SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LOCALIZING AN OPAQUE MEDICAL DEVICE WITH NUCLEAR MEDICINE IMAGING
Systems and methods for localizing a medical device with nuclear medicine imaging are provided. One system includes a medical tool having a body with a length and configured to be inserted within an object. The medical tool also includes one or more radiation opaque regions along at least a portion of the length of the body, wherein the radiation opaque regions block gamma ray emission from within the object.
1 . A medical tool for use in nuclear medicine imaging, the medical tool comprising:
a body having a length and configured to be inserted within an object; and
one or more radiation opaque regions along at least a portion of the length of the body, the radiation opaque regions blocking gamma ray emission from within the object.
2 . The medical tool of claim 1 , wherein the one or more radiation opaque regions form part of the body.
3 . The medical tool of claim 1 , wherein the one or more radiation opaque regions are coated on the body.
4 . The medical tool of claim 1 , wherein the body is formed from stainless steel and the one or more radiation opaque regions are formed from Tungsten.
5 . The medical tool of claim 1 , wherein the one or more radiation opaque regions form a pattern along the length of the body.
6 . The medical tool of claim 5 , wherein the pattern comprises alternating opaque regions having one of different sizes or shapes with radiation transparent regions therebetween.
7 . The medical tool of claim 1 , wherein the body comprises a biopsy needle.
8 . A nuclear medicine (NM) imaging system comprising:
a gantry;
a first nuclear medicine detector mounted to the gantry;
a second nuclear medicine detector mounted to the gantry, wherein the first and second nuclear medicine detectors are configured to acquire planar NM images;
a biopsy guiding tool; and
a biopsy needle configured to be guided within an object between the first and second nuclear medicine detectors, the biopsy needle having one or more radiation opaque properties.
9 . The NM imaging system of claim 8 , wherein the radiation opaque properties comprises one or more radiation opaque regions along a length of the biopsy needle.
10 . The NM imaging system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more radiation opaque regions form a pattern along the length of the biopsy needle.
11 . The NM imaging system of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the biopsy needle is formed from a radiation opaque material to define the radiation opaque properties.
12 . The NM imaging system of claim 8 , wherein at least a portion of the biopsy needle is coated with a radiation opaque material to define the radiation opaque properties.
13 . The NM imaging system of claim 8 , wherein the biopsy needle is formed from stainless steel and Tungsten defines the one or more radiation opaque properties.
14 . A method for localizing a medical tool in nuclear medicine (NM) imaging, the method comprising:
acquiring NM data of a region of interest within an object, the region of interest including a medical tool having one or more radiation opaque regions;
identifying one or more areas of a concentration of radioactivity in an image formed from the NM data, the one or more areas having a lower concentration than at least one of a lesion radioactivity concentration and a background radioactivity concentration, the one or more areas corresponding to the one or more radiation opaque regions; and
localizing the medical tool using the identified one or more areas having the lower concentration of radioactivity.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising using direct photon count information to identify the one or more areas having the lower concentration of radioactivity.
16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising using scatter photon count information to identify the one or more areas having the lower concentration of radioactivity.
17 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising performing a pattern recognition to identify the one or more areas having the lower concentration of radioactivity corresponding to a pattern of the one or more radiation opaque regions along a length of the medical tool.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising using the pattern of the one or more radiation opaque regions along a length of the medical tool to identify the medical tool and a tip of the medical tool.
19 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising using one or a linear regression method or a maximum likelihood method to identify the one or more areas having the lower concentration.
20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein acquiring the NM data comprises acquiring two-dimensional images of the object using planar gamma cameras on opposite sides of an object.