Apparatus and method to correct for position errors in diagnostic imaging

The present invention relates to the art of medical imaging. It finds particular application in conjunction with canceling or correcting for undesired movement especially mechanical movement in C-arm supports for generating three-dimensional computed tomography imaging data, more particularly fluoroscopic x-ray systems, and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention is also applicable to other diagnostic imaging systems. An x-ray source () transmits a beam of x-rays through an examination region (E). A receiver (), in an initial spatial orientation relative to the source (), receives the beam and generates a view of image data indicative of the intensity of the beam received. A sensor, such as an accelerometer, detects motion in a selected portion of a mechanical structure (M) supporting the source () and the receiver (). Upon detection of motion, the sensor generates a motion signal. In one embodiment, a first accelerometer () is associated with the receiver () and a second accelerometer () is associated with the source (). A position calculator () mathematically calculates a position of both the source and receiver based on the acceleration data generated by the accelerometers. An image reconstruction processor, () receives the relative position data, electronically corrects for any misalignment or change in beam travel distance, and reconstructs the views into a volumetric image representation. In another embodiment, a sensor () detects motion of a mechanical structure (M) and provides a motion signal to a processor (). The processor () compares the detected motion with a database loaded with an empirically determined vibration model. Based on this comparison, the processor () then generates a cancellation signal, which controls an electromechanical actuator () to impart an offsetting force or motion to the mechanical structure (M).