Sequential image acquisition with updating method and system

1. A method, comprising:

acquiring initial image data using a first imaging system;

identifying, using a processor, one or more regions of interest in at least one of the initial image data or in a first image generated from the initial image data;

automatically deriving, using the processor, one or more scan parameters for a subsequent image acquisition, wherein automatically deriving the one or more scan parameters comprises executing a change detection routine that detects changes in the one or more regions of interest relative to a previous examination and derives the one or more scan parameters based upon the detected changes; and

acquiring second image data using the scan parameters such that the second image data is limited to the one or more regions of interest.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the regions of interest are identified automatically.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second image data is acquired automatically using the one or more scan parameters.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second image data is acquired using a different imaging modality than the initial image data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the regions of interest comprise at least one of anatomical structures or functional information of physiological processes.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the regions of interest are identified by a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) algorithm, or by an operator reviewing possible regions of interest automatically selected by one or more routines.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising generating a second image based upon the second image data.

8. The method of claim 7 , comprising combining the first image and the second image.

9. The method of claim 1 , comprising generating a second image based on at least the first image data and the second image data.

10. An imaging system comprising:

a first imaging modality configured to acquire first image data from which a first image may be derived;

a processor configured to identify one or more regions of interest in the first image data or the first image, to detect changes in the one or more regions of interest relative to a previous examination, and to automatically derive one or more scan parameters based upon the detected changes; and

a second imaging modality configured to acquire second image data based upon the one or more scan parameters.

11. The imaging system of claim 10 , wherein the first imaging modality is an X-ray tomosynthesis system and the second imaging modality is an ultrasound (US) system.

12. The imaging system of claim 10 , comprising a control system coupled to the first and second imaging modalities, wherein the control system is configured to automatically acquire the first image data and the second image data.

13. A method comprising:

acquiring, using a X-ray based imaging modality, initial image data comprising X-ray projection data;

identifying, using a processor, regions of interest in at least one of the initial image data or in a first volumetric image reconstructed from the initial image data, wherein the one or more regions of interest comprise detected anatomical changes between the initial image data or the first volumetric image and an image acquired during a previous examination;

automatically deriving scan parameters, using the processor, for a subsequent image acquisition based upon the regions of interest, wherein the scan parameters are automatically derived based upon the detected anatomical changes; and

acquiring second image data using the scan parameters.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein acquiring the second image data using the scan parameters comprises automatically acquiring the second image data.

15. The method of claim 13 , comprising generating a second image based on the second image data or based on a combination of the initial image data and the second image data.

16. The method of claim 13 , comprising employing computer aided diagnosis (CAD) algorithms configured to identify the regions of interest.

17. A method, comprising:

acquiring, using a first imaging system, first image data from which a first image may be generated, wherein at least one of the first image data or the first image comprise one or more regions of interest;

acquiring, using a second imaging system, second image data based upon one or more scan parameters automatically derived based upon a change detection routine, executed by a processor, that detects changes in the one or more regions of interest relative to a previous examination and derives the one or more scan parameters for acquiring the second image data based upon the detected changes.

18. An imaging system comprising:

a processor configured to identify one or more regions of interest in first image data or a first image derived from the first image data, to detect changes in the one or more regions of interest relative to a previous examination, and to automatically derive one or more scan parameters based upon the detected changes; and

an imaging modality configured to acquire the first image data and to acquire second image data based upon the one or more scan parameters.

19. The imaging system of claim 18 , comprising a control system coupled to the imaging modality, wherein the control system is configured to automatically acquire the first image data and the second image data.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more scan parameters comprise one or both of view angles or collimator settings of the subsequent image acquisition step.

21. The imaging system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more regions of interest comprise the location of a skin-line of the patient and the one or more scan parameters based upon the location of the skin-line limit the acquisition of the second image data to a region bounded by the skin-line.