Methods and systems for localization of targets inside a body

1. A scanning sufficiency apparatus, comprising:

an ionizing radiation sensor within a housing assembly;

a tracking system providing a position and orientation of the sensor with respect to an examined object;

at least one processor; and

a memory operatively coupled with the sensor, the at least one processor, and the tracking system, the memory having instructions for execution by the at least one processor configured to:

associate scanning data from the sensor with the position and orientation of the sensor with respect to the examined object to create registered scans;

separate an adjacent volumetric space into three-dimensional (3D) imaging elements;

produce a 3D model of radioactive sources by combining the registered scans; and

calculate a scanning completeness of a particular 3D imaging element to obtain a scanning completeness value (SCV),

wherein the calculation of the SCV uses the sensor tracking information to determine partial volumes that have been scanned enough and partial volumes that have not been scanned enough for a defined scanning objective.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 ,

further comprising a visualization device operatively linked to the at least one processor to show an image;

the memory having instructions for execution by the at least one processor configured to:

create a map of SCV values; and

create the image to include a rendering of the map of SCV values.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 ,

wherein the visualization device comprises a head mounted display.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the image comprises a rendering of a 3D model of the examined object, a rendering of a 3D map of radioactive sources measured by the sensor, or a combination thereof.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 ,

further comprising an optical camera,

wherein the memory has instructions for execution by the at least one processor configured to:

combine a visual image processed from a visual image captured by the camera with a rendering of the map of SCV values to generate a combined image; and

deliver the ensuing combined image to the visualization device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein

the camera is at least partially enclosed within the housing assembly.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the SCV takes into account summing probabilities that signals emitted by a radioactive source inside the imaging element is detected by the sensor over a scanning period.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the SCV takes into account coverage of directions from which the sensor observed the imaging element over a scan period.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the SCV takes into account the 3D model of radioactive sources.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein when scanning completeness of a particular imaging element is sufficient, a user is notified by an indication.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the indication is selected from the group consisting of an audible sound, a color change in a voxel, and a conversion of a voxel from opaque to transparent.

12. A scanning sufficiency apparatus, comprising:

a detector;

a tracking camera rigidly attached to the detector and being a known proximity to the detector;

at least one processor; and

a memory operatively coupled with the detector, the at least one processor, and the tracking camera, the memory having instructions for execution by the at least one processor configured to:

calculate a spatial position and orientation of the tracking camera with respect to a subject to create tracking data;

associate scanning data from the detector with the calculated spatial position and orientation of the tracking camera to determine a position and orientation of the scanning data using the known proximity of the detector to the tracking camera;

produce a three dimensional (3D) model of the subject using one or more signals detected by the detector and the position and orientation of the scanning data; and

separate the 3D model into imaging elements,

wherein a scanning completeness of a particular imaging element is determined by calculating a scanning completeness value (SCV), and

wherein the calculation of the SCV uses the tracking data.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the SCV is determined by summing probabilities that a signal emitted or reflected from inside the imaging element is detected by the detector over a scanning period.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising:

a display screen operably linked to the at least one processor to show an image.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 ,

the memory having instructions for execution by the at least one processor is configured to create a map of SCV values,

wherein the image comprises a rendering of the map of SCV values.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 ,

wherein the image comprises the 3D model of the subject, a 3D mesh of the subject's surface, or a combination thereof.

17. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the image comprises an overlapped view of the 3D model of the subject and camera images.

18. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein when scanning completeness of a particular volumetric unit is sufficient, a user is notified by an indication.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the indication is selected from a group consisting of an audible sound, a color change in a voxel, and a conversion of a voxel from opaque to transparent.

20. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a fiducial marker applied to an area of interest is used to aid calculating a spatial position and orientation of the tracking camera.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the fiducial marker comprises a binary coding.

22. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the detector is selected from a group consisting of a radiation detector, an electromagnetic sensor, a magnetic sensor, and an ultrasound device.

23. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the tracking camera comprises an optical camera.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the optical camera is selected from the group consisting of a visible light camera and an infrared (IR) camera.

25. A method for performing an optimized scan of a subject, the method comprising:

scanning the subject with a detector;

tracking the detector to provide a position and orientation of the detector with respect to an examined object;

associating scanning data from the detector with the position and orientation of the detector with respect to the examined object to create a registered scan;

separating an adjacent volumetric space into 3D imaging elements;

producing a 3D model of the subject by combining the registered scans; and

calculating a scanning completeness of a particular 3D imaging element to obtain a scanning completeness value (SCV),

wherein the calculation of the SCV uses the detector tracking information to determine partial volumes that have been scanned enough and partial volumes that have not been scanned enough for a defined scanning objective.

26. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

using the SCV to guide further scanning of the subject with the detector to acquire a more complete dataset.

27. The method of claim 25 ,

wherein the calculation of SCV takes into account summing the probabilities that the signal emitted or reflected from inside the imaging element is detected by the detector over the scanning period.

28. The method of claim 25 ,

wherein the calculation of SCV takes into account the 3D model of the subject.

29. The method of claim 25 , further comprising:

displaying on a screen an image comprising a representation of the 3D model of the subject, a 3D mesh of the subject, a map of SCV, or a combination thereof.

30. The method of claim 25 ,

wherein the detector is selected from a group consisting of a radiation detector, an electromagnetic sensor, a magnetic sensor, and an ultrasound device.