Abstract: In order to manufacture a scintillator layer for a detector for the detection of electromagnetic radiation, transmitted by an object, which has a high spatial resolution and only a slight interaction between the scintillator elements, it is proposed to pour a molten mass of a radiation-absorbing metal, having a melting point below 350° C., into intermediate spaces which extend vertically between neighboring scintillator elements.

Abstract: An x-ray examination apparatus comprises an x-ray image sensor matrix (1) for deriving an initial image signal from the x-ray image. The sensor elements of the x-ray sensor matrix convert incident x-rays into electric charges. These electric charges are read-out and converted into the initial image signal. Further a correction unit (2) is provided for correcting the initial image signal, notably for disturbances due to delayed transferred charges, that have been retained in the sensor elements for some time. The correction unit (2) is provided with a memory which stores correction values. Further the correction provided with a selection unit (5) for selecting appropriate correction values from the memory (3).

Abstract: Complete helical cone-beam scanning and non-redundant data acquisition are obtained for three-dimensional tomographic imaging of arbitrary long objects. The minimum sized two-dimensional detector window is bounded by two consecutive turns of the helix. The ray source exposes all object points during a rotation of exactly 180 degrees when seen from the points themselves. Only one-dimensional filtering is employed in the reconstruction. Rebinning to parallel beams, as seen along the axis of rotation, allows for especially simple procedures without any need for pre-weighting or magnification factors. As a special case, the invention is applicable to helical fan-beam scanning with one-dimensional detector arrays.

Abstract: The design of a gradient system may be aimed at a high degree of linearity of the gradient field or a high speed during the generating of the gradient pulses, depending on the wishes of the user. These two wishes imply contradictory design criteria. In order to comply with both user wishes, the gradient system 32, 34, 36, 38 according to the invention is constructed so as to include a gradient coil 32 having a comparatively poor linearity, and a correction coil 36 which is intended to correct the linearity of the gradient coil; the linearity of the correction coil 36 itself thus is not important. The linearity of the system is enhanced, relative to that of the gradient coil alone, by addition of the fields of the two coils 32, 36. If a high speed is desired at the expense of the linearity, the gradient coil 32 alone may be activated; if a high linearity is desired at the expense of the speed, both coils 32, 36 can be switched on.

Abstract: A mastectomy bra is constructed with a built-in prosthetic device and includes at least one bra outer portion within which a breast-shaped prosthetic device of varying weight and composition is permanently adjusted. The single bra cup includes an outer fabric layer fully enclosing and supporting the prosthetic device, and the outer fabric layer includes a breast contoured portion and a body facing portion. The prosthetic device is formed in a natural shape of a woman's breast. The device is also constructed of a non-permeable, soft flexible outer shell layer within which is disposed the fluid-like material. An optional valve may be included for adding or removing fluid material from the bra cup for aesthetic adjustment of its size.

Abstract: The invention relates to a magnetic resonance (MR) device which is provided with a medical instrument (10) which is to be introduced into an object (1) to be examined, and also with a coil system (11) which is arranged in or on the instrument (10) and includes at least one coil for receiving and/or transmitting an RF signal, to a medical instrument (10) of this kind and also to a method of determining the position of such a medical instrument (10) that can be introduced into an object (1) to be examined. According to the invention the coil system (11) in an MR device of this kind forms a resonant circuit (20) in conjunction with a capacitor (19) and a modulation unit (12) is provided in order to modulate an RF signal coupled into the coil system (11).

Abstract: The invention relates to an ionization chamber which includes a plurality of measuring field electrodes (131 . . . 133) which are arranged on a substrate (120) at a distance from one another and are provided with supply leads (134), and at least one electrode (180) which is arranged at a distance from and faces the substrate and emits charge carriers under the influence of X-rays. An insulating layer (140; 190) provided on the supply leads and/or on the electrode, at least at the area of the supply leads, prevents the signals from the ionization chamber from being falsified by the charge carriers incident on the supply leads. The electrically insulating (layers) have such a high X-ray transparency that they are practically not reproduced in an X-ray image.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of localizing an object in a turbid medium. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out such a method. The method can be used in optical mammography during which a part of a breast of a female body is examined by means of light. To this end, the part of the breast is introduced into a holder of the device, said holder being provided with light sources and detectors. In order to realize an optical coupling between the light sources and the detectors and the breast, a calibration medium is introduced. After measurement of the intensities for a plurality of light paths between the light sources and the detectors, the measured intensity is normalized. In order to counteract artifacts which are caused by deviations of the optical properties of the calibration medium and the mean optical properties of the part of the breast, according to the invention the measured intensities are corrected prior to the reconstruction of the interior of the breast.

Abstract: An X-ray examination apparatus is provided including: an X-ray image means for providing an X-ray image composed of pixels each having a grey value, and a brightness control system which is coupled to the X-ray image means in order to apply a brightness control signal of the image to the X-ray image means. The brightness control system comprises an X-ray image analyzing means for deriving the brightness control signal from a maximum in the number of times that a grey value occurs in the X-ray image. The apparatus provides optimized brightness in the visual image such that a physician is capable of properly examining changes in weakly absorbing tissues or body parts, such as lungs or the like, thus enabling optimized visual analysis.

Abstract: This invention relates to methods and apparatus for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of moving parts of a patient in which flip angles for the excitation of nuclear magnetization are adaptively selected during image data acquisition in order to minimize artifacts. In particular, the flip angles are selected so that a smooth distribution of signal-strengths in k-space results even though the order of phase-encoding gradients is also adaptively selected in dependence of the measured instantaneous state of motion of the moving part. The invention also includes MR apparatus for practicing the described methods and software for controlling an MR apparatus to practice the methods.

Abstract: The invention relates to an MR method in which the deterioration of the image quality by the concomitant gradients is reduced or eliminated by imposing a temporal variation on the magnetic fields acting in the examination zone during the time interval between the excitation of the nuclear magnetization and the reception of the MR signal such that the spatial distribution of the phase error upon reception of the MR signal is at least approximately the same for all sequences.

Abstract: An X-ray examination apparatus comprises an X-ray detector (1) for deriving an optical image from an X-ray image. An image pick-up device (2) derives an image signal from the optical image. The image pick-up device (2) is provided with an image sensor (3,4) having a plurality of sensor elements. The effective surface area of the sensor elements differs for different optical spectral components of the optical image. The image pick-up device is provided with an adjusting system for selecting an optical spectral component. The image signal is derived from the selected optical spectral component.

Abstract: An X-ray examination apparatus utilizes an image sensor matrix for picking up an X-ray image, i.e. for converting incident X-rays into electric charges. The X-ray examination apparatus includes a control circuit for controlling the image sensor matrix so as to form a dark signal. The X-ray examination apparatus also includes a correction unit which is arranged to derive the electronic image signal from the primary image and the dark signal. The electronic image signal represents image information in the X-ray image and has not been disturbed by electric charges which have been read with a delay.

Abstract: The invention relates to an X-ray examination apparatus which includes a patient table (1), a fluoroscopy image intensifier (61) which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the table on a first carriage (6), an overtable X-ray source (2) which is aligned with respect thereto and is coupled to the first carriage, and an image recording means (71) which is displaceable on a second carriage (7). The second carriage can quickly move to a parking position and from this parking position to an exposure position in that the second carriage is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the table, independently of the first carriage, and in that there is provided a drive system (8,9) which displaces the two carriages in synchronism in a first mode of operation and displaces the second carriage relative to the first carriage in a second mode of operation.

Abstract: In a method of detecting covered and uncovered parts in an image to be interpolated between neighboring previous (I) and next (III) input images, backward motion vectors from the next input image to the previous input image, and having corresponding backward estimation errors, and forward motion vectors from the previous input image to the next input image, and having corresponding forward estimation errors, are determined, uncovered and covered parts are detected in the neighboring previous and next input images, respectively, in the thus detected uncovered parts, uncovered parts in the image to be interpolated are detected by determining second backward estimation errors by comparing both neighboring previous and next input images when partially shifted over the backward motion vectors to a temporal location of said image to be interpolated, and by comparing the second backward estimation errors to a threshold, and in the thus detected covered parts, covered parts in the image to be interpolated are detecte

Abstract: MRI apparatus include coil systems for generating magnetic fields. These coil systems require currents of some hundreds of A and voltages as high as some kV. Furthermore, weak and noise-sensitive signals must be detected in such apparatus; therefore, the measuring space of the apparatus is accommodated in a Faraday cage, but another part of the equipment of the MRI apparatus is arranged outside said cage. Therefore, power signals as well as data signals must be fed through II filters in the wall of the Faraday cage; thus far, such feeding through took place via one type of filter. In accordance with the invention, two filter elements are used, i.e. one filter element for the power conductors which comprises only one filter and one filter element for the data conductors which comprises several filters. The latter filter element is preferably provided with capacitors which are integrated in the connectors which are mounted on a PC board.

Abstract: A method for magnetic resonance imaging of a part of a human body arranged in a steady magnetic field. The part of the body to be imaged may contain, for example a coronary artery in the vicinity of the heart. Other feasible parts are, for example joints or the cruciate ligaments. To this end, two MR images are made of the coronary artery extending between the first imaging plane and the second imaging plane of the first and the second MR image, respectively, a first cross-section of the coronary artery being reproduced in the first MR image whereas a second cross-section of the coronary artery is reproduced in the second MR image. Subsequently, a third imaging plane for a third MR image is determined by an operator who determines two points by indicating, in the first and the second image, points of intersection of the first and the second cross-section of the coronary artery in the first and the second imaging plane.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of navigating a magnetic object (11) within an object (1) which is exposed to a magnetic field, as well as to a magnetic resonance device in which this method can be carried out. The method according to the invention is particularly suitable for navigating a catheter or a flexible endoscope within the body of a patient. The magnetic object (11), preferably being provided in or on such a medical instrument (10), has a controllable magnetic moment for this purpose and the direction of movement of the object is determined by control of the magnetic moment. In the case of a magnetic resonance device whose static magnetic field is used, the object (11) is preferably includes as a coil system.

Abstract: A method for forming an assembled image from successive sub-images comprises the step of acquiring the sub-images, notably X-ray images, with an X-ray detector comprising an essentially flat X-ray-sensitive surface. An X-ray examination apparatus comprises an X-ray detector having a flat X-ray sensitive surface. Advantageously, difference images are derived from successive sub-images. For example, the assembled image derived from the difference images is used to display blood flow patterns in a patient's vascular system.

Abstract: A Computer-based Patient Record (CPR) system includes user equipment devices which are configured for speech synthesis in response to speech markup language text and which are connected via a network to a middle tier of a server system. The CPR system further includes a message delivery facility for delivery of textual messages to any of pager, electronic mail, or voice mail (after text-to-speech synthesis) message delivery vehicles. The server system accesses a user specific data store containing speech synthesis profiles which include prosodic information of the voices and speech of users, and message delivery profiles which specify which of the aforementioned message delivery vehicles are to be used and in what order.