Patent Description:
AEC chambers are usually put before the detectors of an X-ray medical device to calculate the pre-estimated dose of the ROI to be checked each time. More AEC chambers will increase not only the measurement accuracy, but also the cost.

A plurality of solutions in which no AEC chambers are used have been proposed, and some of these solutions utilize some pixels or pixel groups to play the role of AEC chambers. These pixels or pixel groups are controlled and read one by one. This increases the complexity of detectors and thus increases the cost of detectors. For example, the Chinese patent application (publication No.: <CIT>) relates to a method of acquiring an X-ray image, and AEC pixels are arranged above a detector array in the method.

<CIT> discloses a method in accordance with the preamble of claim <NUM>. <CIT> discloses further art.

The present invention is defined by the subject matter of the independent claims.

In view of this, an automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging is provided in one aspect of the present invention, a computer storage medium is provided in another aspect, and an X-ray medical device is provided in a further aspect.

According to one embodiment, the automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging comprises: acquiring a visible light image of a subject under test, defining an initial ROI on the visible light image, pre-exposing the subject under test with.

a set pre-exposure dose to obtain a first image, defining an ROI on the first image based on the initial ROI, defining a reference pixel value based on the ROI, and calculating a main exposure dose for an actual exposure according to the reference pixel value.

Wherein, defining an initial ROI on the visible light image comprises: displaying a preset selection box on the visible light image, and defining the at least one initial ROI by moving or adjusting the preset selection box on the visible light image.

Wherein, the preset selection box is a preset selection box which is set in a preset position on the visible light image and has a preset size, or the preset selection box is a preset selection box which is set in different positions according to the subject under test displayed on the visible light image and has different sizes.

Wherein, defining an initial ROI on the visible light image comprises: box-selecting an initial ROI on the visible light image.

Wherein, defining an ROI on the first image comprises the following steps: defining the distance from the center of the initial ROI to the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image, and defining the position of the ROI on the first image according to the distance.

According to one embodiment, program instructions are stored in the computer storage medium and the program instructions can be run to realize any above-mentioned method.

According to one embodiment, the X-ray medical device comprises: a shooting unit, used to collect a visible light image of a subject under test, an exposure unit, used to pre-expose the subject under test with a set pre-exposure dose to obtain a first image, and a controller, the controller being configured to: acquire a visible light image of the subject under test, define an initial ROI on the visible light image, define an ROI on the first image based on the initial ROI, define a reference pixel value based on the ROI, and calculate a main exposure dose for an actual exposure according to the reference pixel value.

Wherein, the controller is further configured to: display a preset selection box on the visible light image, and define the at least one initial ROI by moving or adjusting the preset selection box on the visible light image.

Wherein, the controller is further configured to: box-select an initial ROI on the visible light image.

Wherein, the controller is further configured to define an ROI by performing the following steps: defining the distance from the center of the initial ROI to the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image, and defining the position of the ROI on the first image according to the distance.

With the imaging quality guaranteed, the present invention can spare a physical automatic exposure control (AEC) chamber, and the number, positions and sizes of ROIs can be adjusted according to the actual requirements. The present invention is more flexible in patient positioning. In addition, the present invention simplifies operations and improves the image processing speed.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below by reference to the drawings so that those skilled in the art can have a clearer idea of the above-mentioned and other characteristics and advantages of the present invention.

Description of reference numerals in the drawings:.

To help understand more clearly the technical characteristics, objectives, and effect of the present invention, specific embodiments of the present invention are described below by reference to the drawings in which the same reference numeral represents the same part.

In this document, "schematic" means "acting as an instance, example, or illustration", and any "schematic" illustration or embodiment described in this document should not be interpreted as a more preferred or advantageous technical solution.

For the simplicity of the drawings, only the parts related to the present invention are shown for a schematic purpose and they do not represent actual structures of a product. In addition, only one of the components which have the same structure or function is depicted or marked for a schematic purpose in some drawings so that the drawings are simplified to help to understand.

In this document, "one" not only represents "only one", but also may represent "more than one". "Pre-exposure" in this document means exposure with a exposure dose much lower than a normal exposure dose, and the "first image" obtained from a pre-exposure, also known as "pre-exposure image", is actually an image obtained from an exposure with a low exposure dose. "Main exposure" means actual exposure or normal exposure for X-ray detection, and the image obtained from "main exposure" satisfies the image quality requirements for medical diagnoses and subsequent processing for the subject under test.

In this document, if the X-ray device registration is completed, a correspondence exists between "the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image" and the central point of the detector of the X-ray medical device, and a correspondence exists between "the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image" and the center of the visible light image. In practice, a pixel point coordinate correspondence exists between the visible light image and the pre-exposure image obtained from exposure with a low exposure dose (first image), and if the X-ray device registration is completed, a correspondence exists between the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image, the center of the visible light image and the center of the first image. The position of an ROI can defined according to the centers of the visible light image and the first image during image processing. This will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings.

Currently, complex image processing needs to be performed to obtain the exposure dose required for an actual exposure in the field of X-ray imaging. For example, complex image processing methods such as image edge extraction and image segmentation are adopted to process a "pre-exposure image" generated by a detector, and then an ROI is defined on the "pre-exposure image". For the imaging of complex tissues, the robustness of the methods such as pre-exposure image based edge extraction and segmentation is low, and incorrect processing will lead to an inaccurate dose calculation: too low a dose will cause a poor image quality and re-shooting is required; too high a dose will additionally increase the dose of a patient.

The applicant finds that if such a complex image processing method in the prior art can broken to let the operator select an ROI, the image processing complexity can be simplified greatly and the operation speed can be improved.

First, see <FIG> is a schematic flow chart of the automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the automatic exposure control method <NUM> for X-ray imaging comprises:.

In Step S110, a visible light image of a subject under test (for example, an organ or body part) is acquired. As shown in <FIG>, the subject under test is hands, and the subject under test is not limited to hands in the present invention. In Step S120, an initial ROI, for example, region A shown in <FIG>, is defined on the visible light image. In the embodiments, the initial ROI can be defined in different ways. Those skilled in the art can select and set the position, shape, size and number of initial ROIs according to the requirements, and they are not restricted in the present invention. For example, a preset selection box (not shown) can be displayed on the visible light image shown in <FIG>, and the preset selection box can be a preset selection box which is set in a preset position on the visible light image and has a preset size, or a preset selection box which is set in different positions according to the subject under test on the visible light image and has different sizes. For example, a preset selection box can be a default selection box located in the middle or other positions of the visible light image shown in <FIG>, and the operator can define an initial ROI by moving or adjusting the preset selection box on the visible light image. Or, the preset selection box can be a different pre-estimated selection box provided according to the subject under test on the visible light image, and the preset selection box is provided for the operator to confirm or set the initial ROI. For example, the range of the subject under test on the visible light image is defined by use of the imaging processing method such as contour extraction or the target identification method such as machine learning, and in a proper position on the visible light image, a pre-estimated selection box with a proper size is provided as the above-mentioned preset selection box for subsequent operations. In other words, for different subjects under test, a pre-estimated selection box located in different positions on the visible light image and having different sizes can be provided as a preset selection box. Alternatively, no preset selection box is provided and the operator arbitrarily box-selects an initial ROI on the visible light image.

In Step S130, the subject under test is pre-exposed with a set pre-exposure dose to obtain a first image, as shown in <FIG>. For a digital detector, the responses of signals to radiation are generally linear in an unsaturated region. Wherein, the first image (namely, the image obtained from an exposure with a low dose) is obtained from an exposure with a very low pre-exposure dose and the pre-exposure dose can be set according to the selection result of the organ program (OPG). Generally speaking, the thicker the subject under test is, the larger the pre-exposure dose is. In practice, the main exposure dose can be pre-stored to define the pre-exposure dose, and the pre-stored main exposure dose is an empirical dose satisfying the imaging requirement of the subject under test. Those skilled in the art can use other methods than the methods exemplified above to select and set a pre-exposure dose according to the actual application requirements.

Then, in Step S140, an ROI is defined on the first image based on the initial ROI. In the embodiments, the distance from the center of the initial ROI A to the corresponding point of the center of an X-ray beam on the visible light image can be defined, and the position of the ROI on the first image shown in <FIG> can be defined according to the distance (as shown in <FIG>). As previously described, if the X-ray device registration is completed, the center of the visible light image can be viewed as a reference point, the distance from the center of the initial ROI A to the reference point can be defined. In addition, since a pixel point coordinate correspondence exists between the visible light image and the first image, the ROI corresponding to the initial ROI A, namely, the region shown in <FIG>, can be found on the first image based on the distance, with the center of the first image as a reference. In variant embodiments, the operator can adjust the size of the ROI according to the specific conditions and examination requirements of the subject under test (for example, organ) displayed on the visible light image.

Then, Steps S150 and S160 are performed. In Step S150, a reference pixel value is defined based on the ROI, and in Step S160, the main exposure dose for an actual exposure is calculated according to the reference pixel value. For how to perform these two steps, a schematic description is given below.

In Step S150, a reference pixel value is defined based on the ROI. Particularly, the reference pixel value can be defined, for example, by calculating the average pixel value of the ROI. If the operator selects a plurality of regions as ROIs, then the reference pixel value can be defined by calculating the average pixel value of the selected regions, or the reference pixel value can be defined by assigning a weight to the selected regions and then weighting the pixel values of the selected regions.

Alternatively, in order to improve the image processing speed and lower the operation time, the first image can be partially read based on the ROI. For example, only the partial image containing line pixels and column pixels of the ROI is read and processed. In addition, those skilled in the art can select the full resolution to read the first image or a low resolution to read the first image according to the actual requirements, and in this case, the first image can be read in a specific image reading mode (for example, binning).

Then, in Step S160; a main exposure dose for an actual exposure is calculated according to the reference pixel value. Thus, the dose required for the actual exposure (main exposure) can be calculated for each examination. In the embodiments, the main exposure dose.

Mr can be calculated according to the following formula: <MAT>.

Wherein, Mp is the set pre-exposure dose, GROI is the average pixel value (namely, reference pixel value) of an ROI, Gtarget is the preset average pixel value satisfying the imaging requirements, and D% wherein, Mp is the set pre-exposure dose, GROI is the average pixel value (namely, reference pixel value) of an ROI, Gtarget is the preset average pixel value satisfying the imaging requirements, and D% is a preset dose factor, which represents the dose level. Those skilled in the art can preset or adjust the above-mentioned Gtarget D% according to the actual requirements.

The present invention further provides an X-ray medical device, which, for example, can be used to realize the above-mentioned automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging. See <FIG> is a schematic block diagram for the X-ray medical device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the X-ray medical device <NUM> comprises a shooting unit <NUM>, an exposure unit <NUM> and a controller <NUM>. For example, the shooting unit <NUM> can be arranged on the collimator of the X-ray medical device <NUM> and the arrangement of the shooting unit is not limited to what is mentioned in the present invention; the controller <NUM> can be a controller contained in the detector of the X-ray medical device <NUM> or a controller independent of the detector, and the controller is not limited to what is mentioned in the present invention, either.

Wherein, the shooting unit <NUM> is used to collect a visible light image of a subject under test, the exposure unit <NUM> is used to pre-expose the subject under test with a set pre-exposure dose to obtain a first image, and the controller <NUM> is configured to: acquire a visible light image of the subject under test, define an initial ROI on the visible light image, define an ROI on the first image based on the initial ROI, define a reference pixel value based on the ROI, and calculate a main exposure dose for an actual exposure according to the reference pixel value.

In the embodiments, the controller <NUM> is further configured to: display a preset selection box on the visible light image, and define at least one initial ROI by moving or adjusting the preset selection box on the visible light image. For example, the preset selection box can be a preset selection box which is set in a preset position on the visible light image and has a preset size, or a preset selection box which is set in different positions according to the subject under test on the visible light image and has different sizes. In other words, for different subjects under test, a pre-estimated selection box located in different positions on the visible light image and having different sizes can be provided as a preset selection box. Alternatively, no preset selection box is provided and an initial ROI can be box-selected arbitrarily. In this case, the controller <NUM> is further configured to box-select an initial ROI on the visible light image. In practice, the operator can use an input device such as mouse to select and set an initial ROI, and the controller <NUM> performs the corresponding operation after receiving the corresponding input signal.

In the embodiments, the controller <NUM> is further configured to define an ROI by performing the following steps: defining the distance from the center of the initial ROI to the corresponding point of the center of the X-ray beam on the visible light image, and defining the position of the ROI on the first image according to the distance.

In addition, the present invention further provides a computer storage medium. Program instructions are stored in the computer storage medium, the program instructions can be run to realize the above-mentioned method, and the above-mentioned method can be applied to the medical device disclosed in the present invention. To be specific, a system or device equipped with a storage medium can be provided. Software program codes which can realize the function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments are stored in the storage medium, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or device can read and execute the program codes stored in the storage medium.

In this case, program codes read from the storage medium themselves can realize the function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Therefore, program codes and the storage medium where program codes are stored constitute a part of the present invention.

Embodiments of the storage medium used to provide program codes include a floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, compact disc (for example, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), compact disk - recordable (CD-R), compact disk - rewritable (CD-RW), digital versatile disk - read only memory (DVD-ROM), digital versatile disk - random access memory (DVD-RAM), digital versatile disk + rewritable (DVD+RW), magnetic tape, non-volatile memory card, and read-only memory (ROM). Alternatively, program codes can be downloaded from the server computer over a communication network.

In addition, it should clearly be understood that the function of any of the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized not only by executing the program codes read out by a computer, but also by letting the operating system running on the computer complete a part or all of practical operations through program code based instructions.

In addition, it should be understood that the program codes read out from a storage medium are written into the storage in the expansion board in a computer or are written into a storage in an expansion unit connected to the computer, and then the program code based instructions let the operation unit, such as a CPU, installed on the expansion board or expansion unit execute a part or all of practical operations to realize the function in any of the above-mentioned embodiments.

The present invention relates to an automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging, a storage medium and a medical device. According to one embodiment, an automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging comprises: acquiring a visible light image of a subject under test and defining an initial ROI on the visible light image. With the imaging quality guaranteed, the present invention can spare a physical automatic exposure control (AEC) chamber, and the number, positions and sizes of ROIs can be adjusted according to the actual requirements. The present invention is more flexible in patient positioning.

Claim 1:
An automatic exposure control method for X-ray imaging, comprising:
acquiring (S110) a visible light image of a subject under test, and
defining (S120) an initial ROI on the visible light image,
characterized in
pre-exposing (S130) the subject under test with a set pre-exposure dose to obtain a first image,
defining (S140) an ROI on the first image based on the initial ROI,
defining (S150) a reference pixel value based on the ROI, and
calculating (S160) a main exposure dose for an actual exposure according to the reference pixel value.