Patents by Inventor Holger Scherl

Holger Scherl has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8619944
    Abstract: A method and a device for determining attenuation coefficients for an object using a movable X-ray source and a detector, which is provided for recording projections, is provided. The method includes specifying a trajectory for the movable X-ray source, specifying positions on the trajectory for determining a derivative of projections recorded by the detector, specifying a plurality of scanning positions for each of the specified positions, following the trajectory with the X-ray source and recording a projection for each scanning position, numerically calculating a projection derivative in relation to the trajectory path for each of the positions using the projections recorded for the associated plurality of scanning positions, and determining attenuation coefficients for the object from the calculated projection derivatives using a theoretically exact or approximate rule for the reconstruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2013
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Frank Dennerlein, Stefan Hoppe, Markus Kowarschik, Holger Scherl
  • Patent number: 8259896
    Abstract: A method for determining absorption coefficients corrected with polychromy artifacts for an object composed of a plurality of material types differentiated with absorption attributes is provided. A plurality of x-ray beam projections of the object are recorded with monochrome x-rays from different positions. The recorded projections are reconstructed to determine a first set of absorption coefficients. The projections are calculated by reprojection. The recorded projections are corrected by the calculated projections. A second set of absorption coefficients corrected with polychromy artifacts is finally determined by reconstructing the corrected projections. A formula-based description of a rule taking account of polychromy is used in the calculation. The rule includes parameters to be determined by the reprojection in the course of the calculation of projections. The method combines steps of conventional methods and is thus more efficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Holger Kunze, Holger Scherl
  • Patent number: 8213564
    Abstract: A method for determining attenuation coefficients for an object using a movable x-ray source and a detector for recording projections is provided. The method includes defining a trajectory for the movable x-ray source, defining filtering lines for the filtering of projection data, and defining positions on the filtering lines, at which the projection derivative is to be formed using a mathematical algorithm for a back-projection. The method also includes defining sampling positions on the trajectory, traversing, by the x-ray source, the trajectory and recording a projection for each sampling position. Projection derivatives with respect to the trajectory path are calculated numerically for each of the positions directly on the filtering lines, and using a mathematical algorithm, attenuation coefficients are determined for the object from the calculated projection derivatives, for the reconstruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2012
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Frank Dennerlein, Holger Scherl
  • Publication number: 20120045105
    Abstract: In a method and device spatially resolved quality information is provided for an x-ray imaging procedure in which a data field representing the examination subject is reconstructed from a number of exposures of an examination subject. Quality information that indicates the reliability of the reconstructed data field for the corresponding element is determined for a number of elements of the data field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 16, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Inventors: Klaus Engel, Oliver Klar, Markus Kowarschik, Manuel Meilinger, Holger Scherl, Christian Schmidgunst
  • Publication number: 20110075899
    Abstract: A method for determining absorption coefficients corrected with polychromy artifacts for an object composed of a plurality of material types differentiated with absorption attributes is provided. A plurality of x-ray beam projections of the object are recorded with monochrome x-rays from different positions. The recorded projections are reconstructed to determine a first set of absorption coefficients. The projections are calculated by reprojection. The recorded projections are corrected by the calculated projections. A second set of absorption coefficients corrected with polychromy artifacts is finally determined by reconstructing the corrected projections. A formula-based description of a rule taking account of polychromy is used in the calculation. The rule includes parameters to be determined by the reprojection in the course of the calculation of projections. The method combines steps of conventional methods and is thus more efficient.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 24, 2010
    Publication date: March 31, 2011
    Inventors: Holger Kunze, Holger Scherl
  • Publication number: 20110069807
    Abstract: A method for determining attenuation coefficients for an object using a movable x-ray source and a detector for recording projections is provided. The method includes defining a trajectory for the movable x-ray source, defining filtering lines for the filtering of projection data, and defining positions on the filtering lines, at which the projection derivative is to be formed using a mathematical algorithm for a back-projection. The method also includes defining sampling positions on the trajectory, traversing, by the x-ray source, the trajectory and recording a projection for each sampling position. Projection derivatives with respect to the trajectory path are calculated numerically for each of the positions directly on the filtering lines, and using a mathematical algorithm, attenuation coefficients are determined for the object from the calculated projection derivatives, for the reconstruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2010
    Publication date: March 24, 2011
    Inventors: Frank Dennerlein, Holger Scherl
  • Publication number: 20100286928
    Abstract: A method and a device for determining attenuation coefficients for an object using a movable X-ray source and a detector, which is provided for recording projections, is provided. The method includes specifying a trajectory for the movable X-ray source, specifying positions on the trajectory for determining a derivative of projections recorded by the detector, specifying a plurality of scanning positions for each of the specified positions, following the trajectory with the X-ray source and recording a projection for each scanning position, numerically calculating a projection derivative in relation to the trajectory path for each of the positions using the projections recorded for the associated plurality of scanning positions, and determining attenuation coefficients for the object from the calculated projection derivatives using a theoretically exact or approximate rule for the reconstruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2010
    Publication date: November 11, 2010
    Inventors: Frank Dennerlein, Stefan Hoppe, Markus Kowarschik, Holger Scherl
  • Publication number: 20100232673
    Abstract: An improvement in image quality when determining an image using iterative reconstruction is provided by taking account of focus shifts. In order to take into consideration the influence of focus shift in calculated projections, several different projections are calculated for each section of the focus path on a section-by-section basis. The several different calculated projections for a section are averaged for comparison with a projection recorded in the section. Improved image quality is provided, for example, in tomosynthesis applications in which a large number of recordings are made with a stationary detector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 16, 2010
    Inventors: Benjamin Keck, Markus Kowarschik, Jasmina Ludwig, Thomas Mertelmeier, Holger Scherl
  • Patent number: 7711083
    Abstract: To enable an artifact free reconstruction even in the case of large regions of interest and with scanning paths of below 360°, provision is made for a method, with which a three-dimensional image volume is reconstructed from a number of two-dimensional projection images of a region of interest, which were recorded about the region of interest during a rotation of a recording system, comprising an x-ray source with a focal point and a detector, by calculating the gray scale values of the voxels of the image volume by back projection of the projection images, with which each two-dimensional projection images is composed in each instance from at least two individual projection images to form an extended two-dimensional projection image, with the respectively at least two individual projection images being recorded with a constant relative position between the focal point and the region of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2010
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Benno Heigl, Stefan Hoppe, Joachim Hornegger, Ernst-Peter Rührnschopf, Holger Scherl, Bernhard Scholz, Michael Zellerhoff
  • Publication number: 20080089468
    Abstract: To enable an artifact free reconstruction even in the case of large regions of interest and with scanning paths of below 360°, provision is made for a method, with which a three-dimensional image volume is reconstructed from a number of two-dimensional projection images of a region of interest, which were recorded about the region of interest during a rotation of a recording system, comprising an x-ray source with a focal point and a detector, by calculating the gray scale values of the voxels of the image volume by back projection of the projection images, with which each two-dimensional projection images is composed in each instance from at least two individual projection images to form an extended two-dimensional projection image, with the respectively at least two individual projection images being recorded with a constant relative position between the focal point and the region of interest.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Inventors: Benno Heigl, Stefan Hoppe, Joachim Hornegger, Ernst-Peter Ruhrnschopf, Holger Scherl, Bernhard Scholz, Michael Zellerhoff