X-ray computed tomography apparatus and contrast medium inflow amount detection method

1. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit that executes an actual scan, and a monitoring scan for imaging a range including an imaging portion of the actual scan before start of the actual scan;

reconstruction circuitry configured to, at a time of the monitoring scan not setting a region of interest, based on an output of an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays having passed through an object, reconstruct a first image concerning object at a time of administration of a contrast medium and a second image concerning the object after a predetermined period elapses since administration of the contrast medium; and

control circuitry configured to

generate a first histogram representing a pixel count corresponding to each CT value in the entirety of the first image,

generate, for every predetermined period, a second histogram representing a pixel count corresponding to each CT value in the entirety of the second image,

sequentially acquire a difference histogram corresponding to a difference between the first histogram and the second histogram for which a pixel count increases with respect to the first histogram, and sequentially acquire a CT value corresponding to a largest pixel count in the difference histogram, and

control at least one of stopping the monitoring scan or starting the actual scan when the acquired CT value exceeds a predetermined threshold,

the imaging unit executing no registration scan for setting the region of interest.

2. The X-ray computed tomography apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to acquire the CT value corresponding to the largest pixel count in the difference histogram within a predetermined CT value range.

3. An X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus, comprising:

an imaging unit that executes a monitoring scan for detecting an inflow amount of a contrast medium administered to an object and, after the monitoring scan, an actual scan under a scan condition different from that of the monitoring scan;

reconstruction circuitry configured to, at a time of the monitoring scan not setting a region of interest, based on an output of an X-ray detector for detecting X-rays having passed through the object, reconstruct a first image concerning the object at a time of administration of the contrast medium and a second image concerning the object after a predetermined period elapses since administration of the contrast medium; and

control circuitry configured to generate a first histogram representing a pixel count corresponding to each CT value in the entirety of the first image, sequentially generate a second histogram and a third histogram each representing a pixel count corresponding to each CT value in the entirety of the second image, and shift from the monitoring scan to the actual scan based on whether a peak value of a pixel value corresponding to a predetermined CT value range exceeds a threshold in a cumulative histogram obtained by accumulating a difference between the first histogram at a first point of time and the second histogram at a second point of time after the first point of time, and a difference between the second histogram at the second point of time and the third histogram at a third point of time after the second point of time, within the predetermined CT value range,

the imaging unit executing no registration scan for setting the region of interest.