Patents by Inventor Jiang Hsieh

Jiang Hsieh 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).

  • METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR X-RAY IMAGING WITH FOCAL SPOT DEFLECTION
    Publication number: 20100067651
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for x-ray imaging with focal spot deflection are provided. The apparatus includes an x-ray tube having a cathode configured to emit electrons and an anode having a target with a target surface defining a target angle. The emitted electrons are deflected onto the target surface with the target surface substantially aligned with a z-axis parallel to a gantry rotation axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2008
    Publication date: March 18, 2010
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Eugne Lino Saragnese, J. Eric Stahre, Bijan Dorri, James Kaufman, Robert Franklin Senzig
  • Systems and methods for filtering data in a medical imaging system
    Patent number: 7676074
    Abstract: A method for filtering a measurement of density of an object is described. The method includes filtering the measurement of the density and preserving a local average of the measurement and additional measurements when performing the filtering.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Assignees: Purdue Research Foundation, The University of Notre Dame du lac, General Electric Company
    Inventors: Ken David Sauer, Charles Addison Bouman, Jiang Hsieh, Jean-Baptiste Thibault
  • Methods and systems for image reconstruction using low noise kernel
    Patent number: 7653230
    Abstract: Methods and systems for a system for visualizing relatively small structures within an object are provided. The system includes an image acquisition sub-system for acquiring a dataset for a volume of interest and processor for generating image data from the acquired data wherein the processor is programmed to execute a high resolution filter kernel algorithm that includes a weighting factor applied to a ramp filter that scales relatively high frequency regions of the image dataset by a factor greater than one. The high resolution filter kernel algorithm also includes a windowing function applied to the weighted ramp filter that facilitates reducing aliasing artifacts in reconstructed images generated from the image dataset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Jiang Hsieh
  • Apparatus and method for z-location dependent x-ray beam filtration for imaging system
    Patent number: 7649973
    Abstract: An imaging system includes at least two x-ray sources, an x-ray detector assembly and an attenuation filter. The at least two x-ray sources are displaced along a z-axis and configured to alternately emit x-ray beams. The x-ray detector assembly is configured to detect the x-ray beams. The attenuation filter is mounted proximate the at least two x-ray sources and is configured to provide different amounts of x-ray attenuation to the x-ray beams along the z-axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2010
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Baojun Li, Thomas Louis Toth, Jiang Hsieh
  • Methods and apparatus for reconstructing thick image slices
    Patent number: 7646842
    Abstract: A method for obtaining data includes scanning an object using a CT imaging system having at least two detector rows to acquire projection data, wherein the projection data includes at least some data obtained from at least two rows of the detector array, and reconstructing data representative an image of the object utilizing the projection data wherein the reconstruction includes pipelining the acquired projection data through a pipeline of operations including column-filtering, tomographic filtering, and backprojection. Thick reconstructed images using 3D backprojection can be obtained with significantly lessened artifacts relative to conventional 3D backprojection image reconstructions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2010
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Xiangyang Tang
  • Method and system for filtering in medical imaging
    Patent number: 7636462
    Abstract: A method and system for filtering medical images is described. The described method of filtering medical images includes receiving image data including a plurality of images from an image scan, determining a number of interpolation elements based on a slice thickness of the plurality of images, and filtering the image data using the determined interpolation elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jianying Li, Jiang Hsieh, Xiangyang Tang, Darin Robert Okerlund, Melissa L. Vass, Kelly Ann Mohr
  • COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY METHOD AND SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20090310740
    Abstract: A method of computed tomography is disclosed herein. The method includes acquiring a first plurality of views during a first helical pass and acquiring a second plurality of views during a second helical pass. The method also includes generating an image based on both the first plurality of views and the second plurality of views.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2008
    Publication date: December 17, 2009
    Applicant: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
    Inventors: PAUL E. LICATO, JIANG HSIEH, DARIN ROBERT OKERLUND, UWE WIEDMANN
  • Method and apparatus of radiographic imaging with an energy beam tailored for a subject to be scanned
    Patent number: 7630477
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for tailoring the profile of an x-ray beam for radiographic imaging for a specific subject is disclosed. The invention includes a filter assembly having a pair of filters, each of which may be dynamically controlled by a motor assembly during data acquisition. The filters are positionable in the x-ray beam so as to shape the intensity profile of the x-ray beam. In one exemplary embodiment, the filters are dynamically positioned during CT data acquisition based on the shape of the subject. A method of determining the shape of the subject prior to CT data acquisition is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Thomas L. Toth, J. Eric Tkaczyk, Jiang Hsieh
  • Methods and apparatus for detecting structural, perfusion, and functional abnormalities
    Patent number: 7627078
    Abstract: A Multi-Energy Computed Tomography (MECT) System is provided. The system includes a radiation source rotatable about a patient, a radiation detector, and a computer coupled to the radiation source and the radiation detector wherein the computer is configured to receive data regarding a first energy spectrum of a scan of a head of the patient, receive data regarding a second energy spectrum of a scan of the head, and generate an image using the received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2009
    Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Ricardo Scott Avila, Maria Iatrou, Shankara B. Reddy, Peter Michael Edic
  • Method and apparatus for reducing cone beam artifacts using spatially varying weighting functions
    Patent number: 7613275
    Abstract: A method for combining images acquired using helical half-scan imaging comprises identifying an image plane within an overlap region comprising data from first and second view streams representative of first and second cycles of acquired image data. The image plane comprises the same anatomical structure. First and second weighting functions are calculated for first and second images based on first and second tube positions of an x-ray tube. The first and second images correspond to the image plane and are from the first and second view streams, respectively. The first and second tube positions also correspond to the image plane. A weighted image is then formed based on the first and second weighting functions and the first and second images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jianying Li, Jiang Hsieh, Melissa L. Vass, Xiangyang Tang, John Howard Londt, Darin Robert Okerlund
  • Method and system for providing defective cell correction in a medical imaging device
    Patent number: 7602951
    Abstract: Methods and systems for scanning a patient by using a medical imaging device are provided. The methods include determining a defective cell in a row n of a detector of the medical imaging device, determining a mode of operation of the medical imaging device, estimating the output of the defective cell using the determined mode of operation and at least one of a conjugate sample of the defective cell, an adjusted conjugate sample of the defective cell, and an estimate of the output of the defective cell using an output of a corresponding cell in an adjacent row and reconstructing an image of the patient using the estimated value of the defective cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Paavana Sainath, James Watkins Madine, Charles Hugh Shaughnessy, Eugene Clifford Williams, Abdelaziz Ikhlef
  • Method for increasing the resolution of a CT image during image reconstruction
    Patent number: 7602879
    Abstract: The resolution of an image produced by a CT imaging system is increased by employing an image reconstruction method that takes advantage of the redundant attenuation measurements made during a typical scan. An initial image is reconstructed with a filtered backprojection technique using the projection views acquired during the scan. Further images of higher resolution are produced by an iterative process in which the reconstructed image is reprojected, combined with originally acquired projection data, and backprojected again at the higher resolution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Guang-Hong Chen, Jiang Hsieh
  • Method and Apparatus for Correcting Multi-Modality Imaging Data
    Publication number: 20090238427
    Abstract: A method for correcting Positron Emission Tomography (PET) data includes adjusting a tube current generated by the CT imaging system to a second tube current value that is less than a first tube current value used to generate diagnostic quality CT images, and imaging the patient with the CT imaging system set at the second tube current value. The method also includes generating a plurality of computed tomography (CT) projection data from the CT imaging system and preprocessing the CT projection data to generate preprocessed CT projection data. The method further includes filtering the preprocessed CT projection data to reduce electronic noise to generate filtered CT projection data, and performing a minus logarithmic operation on the filtered CT projection data to generate the corrected PET data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2008
    Publication date: September 24, 2009
    Applicant: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, James George Colsher, Albert Henry Lonn, Alexander Ganin, Jean-Baptiste Thibault
  • Methods and apparatus for fast rotation speed scanners
    Patent number: 7593502
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for an imaging system are provided. The imaging system includes a gantry having a stationary member coupled to a rotating member. The rotating member has an opened area proximate an axis about which the rotating member rotates. An x-ray source provided on the rotating member. An x-ray detector may be disposed on the rotating member and configured to receive x-rays from the x-ray source. A rotary transformer having circumferentially disposed primary and secondary windings may form part of a contactless power transfer system that rotates the rotatable portion of the gantry at very high speeds, the primary winding being disposed on the stationary member and the secondary winding being disposed on the rotating member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Jason Stuart Katcha, Bruce Matthew Dunham, Robert Senzig, Jonathan Richard Schmidt, Thomas Louis Toth, David Michael Hoffman, Phil E. Pearson, Jr., Jiang Hsieh
  • METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR NOISE ESTIMATION FOR MULTI-RESOLUTION ANISOTROPIC DIFFUSION FILTERING
    Publication number: 20090232269
    Abstract: A method for reducing noise in a computed tomographic (CT) image includes acquiring both a first set of projection views and a second set of projection views, wherein for each projection view in the first set of projection views there is an associated projection view in the second set of projection views representing the same object scanned at substantially the same time from substantially the same position. The method further includes reconstructing the first set of projection views and the associated second set of projection views to obtain a first image and a second image, respectively. Next, the first image and the second image are combined to obtain a noise map and an amount of noise in a product image is estimated utilizing the noise map. The method also includes filtering using the noise map to perform noise reduction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2008
    Publication date: September 17, 2009
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Jean-Baptiste Thibault
  • Correlation-based motion estimation of object to be imaged
    Patent number: 7587022
    Abstract: An imaging system in an example comprises an x-ray source, a detector, a data acquisition system (DAS), and a computer. The x-ray source emits a beam of x-rays toward an object to be imaged. The detector receives x-rays emitted by the x-ray source. The DAS is operably connected to the detector. The computer is operably connected to the DAS and programmed to estimate motion of the object on a correlation-basis and through employment of earlier-collected data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Assignees: General Electric Company, University of Iowa Research Foundation
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Yuchuan Wei, Ge Wang
  • Method and apparatus for 3D reconstruction of images
    Patent number: 7583777
    Abstract: A method for producing an image of an object includes scanning an object with an imaging apparatus to collect projection data of the object utilizing cone sampling. The projection data is rebinned in a row-wise, fan-to-parallel fashion to produce rebinned data and the rebinned data is view-weighted to produce view-weighted data. The method further includes filtering the view-weighted data utilizing a row-wise ramp filter to produce filtered data and generating an image of the object utilizing the filtered data and a three-dimensional (3D) backprojection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Xiangyang Tang, Jiang Hsieh, Sandeep Dutta, Roy Arnulf Helge Nilsen
  • Systems and methods for improving a resolution of an image
    Patent number: 7583780
    Abstract: A method for reconstructing an image in a tomographic imaging system is described. The method includes improving a spatial resolution of the image by iteratively reconstructing the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignees: General Electric Company, Purdue Research Foundation, The University of Notre Dame du Lac
    Inventors: Jiang Hsieh, Jean-Baptiste Thibault, Ken David Sauer, Charles Addison Bouman
  • METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR HYBRID CONE BEAM IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION
    Publication number: 20090202126
    Abstract: A method for reconstructing an image using an imaging apparatus that includes a radiation source, a detector array, and a computer. The method includes performing a helical scan of an object at a selected helical pitch using the radiation source and detector array to obtain image data, and reconstructing an image of the object utilizing the computer programmed to perform a hybrid cone beam image reconstruction having ray-wise 3D weighting, wherein the weighting is dependent upon both helical pitch and z-distance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2008
    Publication date: August 13, 2009
    Inventors: Xiangyang Tang, Jiang Hsieh, Fang Dong, Jiahua Fan, Thomas Louis Toth
  • Methods and systems to facilitate reducing cone beam artifacts in images
    Patent number: 7573973
    Abstract: Methods and systems for generating images from a set of projection data acquired during a CT scan is provided. The system includes a computer programmed to utilize at least one of a cone angle dependent view weighting and an image plane dependent view weighting to generate an image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2009
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Xiangyang Tang, Jiang Hsieh