Prior art — US Patent 10448903

Most Relevant Prior Art for US Patent 10448903

Based on the "Patent Citations" section of US patent 10448903B2, excluding related applications within the same patent family (US9814431B2 and US10117625B2), the following patents are considered prior art. For each, a full citation, publication/filing date, brief description, and potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 are provided.

The independent claims of US10448903 focus on:

Acquiring a series of images of a moving object.
Extracting time-activity information for voxels.
Determining motion phase information from this time-activity information.
Generating motion-corrected images using the phase information.

The novelty of US10448903 largely lies in the "retrospective internal gating" where motion information is derived from individual voxel signal fluctuations within the acquired image data itself, without external hardware, and in an automated manner, to create a time-varying object motion function.

Here's the analysis of the cited prior art:

1. US6298260B1

Full Citation: US6298260B1, "Respiration responsive gating means and apparatus and methods using the same"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: February 25, 1998; Publication: October 2, 2001
Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for generating a respiration-responsive gating signal for use in medical imaging, particularly for PET scans. It primarily focuses on using external respiratory sensors (e.g., pressure transducers, strain gauges, motion detectors) to generate a gating signal that can then be used to correct for respiratory motion. It can involve storing scan data with corresponding respiratory phase information and reconstructing images for specific phases.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent does not anticipate the independent claims of US10448903. While it addresses respiratory gating and generating corrected images, it explicitly relies on external hardware (respiration sensors) to determine motion, which is contrary to the "internal" aspect of US10448903 that derives motion information from individual voxel signal fluctuations of the acquired images themselves. Therefore, elements 2 and 3 of Claim 1, regarding extracting time-activity information for voxels and determining phase information based on that voxel information, are not present.

2. US6144874A

Full Citation: US6144874A, "Respiratory gating method for MR imaging"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: October 15, 1998; Publication: November 7, 2000
Brief Description: This patent discloses a method for respiratory gating in Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. It involves acquiring MR data during a free-breathing cycle and identifying a respiration signal from a portion of the acquired MR data itself. The respiration signal is used to group data into different respiratory phases for image reconstruction. This patent explicitly mentions deriving motion information "directly from the MR data itself," without external sensors.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates elements of Claim 1 of US10448903, particularly the concept of deriving motion information internally from the image data. It describes:
- Acquiring images (MR data).
- Extracting a respiration signal from a "portion of the acquired MR data." This is analogous to "extracting time-activity information for voxels" (Claim 1, element 2) and determining "phase information for motion" (Claim 1, element 3).
- Using this signal to reconstruct images corrected for motion (Claim 1, element 4).
  The key distinction, if any, for US10448903 might lie in the specific "time-activity information for voxels" and how it's combined to form a "time varying object motion function" which is not explicitly detailed in US6144874A, which focuses more broadly on a "respiration signal." However, the principle of internal, data-driven gating to correct motion is present. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

3. US6556695B1

Full Citation: US6556695B1, "Method for producing high resolution real-time images, of structure and function during medical procedures"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: February 5, 1999; Publication: April 29, 2003
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for producing high-resolution real-time images by acquiring a series of images, identifying and tracking moving regions or objects within the images, and then using this motion information to re-register the images or select specific images for display or further processing. It focuses on motion tracking and correction for various medical procedures, potentially using image-based methods.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates general aspects of motion correction from image data. It includes:
- Acquiring a series of images with a moving object (Claim 1, element 1).
- Identifying and tracking motion within the images to "generate motion information." This broadly covers extracting time-activity information and determining phase (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Using this motion information to create higher resolution images (Claim 1, element 4).
  The description is broad enough that it could potentially cover the underlying principles of deriving motion information internally from images. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

4. US6501981B1

Full Citation: US6501981B1, "Apparatus and method for compensating for respiratory and patient motions during treatment"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: March 16, 1999; Publication: December 31, 2002
Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for compensating for respiratory and patient motions during medical treatment, particularly radiotherapy. It uses a motion sensor (e.g., optical tracking system) to detect patient motion and then uses this information to adjust the treatment delivery (e.g., move the treatment couch, or gate the radiation beam).
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent does not anticipate the independent claims of US10448903. Similar to US6298260B1, it relies on an external motion sensor to detect and compensate for motion, failing to include the "internal" derivation of motion information from voxel time-activity as claimed in US10448903 (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).

5. US6539074B1

Full Citation: US6539074B1, "Reconstruction of multislice tomographic images from four-dimensional data"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: August 25, 2000; Publication: March 25, 2003
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for reconstructing 4D tomographic images (3D images over time), specifically addressing cardiac or respiratory motion. It involves acquiring image data over time, estimating a motion field (e.g., using a reference image and registration techniques), and then applying motion compensation during reconstruction to produce a motion-corrected image.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates elements of US10448903 related to 4D imaging and motion correction. It involves:
- Acquiring images over time (Claim 1, element 1).
- Estimating a motion field, which is a form of determining motion information from the acquired data. While not explicitly "voxel time-activity," it's data-driven motion estimation (analogous to Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Reconstructing motion-compensated images (Claim 1, element 4).
  The specific method of deriving the motion function from "individual voxel signal fluctuations" as emphasized in US10448903's abstract might be a distinguishing feature, but the overall concept of retrospective, data-driven motion correction in tomographic imaging is present. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

6. US7734078B2

Full Citation: US7734078B2, "System and method for generating composite subtraction images for magnetic resonance imaging"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: September 18, 2002; Publication: June 8, 2010
Brief Description: This patent focuses on generating composite subtraction images in MRI, particularly for perfusion studies, by performing image registration to correct for motion between a baseline image and subsequent images. It aims to reduce motion artifacts in subtraction images.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent describes motion correction between images for subtraction purposes rather than explicitly gating based on an internally derived physiological motion phase. While it involves image acquisition (Claim 1, element 1) and motion correction (Claim 1, element 4) using image registration, it does not explicitly disclose extracting "time-activity information for voxels" to "determine phase information for motion" of a cyclical nature in the same way as US10448903. Therefore, it is less likely to anticipate the specific method of US10448903's core claims.

7. US20040218794A1

Full Citation: US20040218794A1, "Method for processing perfusion images"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: May 1, 2003; Publication: November 4, 2004
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for processing perfusion images, including steps for motion correction between acquired image frames. It mentions calculating motion vectors and performing image registration to align images acquired at different times.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US7734078B2, this patent focuses on motion correction via image registration rather than deriving a physiological gating signal from voxel-level fluctuations. While it involves acquiring images (Claim 1, element 1) and correcting for motion (Claim 1, element 4), it does not explicitly detail the extraction of time-activity information for voxels to determine cyclical phase information (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3) in the manner described by US10448903.

8. US7359535B2

Full Citation: US7359535B2, "Systems and methods for retrospective internal gating"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: June 20, 2003; Publication: April 15, 2008
Brief Description: This patent describes methods for retrospective internal gating in imaging systems, particularly CT. It involves acquiring images, identifying temporally cyclical signals from the images themselves (e.g., from a region of interest), and using these signals to create a time-varying object motion function that correlates with phases of periodic motion. This function is then used to gate the images.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent highly anticipates the independent claims of US10448903. The title itself ("Systems and methods for retrospective internal gating") is very similar. It explicitly details:
- Acquiring images at different times (Claim 1, element 1).
- Identifying temporally cyclical signals from the images themselves (analogous to extracting time-activity information for voxels and determining phase information) (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Creating a time-varying object motion function correlating times and phases of periodic motion.
- Using this function to perform gating.
  The abstract of US10448903 states "respiratory motion information derived from individual voxel signal fluctuations, is used in combination to create usable respiratory phase information." US7359535B2 also describes deriving internal signals from image data for gating. The primary difference may lie in the specific algorithmic details of how "voxel time-activity information" is extracted, prioritized, and combined to generate the time-varying object motion function, as detailed in the dependent claims and description of US10448903 (e.g., weighting factors, filtering, iterative summation based on standard deviation). However, the core concept of retrospective internal gating is clearly present. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

9. US20050123183A1

Full Citation: US20050123183A1, "Data driven motion correction for nuclear imaging"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: September 2, 2003; Publication: June 9, 2005
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for motion correction in nuclear imaging (e.g., PET, SPECT) by extracting motion information directly from the acquired emission data (list mode data). It outlines techniques to reconstruct motion fields or motion correction factors from the raw data itself, without external sensors, and then use these to correct for motion artifacts.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent highly anticipates the independent claims of US10448903. It specifically addresses "data driven motion correction for nuclear imaging," which aligns directly with US10448903's focus on PET. It describes:
- Acquiring image data (list mode data for nuclear imaging).
- Extracting motion information directly from the emission data itself (analogous to extracting time-activity information for voxels and determining phase information).
- Using this information to correct for motion artifacts (generating updated images correcting for motion).
  The description details deriving motion from the data itself and correcting for it, encompassing the core elements of Claim 1 of US10448903. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

10. US7756307B2

Full Citation: US7756307B2, "Method of, and software for, conducting motion correction for a tomographic scanner"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: October 17, 2003; Publication: July 13, 2010
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for motion correction in tomographic scanning, particularly PET. It involves acquiring data, detecting motion from the raw data (e.g., from the sinogram or projections), and then using this detected motion information to correct the reconstructed images. It emphasizes "data-derived motion correction" without external markers.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent highly anticipates the independent claims of US10448903. It explicitly describes "data-derived motion correction" for tomographic scanners like PET, which directly aligns with US10448903's approach. It involves:
- Acquiring image data.
- Detecting motion from the raw data (analogous to extracting voxel time-activity and determining phase information).
- Using this motion information to correct reconstructed images.
  The concept of deriving motion internally from the data for correction is central to both patents. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

11. US7574249B2

Full Citation: US7574249B2, "Device-less gating of physiological movement for improved image detection"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: February 8, 2005; Publication: August 11, 2009
Brief Description: This patent describes a method for "device-less gating" of physiological movement (e.g., respiration, cardiac activity) for improved medical imaging. It involves acquiring image data, identifying physiological movement from the image data itself (e.g., by tracking features or changes in intensity over time), and using this to gate the images.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent highly anticipates the independent claims of US10448903. The term "device-less gating" strongly correlates with "retrospective internal gating" and the explicit statement in US10448903's abstract about not using external hardware. It includes:
- Acquiring image data with physiological movement (Claim 1, element 1).
- Identifying physiological movement from the image data itself (analogous to extracting voxel time-activity and determining phase information) (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Using this information for gating to improve image detection (generating updated images correcting for motion) (Claim 1, element 4).
  This patent teaches the core concept of extracting physiological motion signals directly from the image data for gating purposes. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

12. US20070081704A1

Full Citation: US20070081704A1, "System, program product, and methods for attenuation correction of emission data on PET/CT and SPECT/CT"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: March 17, 2005; Publication: April 12, 2007
Brief Description: This patent application focuses on methods for attenuation correction in hybrid PET/CT and SPECT/CT imaging, addressing motion artifacts during the acquisition of attenuation maps (from CT) and emission data (from PET/SPECT). It suggests correcting for misalignment due to respiratory motion, potentially by incorporating motion models.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): While this patent addresses motion and its impact on image quality (specifically attenuation correction in PET/CT), its primary focus is on the correction of attenuation maps rather than the retrospective internal gating method of deriving physiological phase information from voxel time-activity. It may broadly relate to motion-corrected imaging but does not specifically teach the steps of US10448903's independent claims.

13. US20080226149A1

Full Citation: US20080226149A1, "Motion Compensation in Functional Imaging"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: August 4, 2005; Publication: September 18, 2008
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for motion compensation in functional imaging (e.g., PET, SPECT, fMRI). It involves acquiring dynamic image data, detecting motion from the acquired image data, determining a motion vector field, and applying this to correct the functional images. It can involve generating a motion curve.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent highly anticipates the independent claims of US10448903. It specifically mentions detecting motion from the acquired image data for functional imaging, which is a key aspect of US10448903. It describes:
- Acquiring dynamic image data (Claim 1, element 1).
- Detecting motion from the acquired image data (analogous to extracting voxel time-activity and determining phase information) (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Applying motion compensation to correct images (generating updated images correcting for motion) (Claim 1, element 4).
  The concept of internal, data-driven motion compensation in functional imaging directly addresses the core innovation of US10448903. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

14. US20070127797A1

Full Citation: US20070127797A1, "Methods and systems to facilitate reducing banding artifacts in images"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: November 23, 2005; Publication: June 7, 2007
Brief Description: This patent application addresses reducing banding artifacts in images, which can be caused by various factors, including motion. It describes methods for identifying and correcting for such artifacts, possibly through data processing or reconstruction adjustments.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on reducing specific image artifacts (banding) that might be caused by motion, but it does not disclose the specific method of deriving physiological phase information from voxel time-activity to gate images for motion correction as claimed in US10448903.

15. US20070237372A1

Full Citation: US20070237372A1, "Cross-time and cross-modality inspection for medical image diagnosis"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: December 29, 2005; Publication: October 11, 2007
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for medical image diagnosis involving comparing images acquired at different times or from different modalities. It may involve image registration techniques to align images for comparison, but the primary focus is on diagnostic comparison rather than motion gating.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on image comparison and registration for diagnostic purposes. While image registration can correct for some motion, it does not explicitly teach the specific steps of extracting voxel time-activity to determine cyclical phase information for motion gating as found in US10448903's independent claims.

16. US20090290774A1

Full Citation: US20090290774A1, "Dynamic computed tomography imaging"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: May 26, 2006; Publication: November 26, 2009
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for dynamic computed tomography imaging, particularly for reducing motion artifacts. It involves acquiring data over time, estimating a motion model or motion vectors from the acquired data, and then using this to reconstruct motion-corrected dynamic images.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent potentially anticipates elements of US10448903, especially in the context of CT. It involves:
- Acquiring dynamic image data (Claim 1, element 1).
- Estimating motion from the acquired data (analogous to extracting voxel time-activity and determining phase information) (Claim 1, elements 2 and 3).
- Reconstructing motion-corrected images (Claim 1, element 4).
  The general principle of deriving motion information internally from image data for correction is present. It could anticipate Claim 1, 19, and 20.

17. US20100183206A1

Full Citation: US20100183206A1, "Adjusting acquisition protocols for dynamic medical imaging using dynamic models"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: June 21, 2007; Publication: July 22, 2010
Brief Description: This patent application describes adjusting imaging acquisition protocols based on dynamic models, potentially including patient motion. It focuses on optimizing the acquisition process rather than retrospectively correcting images using internally derived phase information.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent deals with adjusting acquisition protocols and dynamic models, which is a different inventive concept than the retrospective internal gating method claimed in US10448903. While it relates to dynamic imaging and motion, it does not disclose the specific steps of deriving phase information from voxel time-activity and then using it to generate corrected images in a retrospective manner.

18. US20090076369A1

Full Citation: US20090076369A1, "Method For Reducing Motion Artifacts In Highly Constrained Medical Images"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: September 17, 2007; Publication: March 19, 2009
Brief Description: This patent application describes methods for reducing motion artifacts in medical images by exploiting "highly constrained" image data (e.g., sparsity). It focuses on advanced reconstruction techniques that inherently deal with motion, rather than explicitly deriving a motion phase signal from voxel time-activity for gating.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent addresses motion artifact reduction through reconstruction algorithms that leverage image constraints. It does not explicitly teach the steps of extracting time-activity information from individual voxels to determine phase information for gating and then generating corrected images based on that phase information, which is central to US10448903.

19. US20090299184A1

Full Citation: US20090299184A1, "Imaging or communications system utilizing multisample apodization and method"
Publication/Filing Date: Priority: February 16, 2008; Publication: December 3, 2009
Brief Description: This patent application describes imaging systems and methods utilizing multisample apodization, primarily focusing on improving image quality by suppressing artifacts or enhancing resolution through signal processing techniques, which could include handling motion-induced blurring.
Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent focuses on signal processing (apodization) for image quality. While it might address aspects of motion-induced blurring in a general sense, it does not explicitly disclose the specific method of deriving physiological phase information from voxel time-activity to gate images for motion correction as claimed in US10448903.

Summary of Most Relevant Prior Art:

The most relevant prior art documents that potentially anticipate the independent claims (Claim 1, 19, and 20) of US10448903, due to their disclosure of "internal" or "device-less" data-driven motion detection and correction for medical imaging, are:

US6144874A: "Respiratory gating method for MR imaging" - Teaches deriving a respiration signal directly from MR data itself for gating.
US6556695B1: "Method for producing high resolution real-time images, of structure and function during medical procedures" - Broadly covers identifying and tracking motion from images for correction.
US6539074B1: "Reconstruction of multislice tomographic images from four-dimensional data" - Describes estimating motion fields from acquired data for motion compensation.
US7359535B2: "Systems and methods for retrospective internal gating" - Extremely similar in title and concept, explicitly teaching retrospective internal gating by identifying cyclical signals from images to create a time-varying object motion function.
US20050123183A1: "Data driven motion correction for nuclear imaging" - Specifically teaches extracting motion information directly from raw emission data for nuclear imaging.
US7756307B2: "Method of, and software for, conducting motion correction for a tomographic scanner" - Describes data-derived motion correction from raw data in tomographic scanning.
US7574249B2: "Device-less gating of physiological movement for improved image detection" - Explicitly teaches "device-less gating" by identifying physiological movement from image data itself.
US20080226149A1: "Motion Compensation in Functional Imaging" - Describes detecting motion from acquired image data for functional imaging motion compensation.
US20090290774A1: "Dynamic computed tomography imaging" - Teaches estimating motion from acquired data for motion-corrected dynamic CT images.

These patents all demonstrate some form of acquiring image data, deriving motion information from that data internally (as opposed to external sensors), and then using that derived motion information to correct or gate the images. The specific advancements or distinctions of US10448903 would likely reside in the detailed methodology of how the voxel time-activity information is processed and combined to form the time-varying object motion function, which might be found in its dependent claims and detailed description.