media. The computer readable media may be any available media including volatile or non-volatile media, removable or non-removable media, etc., that may be accessible by the exposure process control device <NUM>.

The system memory <NUM> can include computer readable media in a form of volatile memory, for example, a random access memory (RAM) <NUM> and/or a read-only memory (ROM) <NUM>. The exposure process control device <NUM> may further include other removable/non-removable or volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. Merely by ways of example, a storage device <NUM> may be non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown in the figure, commonly referred to as a "hard disk drive") for reading and writing. Although not shown in <FIG>, a disk drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile disk (such as a "floppy disk") and a removable non-volatile disk (such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or other optical media) may be provided. In these cases, each drive may be coupled to the bus <NUM> via one or more data medium ports. The system memory <NUM> may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules configured to implement the functions provided in the above embodiments of the present disclosure.

A program/utility tool <NUM> having a set (at least one) of program modules <NUM>, which may be stored, for example, in the memory <NUM>. The program modules <NUM> may include but not limited to, an operating system, one or more applications, other program modules, or program data. Each or a combination of one or more of the above listed program modules may have a network environment implementation. The program module <NUM> may perform the functions and/or methods provided in the described embodiments of the present disclosure.

The exposure process control device <NUM> may also be in communication with one or more external devices <NUM> (e.g., a keyboard, a pointing device, a display <NUM>, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the exposure process control device <NUM>, and/or any devices (e.g., a network card, a modem, etc.) that enable the exposure process control device <NUM> to communicate with one or more other computing devices. The communication may be realized via an input/output (I/O) interface <NUM>. Also, the exposure process control device <NUM> may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network, such as the Internet) through a network adapter <NUM>. As shown in the figure, the network adapter <NUM> may communicate with other modules of exposure process control device <NUM> via the bus <NUM>. It should be understood that, other hardware and/or software modules may be utilized in combination with the exposure process control device <NUM>, including but not limited to microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, Tape drives, or data backup storage systems.

The one or more processors <NUM> may implement, by running a program stored in the system memory <NUM>, various functional applications and/or data processing, for example, an exposure process control method provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. The exposure process control method may include obtaining exposure instructions including at least one exposure state of an imaging device, determining components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state, and generating target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and controlling the components to implement the target operation instructions. The exposure process control method may further include determining an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, generating exposure instructions including the determined exposure state, and transmitting the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling the components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

Those skilled in the art may understand that the one or more processors <NUM> may also implement technical solutions of the exposure process control method provided by any embodiments of the present disclosure.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may be provided that stores a computer program, which is executed by a processor to implement an exposure process control method provided by various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exposure process control method may include obtaining exposure instructions including at least one exposure state of an imaging device, determining components associated with the imaging device and one or more target operations of the components corresponding to the at least one exposure state, and generating target operation instructions based on the one or more target operations of the components, and controlling the components to implement the target operation instructions. The exposure process control method may further include determining an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters, generating exposure instructions including the determined exposure state, and transmitting the exposure instructions to a component managing device for controlling the components to perform one or more target operations corresponding to the exposure state.

As for the computer readable storage medium provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure, computer programs stored thereon may not be limited to the methods or operations as described above, and may also include any exposure process control methods provided in any embodiments of the present disclosure.

The computer readable storage medium of the present disclosure may include any combination of one or more computer readable media. The one or more computer readable media may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may include but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (non-exhaustive lists) of the computer readable storage media may include a portable computer disk with electrical connections having one or more wires, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of thereof. In some embodiments, a computer readable storage medium can be any tangible medium that may contain or store a program, which can be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus or device.

The computer readable signal medium may store a data signal that is in a baseband or transmitted as part of a carrier wave, including computer readable program codes. Such data signals may take a variety of forms including but not limited to, electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of thereof. The computer readable signal medium may also be any computer readable medium other than a computer readable storage medium, which can transmit, propagate, or transmit a program used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The program codes embodied on a computer readable storage medium may be transmitted by any suitable medium including but not limited to, wireless, wire, fiber optic cables, radio frequency (RF), etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that the foregoing detailed disclosure is intended to be presented by way of example only and is not limiting. Various alterations, improvements, and modifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in the art, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested by this disclosure, and are within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, or the use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, is not intended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order except as may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosure discusses through various examples what is currently considered to be a variety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and that the appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, are intended to cover modifications. For example, although the implementation of various components described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it may also be implemented as a software only solution, e.g., an installation on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description of embodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. This method of disclosure, however, is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventive embodiments lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or properties used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term "about," "approximate," or "substantially. " For example, "about," "approximate," or "substantially" may indicate ±<NUM>% variation of the value it describes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the application are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Claim 1:
A system, comprising:
at least one storage device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) storing a set of instructions; and
at least one processor (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) configured to communicate with the at least one storage device (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), wherein when executing the set of instructions, the at least one processor (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) is directed to perform operations including:
determining (<NUM>,<NUM>) an exposure state based on exposure triggering parameters;
generating exposure instructions including exposure states of the imaging device (<NUM>), wherein the exposure states are determined by dividing an exposure process into phases, each of the phases corresponding to an exposure state;
determining first components associated with the imaging device (<NUM>) and determining target operations of the first components corresponding to the exposure states included in the exposure instructions, wherein the first components include a flat-panel detector, and the exposure states include an exposure preparation state and an exposure start state, the target operations are operations of the flat-panel detector and include a window opening operation if the determined exposure state is the exposure preparation state and include a signal acquisition operation if the determined exposure state is the exposure start state;
generating target operation instructions based on the target operations of the first components; and
controlling the first components to implement the target operation instructions.