METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATICALLY POSITIONING A STRUCTURE WITHIN A FIELD OF VIEW

1 . A method for positioning an organ of interest within a field of view of an imaging detector, said method comprising:

positioning an organ of interest at an initial imaging position;

performing automatic organ detection to determine a position of the organ;

prompting a user to move the organ of interest to a revised imaging position based on the organ detection;

performing an initial examination of the organ of interest at the revised imaging position at a first time;

positioning the organ of interest at a different imaging position to perform a second examination;

prompting the user to move the organ of interest to the revised imaging position; and

performing a second examination of the organ of interest at the revised imaging position.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

automatically placing a visual indication on the organ of interest; and

comparing the location of the visual indication to a focal point of the detector to determine the revised imaging position.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising enabling a user to manually reposition at least one of the detector or the table to the revised imaging position based on the response.

4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

automatically placing a visual indication on at least one image of the organ of interest; and

changing a color of the visual indicator from a first color to a second different color when the detector or table is moved to the revised imaging position.

5 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

automatically placing a visual indication on at least one image of the organ of interest; and

changing a color of the visual indicator from a first color to a second different color when the organ of interest is not detected.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating a plurality of persistence images; and

generating a plurality of reconstructed images using the persistence images.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

positioning a patient on the table at a first time;

performing the initial medical examination of the organ of interest at the initial imaging position at the first time;

repositioning the patient on the table at a second different time;

calculating a difference between a location of the organ of interest at the first time and the organ of interest at the second different time; and

automatically repositioning at least one of the table or the detector based on the calculated difference to perform the second medical imaging examination.

8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

performing the first medical examination using a first imaging agent having a first energy; and

performing the second medical imaging examination using a second imaging agent having a second energy.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

reconstructing a first set of images for the first medical examination;

reconstructing a second set of images for the second medical examination; and

generating a set of combined images using the first and second sets of reconstructed images.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detector comprises a plurality of pinhole cameras.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the organ of interest comprises a heart.

12 . A method of performing at series of medical examinations, said method comprising:

positioning a patient on the table at a first time;

performing an initial medical examination of the organ of interest at the revised imaging position at the first time;

repositioning the patient on the table at a second different time;

calculating a difference between a location of the organ of interest at the first time and the organ of interest at the second different time; and

automatically repositioning at least one of the table or the detector based on the calculated difference to perform a second medical imaging examination.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

performing the first medical examination using a first imaging agent having a first energy; and

performing the second medical imaging examination using a second imaging agent having a second energy.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

reconstructing a first set of images for the first medical examination;

reconstructing a second set of images for the second medical examination; and

generating a set of combined images using the first and second sets of reconstructed images.

15 . A medical imaging system comprising:

a detector comprising a plurality of pinhole cameras;

a table; and

a patient positioning module for controlling the operation of the detector and the table, the patient positioning module configured to:

perform automatic organ detection to determine a position of an organ of interest at a first time and at a first imaging position;

determine a revised imaging position of a detector or a table based on the position of the organ;

prompt a user to accept the revised imaging position; and

automatically reposition at least one of the detector or the table to the revised imaging position based on the response.

16 . The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the patient positioning module is further configured to:

automatically place a visual indication on the organ of interest; and

compare the location of the visual indication to a focal point of the detector to determine the revised imaging position.

17 . The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the patient positioning module is further configured to:

automatically place a visual indication on at least one image of the organ of interest; and

change a color of the visual indicator from a first color to a second different color when the detector or table is moved to a second different imaging position.

18 . The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the patient positioning module is further configured to:

automatically place a visual indication on at least one image of the organ of interest; and

change a color of the visual indicator from a first color to a second different color When the organ of interest is not detected.

19 . The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the patient positioning module is further configured to:

generate a plurality of persistence images; and

generate a plurality of reconstructed images using the persistence images.

20 . The medical imaging system of claim 15 , wherein the patient positioning module is further configured to:

performing an initial medical examination of the organ of interest at a first time and at a first imaging position;

repositioning the patient on the table at a second different time to a second imaging position;

calculate a difference between a location of the organ of interest at the first time and the organ of interest at the second different time; and

automatically reposition at least one of the table or the detector based on the calculated difference to perform a second medical imaging examination.