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Sample records for analytic cone-beam reconstruction

  1. Analytical fan-beam and cone-beam reconstruction algorithms with uniform attenuation correction for SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Qiulin; Zeng, Gengsheng L; Gullberg, Grant T

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we developed an analytical fan-beam reconstruction algorithm that compensates for uniform attenuation in SPECT. The new fan-beam algorithm is in the form of backprojection first, then filtering, and is mathematically exact. The algorithm is based on three components. The first one is the established generalized central-slice theorem, which relates the 1D Fourier transform of a set of arbitrary data and the 2D Fourier transform of the backprojected image. The second one is the fact that the backprojection of the fan-beam measurements is identical to the backprojection of the parallel measurements of the same object with the same attenuator. The third one is the stable analytical reconstruction algorithm for uniformly attenuated Radon data, developed by Metz and Pan. The fan-beam algorithm is then extended into a cone-beam reconstruction algorithm, where the orbit of the focal point of the cone-beam imaging geometry is a circle. This orbit geometry does not satisfy Tuy's condition and the obtained cone-beam algorithm is an approximation. In the cone-beam algorithm, the cone-beam data are first backprojected into the 3D image volume; then a slice-by-slice filtering is performed. This slice-by-slice filtering procedure is identical to that of the fan-beam algorithm. Both the fan-beam and cone-beam algorithms are efficient, and computer simulations are presented. The new cone-beam algorithm is compared with Bronnikov's cone-beam algorithm, and it is shown to have better performance with noisy projections

  2. An analytical simulation technique for cone-beam CT and pinhole SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xuezhu; Qi Yujin

    2011-01-01

    This study was aimed at developing an efficient simulation technique with an ordinary PC. The work involved derivation of mathematical operators, analytic phantom generations, and effective analytical projectors developing for cone-beam CT and pinhole SPECT imaging. The computer simulations based on the analytical projectors were developed by ray-tracing method for cone-beam CT and voxel-driven method for pinhole SPECT of degrading blurring. The 3D Shepp-Logan, Jaszczak and Defrise phantoms were used for simulation evaluations and image reconstructions. The reconstructed phantom images were of good accuracy with the phantoms. The results showed that the analytical simulation technique is an efficient tool for studying cone-beam CT and pinhole SPECT imaging. (authors)

  3. The generalized back projection theorem for cone beam reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peyrin, F.C.

    1985-01-01

    The use of cone beam scanners raises the problem of three dimensional reconstruction from divergent projections. After a survey on bidimensional analytical reconstruction methods we examine their application to the 3D problem. Finally, it is shown that the back projection theorem can be generalized to cone beam projections. This allows to state a new inversion formula suitable for both the 4 π parallel and divergent geometries. It leads to the generalization of the ''rho-filtered back projection'' algorithm which is outlined

  4. Analytically derived weighting factors for transmission tomography cone beam projections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yao Weiguang; Leszczynski, Konrad

    2009-01-01

    Weighting factors, which define the contributions of individual voxels of a 3D object to individual projection elements (pixels) on the detector, are the basic elements required in iterative tomographic reconstructions from transmission projections. Exact or as accurate as possible values for weighting factors are required in high-resolution reconstructions. Geometric complexity of the problem, however, makes it difficult to obtain exact weighting factor values. In this work, we derive an analytical expression for the weighting factors in cone beam projection geometry. The resulting formula is validated and applied to reconstruction from mega and kilovoltage x-ray cone beam projections. The reconstruction speed and accuracy are significantly improved by using the weighting factor values.

  5. Exact Reconstruction From Uniformly Attenuated Helical Cone-Beam Projections in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullberg, Grant T.; Huang, Qiu; You, Jiangsheng; Zeng, Gengsheng L.

    2008-01-01

    In recent years the development of cone-beam reconstruction algorithms has been an active research area in x-ray computed tomography (CT), and significant progress has been made in the advancement of algorithms. Theoretically exact and computationally efficient analytical algorithms can be found in the literature. However, in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), published cone-beam reconstruction algorithms are either approximate or involve iterative methods. The SPECT reconstruction problem is more complicated due to degradations in the imaging detection process, one of which is the effect of attenuation of gamma ray photons. Attenuation should be compensated for to obtain quantitative results. In this paper, an analytical reconstruction algorithm for uniformly attenuated cone-beam projection data is presented for SPECT imaging. The algorithm adopts the DBH method, a procedure consisting of differentiation and backprojection followed by a finite inverse cosh-weighted Hilbert transform. The significance of the proposed approach is that a selected region of interest can be reconstructed even with a detector with a reduced field of view. The algorithm is designed for a general trajectory. However, to validate the algorithm, a numerical study was performed using a helical trajectory. The implementation is efficient and the simulation result is promising

  6. Direct cone beam SPECT reconstruction with camera tilt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jianying Li; Jaszczak, R.J.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.; Zongjian Cao; Tsui, B.M.W.

    1993-01-01

    A filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm is derived to perform cone beam (CB) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) reconstruction with camera tilt using circular orbits. This algorithm reconstructs the tilted angle CB projection data directly by incorporating the tilt angle into it. When the tilt angle becomes zero, this algorithm reduces to that of Feldkamp. Experimentally acquired phantom studies using both a two-point source and the three-dimensional Hoffman brain phantom have been performed. The transaxial tilted cone beam brain images and profiles obtained using the new algorithm are compared with those without camera tilt. For those slices which have approximately the same distance from the detector in both tilt and non-tilt set-ups, the two transaxial reconstructions have similar profiles. The two-point source images reconstructed from this new algorithm and the tilted cone beam brain images are also compared with those reconstructed from the existing tilted cone beam algorithm. (author)

  7. A reconstruction algorithms for helical cone-beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weng, Y.; Zeng, G.L.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1993-01-01

    Cone-beam SPECT provides improved sensitivity for imaging small organs like the brain and heart. However, current cone-beam tomography with the focal point traversing a planar orbit does not acquire sufficient data to give an accurate reconstruction. In this paper, the authors employ a data-acquisition method which obtains complete data for cone-beam SPECT by simultaneously rotating the gamma camera and translating the patient bed, so that cone-beam projections can be obtained with the focal point traversing a helix surrounding the patient. An implementation of Grangeat's algorithm for helical cone-beam projections is developed. The algorithm requires a rebinning step to convert cone-beam data to parallel-beam data which are then reconstructed using the 3D Radon inversion. A fast new rebinning scheme is developed which uses all of the detected data to reconstruct the image and properly normalizes any multiply scanned data. This algorithm is shown to produce less artifacts than the commonly used Feldkamp algorithm when applied to either a circular planar orbit or a helical orbit acquisition. The algorithm can easily be extended to any arbitrary orbit

  8. Implementation of Tuy's cone-beam inversion formula

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Clack, R.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1994-01-01

    Tuy's cone-beam inversion formula was modified to develop a cone-beam reconstruction algorithm. The algorithm was implemented for a cone-beam vertex orbit consisting of a circle and two orthogonal lines. This orbit geometry satisfies the cone-beam data sufficiency condition and is easy to implement on commercial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems. The algorithm which consists of two derivative steps, one rebinning step, and one three-dimensional backprojection step, was verified by computer simulations and by reconstructing physical phantom data collected on a clinical SPECT system. The proposed algorithm gives equivalent results and is as efficient as other analytical cone-beam reconstruction algorithms. (Author)

  9. Cone-beam and fan-beam image reconstruction algorithms based on spherical and circular harmonics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Gengsheng L; Gullberg, Grant T

    2004-01-01

    A cone-beam image reconstruction algorithm using spherical harmonic expansions is proposed. The reconstruction algorithm is in the form of a summation of inner products of two discrete arrays of spherical harmonic expansion coefficients at each cone-beam point of acquisition. This form is different from the common filtered backprojection algorithm and the direct Fourier reconstruction algorithm. There is no re-sampling of the data, and spherical harmonic expansions are used instead of Fourier expansions. As a special case, a new fan-beam image reconstruction algorithm is also derived in terms of a circular harmonic expansion. Computer simulation results for both cone-beam and fan-beam algorithms are presented for circular planar orbit acquisitions. The algorithms give accurate reconstructions; however, the implementation of the cone-beam reconstruction algorithm is computationally intensive. A relatively efficient algorithm is proposed for reconstructing the central slice of the image when a circular scanning orbit is used

  10. Generalized Fourier slice theorem for cone-beam image reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shuang-Ren; Jiang, Dazong; Yang, Kevin; Yang, Kang

    2015-01-01

    The cone-beam reconstruction theory has been proposed by Kirillov in 1961, Tuy in 1983, Feldkamp in 1984, Smith in 1985, Pierre Grangeat in 1990. The Fourier slice theorem is proposed by Bracewell 1956, which leads to the Fourier image reconstruction method for parallel-beam geometry. The Fourier slice theorem is extended to fan-beam geometry by Zhao in 1993 and 1995. By combining the above mentioned cone-beam image reconstruction theory and the above mentioned Fourier slice theory of fan-beam geometry, the Fourier slice theorem in cone-beam geometry is proposed by Zhao 1995 in short conference publication. This article offers the details of the derivation and implementation of this Fourier slice theorem for cone-beam geometry. Especially the problem of the reconstruction from Fourier domain has been overcome, which is that the value of in the origin of Fourier space is 0/0. The 0/0 type of limit is proper handled. As examples, the implementation results for the single circle and two perpendicular circle source orbits are shown. In the cone-beam reconstruction if a interpolation process is considered, the number of the calculations for the generalized Fourier slice theorem algorithm is O(N^4), which is close to the filtered back-projection method, here N is the image size of 1-dimension. However the interpolation process can be avoid, in that case the number of the calculations is O(N5).

  11. Response analysis for an approximate 3-D image reconstruction in cone-beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murayama, Hideo; Nohara, Norimasa

    1991-01-01

    Cone-beam single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) offers the potential for a large increase in sensitivity as compared with parallel hole or fan-beam collimation. Three-dimensional image reconstruction was approximately accomplished by backprojecting filtered projections using a two-dimensional fan-beam algorithm. The cone-beam projection data were formed from mathematical phantoms as analytically derived line integrals of the density. In order to reduce the processing time, the filtered projections were backprojected into each plane parallel to the circle on which the focal point moved. Discrepancy of source position and degradation of resolution were investigated by computer simulation in three-dimensional image space. The results obtained suggest that, the nearer to the central plane or the axis of rotation, the less image degradation is performed. By introducing a parameter of angular difference between the focal point and a fixed point in the image space during rotation, degradation of the reconstructed image can be estimated for any cone-beam SPECT system. (author)

  12. Exact fan-beam and 4π-acquisition cone-beam SPECT algorithms with uniform attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Qiulin; Zeng, Gengsheng L.; Wu Jiansheng; Gullberg, Grant T.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents analytical fan-beam and cone-beam reconstruction algorithms that compensate for uniform attenuation in single photon emission computed tomography. First, a fan-beam algorithm is developed by obtaining a relationship between the two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transform of parallel-beam projections and fan-beam projections. Using this relationship, 2D Fourier transforms of equivalent parallel-beam projection data are obtained from the fan-beam projection data. Then a quasioptimal analytical reconstruction algorithm for uniformly attenuated Radon data, developed by Metz and Pan, is used to reconstruct the image. A cone-beam algorithm is developed by extending the fan-beam algorithm to 4π solid angle geometry. The cone-beam algorithm is also an exact algorithm

  13. General surface reconstruction for cone-beam multislice spiral computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Laigao; Liang Yun; Heuscher, Dominic J.

    2003-01-01

    A new family of cone-beam reconstruction algorithm, the General Surface Reconstruction (GSR), is proposed and formulated in this paper for multislice spiral computed tomography (CT) reconstructions. It provides a general framework to allow the reconstruction of planar or nonplanar surfaces on a set of rebinned short-scan parallel beam projection data. An iterative surface formation method is proposed as an example to show the possibility to form nonplanar reconstruction surfaces to minimize the adverse effect between the collected cone-beam projection data and the reconstruction surfaces. The improvement in accuracy of the nonplanar surfaces over planar surfaces in the two-dimensional approximate cone-beam reconstructions is mathematically proved and demonstrated using numerical simulations. The proposed GSR algorithm is evaluated by the computer simulation of cone-beam spiral scanning geometry and various mathematical phantoms. The results demonstrate that the GSR algorithm generates much better image quality compared to conventional multislice reconstruction algorithms. For a table speed up to 100 mm per rotation, GSR demonstrates good image quality for both the low-contrast ball phantom and thorax phantom. All other performance parameters are comparable to the single-slice 180 deg. LI (linear interpolation) algorithm, which is considered the 'gold standard'. GSR also achieves high computing efficiency and good temporal resolution, making it an attractive alternative for the reconstruction of next generation multislice spiral CT data

  14. Fan-beam and cone-beam image reconstruction via filtering the backprojection image of differentiated projection data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhuang Tingliang; Leng Shuai; Nett, Brian E; Chen Guanghong

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, a new image reconstruction scheme is presented based on Tuy's cone-beam inversion scheme and its fan-beam counterpart. It is demonstrated that Tuy's inversion scheme may be used to derive a new framework for fan-beam and cone-beam image reconstruction. In this new framework, images are reconstructed via filtering the backprojection image of differentiated projection data. The new framework is mathematically exact and is applicable to a general source trajectory provided the Tuy data sufficiency condition is satisfied. By choosing a piece-wise constant function for one of the components in the factorized weighting function, the filtering kernel is one dimensional, viz. the filtering process is along a straight line. Thus, the derived image reconstruction algorithm is mathematically exact and efficient. In the cone-beam case, the derived reconstruction algorithm is applicable to a large class of source trajectories where the pi-lines or the generalized pi-lines exist. In addition, the new reconstruction scheme survives the super-short scan mode in both the fan-beam and cone-beam cases provided the data are not transversely truncated. Numerical simulations were conducted to validate the new reconstruction scheme for the fan-beam case

  15. A cone-beam reconstruction algorithm using shift-variant filtering and cone-beam backprojection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Defrise, M.; Clack, R.

    1994-01-01

    An exact inversion formula written in the form of shift-variant filtered-backprojection (FBP) is given for reconstruction from cone-beam data taken from any orbit satisfying Tuy's sufficiency conditions. The method is based on a result of Grangeat, involving the derivative of the three-dimensional (3-D) Radon transform, but unlike Grangeat's algorithm, no 3D rebinning step is required. Data redundancy, which occurs when several cone-beam projections supply the same values in the Radon domain, is handled using an elegant weighting function and without discarding data. The algorithm is expressed in a convenient cone-beam detector reference frame, and a specific example for the case of a dual orthogonal circular orbit is presented. When the method is applied to a single circular orbit, it is shown to be equivalent to the well-known algorithm of Feldkamp et al

  16. Tilted cone-beam reconstruction with row-wise fan-to-parallel rebinning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh Jiang; Tang Xiangyang

    2006-01-01

    Reconstruction algorithms for cone-beam CT have been the focus of many studies. Several exact and approximate reconstruction algorithms were proposed for step-and-shoot and helical scanning trajectories to combat cone-beam related artefacts. In this paper, we present a new closed-form cone-beam reconstruction formula for tilted gantry data acquisition. Although several algorithms were proposed in the past to combat errors induced by the gantry tilt, none of the algorithms addresses the scenario in which the cone-beam geometry is first rebinned to a set of parallel beams prior to the filtered backprojection. We show that the image quality advantages of the rebinned parallel-beam reconstruction are significant, which makes the development of such an algorithm necessary. Because of the rebinning process, the reconstruction algorithm becomes more complex and the amount of iso-centre adjustment depends not only on the projection and tilt angles, but also on the reconstructed pixel location. In this paper, we first demonstrate the advantages of the row-wise fan-to-parallel rebinning and derive a closed-form solution for the reconstruction algorithm for the step-and-shoot and constant-pitch helical scans. The proposed algorithm requires the 'warping' of the reconstruction matrix on a view-by-view basis prior to the backprojection step. We further extend the algorithm to the variable-pitch helical scans in which the patient table travels at non-constant speeds. The algorithm was tested extensively on both the 16- and 64-slice CT scanners. The efficacy of the algorithm is clearly demonstrated by multiple experiments

  17. Iterative reconstruction with attenuation compensation from cone-beam projections acquired via nonplanar orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Weng, Y.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1997-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging with cone-beam collimators provides improved sensitivity and spatial resolution for imaging small objects with large field-of-view detectors. It is known that Tuy's cone-beam data sufficiency condition must be met to obtain artifact-free reconstructions. Even though Tuy's condition was derived for an attenuation-free situation, the authors hypothesize that an artifact-free reconstruction can be obtained even if the cone-beam data are attenuated, provided the imaging orbit satisfies Tuy's condition and the exact attenuation map is known. In the authors' studies, emission data are acquired using nonplanar circle-and-line orbits to acquire cone-beam data for tomographic reconstructions. An extended iterative ML-EM (maximum likelihood-expectation maximization) reconstruction algorithm is derived and used to reconstruct projection data with either a pre-acquired or assumed attenuation map. Quantitative accuracy of the attenuation corrected emission reconstruction is significantly improved

  18. 3D algebraic iterative reconstruction for cone-beam x-ray differential phase-contrast computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Jian; Hu, Xinhua; Velroyen, Astrid; Bech, Martin; Jiang, Ming; Pfeiffer, Franz

    2015-01-01

    Due to the potential of compact imaging systems with magnified spatial resolution and contrast, cone-beam x-ray differential phase-contrast computed tomography (DPC-CT) has attracted significant interest. The current proposed FDK reconstruction algorithm with the Hilbert imaginary filter will induce severe cone-beam artifacts when the cone-beam angle becomes large. In this paper, we propose an algebraic iterative reconstruction (AIR) method for cone-beam DPC-CT and report its experiment results. This approach considers the reconstruction process as the optimization of a discrete representation of the object function to satisfy a system of equations that describes the cone-beam DPC-CT imaging modality. Unlike the conventional iterative algorithms for absorption-based CT, it involves the derivative operation to the forward projections of the reconstructed intermediate image to take into account the differential nature of the DPC projections. This method is based on the algebraic reconstruction technique, reconstructs the image ray by ray, and is expected to provide better derivative estimates in iterations. This work comprises a numerical study of the algorithm and its experimental verification using a dataset measured with a three-grating interferometer and a mini-focus x-ray tube source. It is shown that the proposed method can reduce the cone-beam artifacts and performs better than FDK under large cone-beam angles. This algorithm is of interest for future cone-beam DPC-CT applications.

  19. A combination-weighted Feldkamp-based reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, Shinichiro; Endo, Masahiro; Komatsu, Shuhei; Kandatsu, Susumu; Yashiro, Tomoyasu; Baba, Masayuki

    2006-01-01

    The combination-weighted Feldkamp algorithm (CW-FDK) was developed and tested in a phantom in order to reduce cone-beam artefacts and enhance cranio-caudal reconstruction coverage in an attempt to improve image quality when utilizing cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Using a 256-slice cone-beam CT (256CBCT), image quality (CT-number uniformity and geometrical accuracy) was quantitatively evaluated in phantom and clinical studies, and the results were compared to those obtained with the original Feldkamp algorithm. A clinical study was done in lung cancer patients under breath holding and free breathing. Image quality for the original Feldkamp algorithm is degraded at the edge of the scan region due to the missing volume, commensurate with the cranio-caudal distance between the reconstruction and central planes. The CW-FDK extended the reconstruction coverage to equal the scan coverage and improved reconstruction accuracy, unaffected by the cranio-caudal distance. The extended reconstruction coverage with good image quality provided by the CW-FDK will be clinically investigated for improving diagnostic and radiotherapy applications. In addition, this algorithm can also be adapted for use in relatively wide cone-angle CBCT such as with a flat-panel detector CBCT

  20. Compensation of deformations in 3D cone beam tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desbat, L.; Roux, S.; Roux, S.; Grangeat, P.

    2006-01-01

    In dynamic tomography, the measured objects or organs are no-longer supposed to be static in the scanner during the acquisition but are supposed to move or to be deformed. Our approach is the analytic deformation compensation during the reconstruction. Our work concentrates on 3-dimensional cone beam tomography. We introduce a new large class of deformations preserving the 3-dimensional cone beam geometry. We show that deformations from this class can be analytically compensated. We present numerical experiments on phantoms showing the compensation of these deformations in 3-dimensional cone beam tomography. (authors)

  1. Motion tolerant iterative reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam helical CT imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takahashi, Hisashi; Goto, Taiga; Hirokawa, Koichi; Miyazaki, Osamu [Hitachi Medical Corporation, Chiba-ken (Japan). CT System Div.

    2011-07-01

    We have developed a new advanced iterative reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam helical CT. The features of this algorithm are: (a) it uses separable paraboloidal surrogate (SPS) technique as a foundation for reconstruction to reduce noise and cone-beam artifact, (b) it uses a view weight in the back-projection process to reduce motion artifact. To confirm the improvement of our proposed algorithm over other existing algorithm, such as Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) or SPS algorithm, we compared the motion artifact reduction, image noise reduction (standard deviation of CT number), and cone-beam artifact reduction on simulated and clinical data set. Our results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm dramatically reduces motion artifacts compared with the SPS algorithm, and decreases image noise compared with the FDK algorithm. In addition, the proposed algorithm potentially improves time resolution of iterative reconstruction. (orig.)

  2. A BPF-FBP tandem algorithm for image reconstruction in reverse helical cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Seungryong; Xia, Dan; Pellizzari, Charles A.; Pan Xiaochuan

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Reverse helical cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a scanning configuration for potential applications in image-guided radiation therapy in which an accurate anatomic image of the patient is needed for image-guidance procedures. The authors previously developed an algorithm for image reconstruction from nontruncated data of an object that is completely within the reverse helix. The purpose of this work is to develop an image reconstruction approach for reverse helical CBCT of a long object that extends out of the reverse helix and therefore constitutes data truncation. Methods: The proposed approach comprises of two reconstruction steps. In the first step, a chord-based backprojection-filtration (BPF) algorithm reconstructs a volumetric image of an object from the original cone-beam data. Because there exists a chordless region in the middle of the reverse helix, the image obtained in the first step contains an unreconstructed central-gap region. In the second step, the gap region is reconstructed by use of a Pack-Noo-formula-based filteredbackprojection (FBP) algorithm from the modified cone-beam data obtained by subtracting from the original cone-beam data the reprojection of the image reconstructed in the first step. Results: The authors have performed numerical studies to validate the proposed approach in image reconstruction from reverse helical cone-beam data. The results confirm that the proposed approach can reconstruct accurate images of a long object without suffering from data-truncation artifacts or cone-angle artifacts. Conclusions: They developed and validated a BPF-FBP tandem algorithm to reconstruct images of a long object from reverse helical cone-beam data. The chord-based BPF algorithm was utilized for converting the long-object problem into a short-object problem. The proposed approach is applicable to other scanning configurations such as reduced circular sinusoidal trajectories.

  3. Region-of-interest reconstruction for a cone-beam dental CT with a circular trajectory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Zhanli; Zou, Jing; Gui, Jianbao; Zheng, Hairong; Xia, Dan

    2013-01-01

    Dental CT is the most appropriate and accurate device for preoperative evaluation of dental implantation. It can demonstrate the quantity of bone in three dimensions (3D), the location of important adjacent anatomic structures and the quality of available bone with minimal geometric distortion. Nevertheless, with the rapid increase of dental CT examinations, we are facing the problem of dose reduction without loss of image quality. In this work, backprojection-filtration (BPF) and Feldkamp–Davis–Kress (FDK) algorithm was applied to reconstruct the 3D full image and region-of-interest (ROI) image from complete and truncated circular cone-beam data respectively by computer-simulation. In addition, the BPF algorithm was evaluated based on the 3D ROI-image reconstruction from real data, which was acquired from our developed circular cone-beam prototype dental CT system. The results demonstrated that the ROI-image quality reconstructed from truncated data using the BPF algorithm was comparable to that reconstructed from complete data. The FDK algorithm, however, created artifacts while reconstructing ROI-image. Thus it can be seen, for circular cone-beam dental CT, reducing scanning angular range of the BPF algorithm used for ROI-image reconstruction are helpful for reducing the radiation dose and scanning time. Finally, an analytical method was developed for estimation of the ROI projection area on the detector before CT scanning, which would help doctors to roughly estimate the total radiation dose before the CT examination. -- Highlights: ► BPF algorithm was applied by using dental CT for the first time. ► A method was developed for estimation of projection region before CT scanning. ► Roughly predict the total radiation dose before CT scans. ► Potential reduce imaging radiation dose, scatter, and scanning time

  4. A fully three-dimensional reconstruction algorithm with the nonstationary filter for improved single-orbit cone beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Z.J.; Tsui, B.M.

    1993-01-01

    Conventional single-orbit cone beam tomography presents special problems. They include incomplete sampling and inadequate three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction algorithm. The commonly used Feldkamp reconstruction algorithm simply extends the two-dimensional (2D) fan beam algorithm to 3D cone beam geometry. A truly 3D reconstruction formulation has been derived for the single-orbit cone beam SPECT based on the 3D Fourier slice theorem. In the formulation, a nonstationary filter which depends on the distance from the central plane of the cone beam was derived. The filter is applied to the 2D projection data in directions along and normal to the axis-of-rotation. The 3D reconstruction algorithm with the nonstationary filter was evaluated using both computer simulation and experimental measurements. Significant improvement in image quality was demonstrated in terms of decreased artifacts and distortions in cone beam reconstructed images. However, compared with the Feldkamp algorithm, a five-fold increase in processing time is required. Further improvement in image quality needs complete sampling in frequency space

  5. Evaluation of the OSC-TV iterative reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam optical CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matenine, Dmitri; Mascolo-Fortin, Julia; Goussard, Yves; Després, Philippe

    2015-11-01

    The present work evaluates an iterative reconstruction approach, namely, the ordered subsets convex (OSC) algorithm with regularization via total variation (TV) minimization in the field of cone-beam optical computed tomography (optical CT). One of the uses of optical CT is gel-based 3D dosimetry for radiation therapy, where it is employed to map dose distributions in radiosensitive gels. Model-based iterative reconstruction may improve optical CT image quality and contribute to a wider use of optical CT in clinical gel dosimetry. This algorithm was evaluated using experimental data acquired by a cone-beam optical CT system, as well as complementary numerical simulations. A fast GPU implementation of OSC-TV was used to achieve reconstruction times comparable to those of conventional filtered backprojection. Images obtained via OSC-TV were compared with the corresponding filtered backprojections. Spatial resolution and uniformity phantoms were scanned and respective reconstructions were subject to evaluation of the modulation transfer function, image uniformity, and accuracy. The artifacts due to refraction and total signal loss from opaque objects were also studied. The cone-beam optical CT data reconstructions showed that OSC-TV outperforms filtered backprojection in terms of image quality, thanks to a model-based simulation of the photon attenuation process. It was shown to significantly improve the image spatial resolution and reduce image noise. The accuracy of the estimation of linear attenuation coefficients remained similar to that obtained via filtered backprojection. Certain image artifacts due to opaque objects were reduced. Nevertheless, the common artifact due to the gel container walls could not be eliminated. The use of iterative reconstruction improves cone-beam optical CT image quality in many ways. The comparisons between OSC-TV and filtered backprojection presented in this paper demonstrate that OSC-TV can potentially improve the rendering of

  6. GPU-Based 3D Cone-Beam CT Image Reconstruction for Large Data Volume

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xing Zhao

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, 3D cone-beam CT image reconstruction speed is still a severe limitation for clinical application. The computational power of modern graphics processing units (GPUs has been harnessed to provide impressive acceleration of 3D volume image reconstruction. For extra large data volume exceeding the physical graphic memory of GPU, a straightforward compromise is to divide data volume into blocks. Different from the conventional Octree partition method, a new partition scheme is proposed in this paper. This method divides both projection data and reconstructed image volume into subsets according to geometric symmetries in circular cone-beam projection layout, and a fast reconstruction for large data volume can be implemented by packing the subsets of projection data into the RGBA channels of GPU, performing the reconstruction chunk by chunk and combining the individual results in the end. The method is evaluated by reconstructing 3D images from computer-simulation data and real micro-CT data. Our results indicate that the GPU implementation can maintain original precision and speed up the reconstruction process by 110–120 times for circular cone-beam scan, as compared to traditional CPU implementation.

  7. Registration-based Reconstruction of Four-dimensional Cone Beam Computed Tomography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christoffersen, Christian; Hansen, David Christoffer; Poulsen, Per Rugaard

    2013-01-01

    We present a new method for reconstruction of four-dimensional (4D) cone beam computed tomography from an undersampled set of X-ray projections. The novelty of the proposed method lies in utilizing optical flow based registration to facilitate that each temporal phase is reconstructed from the full...

  8. Minimal residual cone-beam reconstruction with attenuation correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Valerie; Grangeat, Pierre

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents an iterative method based on the minimal residual algorithm for tomographic attenuation compensated reconstruction from attenuated cone-beam projections given the attenuation distribution. Unlike conjugate-gradient based reconstruction techniques, the proposed minimal residual based algorithm solves directly a quasisymmetric linear system, which is a preconditioned system. Thus it avoids the use of normal equations, which improves the convergence rate. Two main contributions are introduced. First, a regularization method is derived for quasisymmetric problems, based on a Tikhonov-Phillips regularization applied to the factorization of the symmetric part of the system matrix. This regularization is made spatially adaptive to avoid smoothing the region of interest. Second, our existing reconstruction algorithm for attenuation correction in parallel-beam geometry is extended to cone-beam geometry. A circular orbit is considered. Two preconditioning operators are proposed: the first one is Grangeat's inversion formula and the second one is Feldkamp's inversion formula. Experimental results obtained on simulated data are presented and the shadow zone effect on attenuated data is illustrated. (author)

  9. Handling data redundancy in helical cone beam reconstruction with a cone-angle-based window function and its asymptotic approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Xiangyang; Hsieh Jiang

    2007-01-01

    A cone-angle-based window function is defined in this manuscript for image reconstruction using helical cone beam filtered backprojection (CB-FBP) algorithms. Rather than defining the window boundaries in a two-dimensional detector acquiring projection data for computed tomographic imaging, the cone-angle-based window function deals with data redundancy by selecting rays with the smallest cone angle relative to the reconstruction plane. To be computationally efficient, an asymptotic approximation of the cone-angle-based window function is also given and analyzed in this paper. The benefit of using such an asymptotic approximation also includes the avoidance of functional discontinuities that cause artifacts in reconstructed tomographic images. The cone-angle-based window function and its asymptotic approximation provide a way, equivalent to the Tam-Danielsson-window, for helical CB-FBP reconstruction algorithms to deal with data redundancy, regardless of where the helical pitch is constant or dynamically variable during a scan. By taking the cone-parallel geometry as an example, a computer simulation study is conducted to evaluate the proposed window function and its asymptotic approximation for helical CB-FBP reconstruction algorithm to handle data redundancy. The computer simulated Forbild head and thorax phantoms are utilized in the performance evaluation, showing that the proposed cone-angle-based window function and its asymptotic approximation can deal with data redundancy very well in cone beam image reconstruction from projection data acquired along helical source trajectories. Moreover, a numerical study carried out in this paper reveals that the proposed cone-angle-based window function is actually equivalent to the Tam-Danielsson-window, and rigorous mathematical proofs are being investigated

  10. An FDK-like cone-beam SPECT reconstruction algorithm for non-uniform attenuated projections acquired using a circular trajectory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Q; Zeng, G L; You, J; Gullberg, G T

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, Novikov's inversion formula of the attenuated two-dimensional (2D) Radon transform is applied to the reconstruction of attenuated fan-beam projections acquired with equal detector spacing and of attenuated cone-beam projections acquired with a flat planar detector and circular trajectory. The derivation of the fan-beam algorithm is obtained by transformation from parallel-beam coordinates to fan-beam coordinates. The cone-beam reconstruction algorithm is an extension of the fan-beam reconstruction algorithm using Feldkamp-Davis-Kress's (FDK) method. Computer simulations indicate that the algorithm is efficient and is accurate in reconstructing slices close to the central slice of the cone-beam orbit plane. When the attenuation map is set to zero the implementation is equivalent to the FDK method. Reconstructed images are also shown for noise corrupted projections

  11. A theoretically exact reconstruction algorithm for helical cone-beam differential phase-contrast computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Jing; Sun Yi; Zhu Peiping

    2013-01-01

    Differential phase-contrast computed tomography (DPC-CT) reconstruction problems are usually solved by using parallel-, fan- or cone-beam algorithms. For rod-shaped objects, the x-ray beams cannot recover all the slices of the sample at the same time. Thus, if a rod-shaped sample is required to be reconstructed by the above algorithms, one should alternately perform translation and rotation on this sample, which leads to lower efficiency. The helical cone-beam CT may significantly improve scanning efficiency for rod-shaped objects over other algorithms. In this paper, we propose a theoretically exact filter-backprojection algorithm for helical cone-beam DPC-CT, which can be applied to reconstruct the refractive index decrement distribution of the samples directly from two-dimensional differential phase-contrast images. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the proposed algorithm. Our work provides a potential solution for inspecting the rod-shaped samples using DPC-CT, which may be applicable with the evolution of DPC-CT equipments. (paper)

  12. A study of reconstruction artifacts in cone beam tomography using filtered backprojection and iterative EM algorithms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1990-01-01

    Reconstruction artifacts in cone beam tomography are studied for filtered backprojection (Feldkamp) and iterative EM algorithms. The filtered backprojection algorithm uses a voxel-driven, interpolated backprojection to reconstruct the cone beam data; whereas, the iterative EM algorithm performs ray-driven projection and backprojection operations for each iteration. Two weight in schemes for the projection and backprojection operations in the EM algorithm are studied. One weights each voxel by the length of the ray through the voxel and the other equates the value of a voxel to the functional value of the midpoint of the line intersecting the voxel, which is obtained by interpolating between eight neighboring voxels. Cone beam reconstruction artifacts such as rings, bright vertical extremities, and slice-to slice cross talk are not found with parallel beam and fan beam geometries

  13. A reconstruction method for cone-beam differential x-ray phase-contrast computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Jian; Velroyen, Astrid; Tan, Renbo; Zhang, Junwei; Chen, Liyuan; Tapfer, Arne; Bech, Martin; Pfeiffer, Franz

    2012-09-10

    Most existing differential phase-contrast computed tomography (DPC-CT) approaches are based on three kinds of scanning geometries, described by parallel-beam, fan-beam and cone-beam. Due to the potential of compact imaging systems with magnified spatial resolution, cone-beam DPC-CT has attracted significant interest. In this paper, we report a reconstruction method based on a back-projection filtration (BPF) algorithm for cone-beam DPC-CT. Due to the differential nature of phase contrast projections, the algorithm restrains from differentiation of the projection data prior to back-projection, unlike BPF algorithms commonly used for absorption-based CT data. This work comprises a numerical study of the algorithm and its experimental verification using a dataset measured with a three-grating interferometer and a micro-focus x-ray tube source. Moreover, the numerical simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can deal with several classes of truncated cone-beam datasets. We believe that this feature is of particular interest for future medical cone-beam phase-contrast CT imaging applications.

  14. Cardiac cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manzke, Robert

    2005-01-01

    This doctoral thesis addresses imaging of the heart with retrospectively gated helical cone-beam computed tomography (CT). A thorough review of the CT reconstruction literature is presented in combination with a historic overview of cardiac CT imaging and a brief introduction to other cardiac imaging modalities. The thesis includes a comprehensive chapter about the theory of CT reconstruction, familiarizing the reader with the problem of cone-beam reconstruction. The anatomic and dynamic properties of the heart are outlined and techniques to derive the gating information are reviewed. With the extended cardiac reconstruction (ECR) framework, a new approach is presented for the heart-rate-adaptive gated helical cardiac cone-beam CT reconstruction. Reconstruction assessment criteria such as the temporal resolution, the homogeneity in terms of the cardiac phase, and the smoothness at cycle-to-cycle transitions are developed. Several reconstruction optimization approaches are described: An approach for the heart-rate-adaptive optimization of the temporal resolution is presented. Streak artifacts at cycle-to-cycle transitions can be minimized by using an improved cardiac weighting scheme. The optimal quiescent cardiac phase for the reconstruction can be determined automatically with the motion map technique. Results for all optimization procedures applied to ECR are presented and discussed based on patient and phantom data. The ECR algorithm is analyzed for larger detector arrays of future cone-beam systems throughout an extensive simulation study based on a four-dimensional cardiac CT phantom. The results of the scientific work are summarized and an outlook proposing future directions is given. The presented thesis is available for public download at www.cardiac-ct.net

  15. Direct cone-beam cardiac reconstruction algorithm with cardiac banding artifact correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taguchi, Katsuyuki; Chiang, Beshan S.; Hein, Ilmar A.

    2006-01-01

    Multislice helical computed tomography (CT) is a promising noninvasive technique for coronary artery imaging. Various factors can cause inconsistencies in cardiac CT data, which can result in degraded image quality. These inconsistencies may be the result of the patient physiology (e.g., heart rate variations), the nature of the data (e.g., cone-angle), or the reconstruction algorithm itself. An algorithm which provides the best temporal resolution for each slice, for example, often provides suboptimal image quality for the entire volume since the cardiac temporal resolution (TRc) changes from slice to slice. Such variations in TRc can generate strong banding artifacts in multi-planar reconstruction images or three-dimensional images. Discontinuous heart walls and coronary arteries may compromise the accuracy of the diagnosis. A β-blocker is often used to reduce and stabilize patients' heart rate but cannot eliminate the variation. In order to obtain robust and optimal image quality, a software solution that increases the temporal resolution and decreases the effect of heart rate is highly desirable. This paper proposes an ECG-correlated direct cone-beam reconstruction algorithm (TCOT-EGR) with cardiac banding artifact correction (CBC) and disconnected projections redundancy compensation technique (DIRECT). First the theory and analytical model of the cardiac temporal resolution is outlined. Next, the performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated by using computer simulations as well as patient data. It will be shown that the proposed algorithms enhance the robustness of the image quality against inconsistencies by guaranteeing smooth transition of heart cycles used in reconstruction

  16. Image reconstruction in circular cone-beam computed tomography by constrained, total-variation minimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sidky, Emil Y; Pan Xiaochuan

    2008-01-01

    An iterative algorithm, based on recent work in compressive sensing, is developed for volume image reconstruction from a circular cone-beam scan. The algorithm minimizes the total variation (TV) of the image subject to the constraint that the estimated projection data is within a specified tolerance of the available data and that the values of the volume image are non-negative. The constraints are enforced by the use of projection onto convex sets (POCS) and the TV objective is minimized by steepest descent with an adaptive step-size. The algorithm is referred to as adaptive-steepest-descent-POCS (ASD-POCS). It appears to be robust against cone-beam artifacts, and may be particularly useful when the angular range is limited or when the angular sampling rate is low. The ASD-POCS algorithm is tested with the Defrise disk and jaw computerized phantoms. Some comparisons are performed with the POCS and expectation-maximization (EM) algorithms. Although the algorithm is presented in the context of circular cone-beam image reconstruction, it can also be applied to scanning geometries involving other x-ray source trajectories

  17. SPECT reconstruction of combined cone beam and parallel hole collimation with experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Jianying; Jaszczak, R.J.; Turkington, T.G.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1993-01-01

    The authors have developed three methods to combine parallel and cone bean (P and CB) SPECT data using modified Maximum Likelihood-Expectation Maximization (ML-EM) algorithms. The first combination method applies both parallel and cone beam data sets to reconstruct a single intermediate image after each iteration using the ML-EM algorithm. The other two iterative methods combine the intermediate parallel beam (PB) and cone beam (CB) source estimates to enhance the uniformity of images. These two methods are ad hoc methods. In earlier studies using computer Monte Carlo simulation, they suggested that improved images might be obtained by reconstructing combined P and CB SPECT data. These combined collimation methods are qualitatively evaluated using experimental data. An attenuation compensation is performed by including the effects of attenuation in the transition matrix as a multiplicative factor. The combined P and CB images are compared with CB-only images and the result indicate that the combined P and CB approaches suppress artifacts caused by truncated projections and correct for the distortions of the CB-only images

  18. A unified analysis of FBP-based algorithms in helical cone-beam and circular cone- and fan-beam scans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan Xiaochuan; Xia Dan; Zou Yu; Yu Lifeng

    2004-01-01

    A circular scanning trajectory is and will likely remain a popular choice of trajectory in computed tomography (CT) imaging because it is easy to implement and control. Filtered-backprojection (FBP)-based algorithms have been developed previously for approximate and exact reconstruction of the entire image or a region of interest within the image in circular cone-beam and fan-beam cases. Recently, we have developed a 3D FBP-based algorithm for image reconstruction on PI-line segments in a helical cone-beam scan. In this work, we demonstrated that the 3D FBP-based algorithm indeed provided a rather general formulation for image reconstruction from divergent projections (such as cone-beam and fan-beam projections). On the basis of this formulation we derived new approximate or exact algorithms for image reconstruction in circular cone-beam or fan-beam scans, which can be interpreted as special cases of the helical scan. Existing algorithms corresponding to the derived algorithms were identified. We also performed a preliminary numerical study to verify our theoretical results in each of the cases. The results in the work can readily be generalized to other non-circular trajectories

  19. An improved cone-beam filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithm based on x-ray angular correction and multiresolution analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Y.; Hou, Y.; Yan, Y.

    2004-01-01

    With the extensive application of industrial computed tomography in the field of non-destructive testing, how to improve the quality of the reconstructed image is receiving more and more concern. It is well known that in the existing cone-beam filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithms the cone angle is controlled within a narrow range. The reason of this limitation is the incompleteness of projection data when the cone angle increases. Thus the size of the tested workpiece is limited. Considering the characteristic of X-ray cone angle, an improved cone-beam filtered back-projection reconstruction algorithm taking account of angular correction is proposed in this paper. The aim of our algorithm is to correct the cone-angle effect resulted from the incompleteness of projection data in the conventional algorithm. The basis of the correction is the angular relationship among X-ray source, tested workpiece and the detector. Thus the cone angle is not strictly limited and this algorithm may be used to detect larger workpiece. Further more, adaptive wavelet filter is used to make multiresolution analysis, which can modify the wavelet decomposition series adaptively according to the demand for resolution of local reconstructed area. Therefore the computation and the time of reconstruction can be reduced, and the quality of the reconstructed image can also be improved. (author)

  20. Three-dimensional SPECT [single photon emission computed tomography] reconstruction of combined cone beam and parallel beam data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaszczak, R.J.; Jianying Li; Huili Wang; Coleman, R.E.

    1992-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using cone beam (CB) collimation exhibits increased sensitivity compared with acquisition geometries using parallel (P) hole collimation. However, CB collimation has a smaller field-of-view which may result in truncated projections and image artifacts. A primary objective of this work is to investigate maximum likelihood-expectation maximization (ML-EM) methods to reconstruct simultaneously acquired parallel and cone beam (P and CB) SPECT data. Simultaneous P and CB acquisition can be performed with commercially available triple camera systems by using two cone-beam collimators and a single parallel-hole collimator. The loss in overall sensitivity (relative to the use of three CB collimators) is about 15 to 20%. The authors have developed three methods to combine P and CB data using modified ML-EM algorithms. (author)

  1. A new approximate algorithm for image reconstruction in cone-beam spiral CT at small cone-angles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaller, S.; Flohr, T.; Steffen, P.

    1996-01-01

    This paper presents a new approximate algorithm for image reconstruction with cone-beam spiral CT data at relatively small cone-angles. Based on the algorithm of Wang et al., our method combines a special complementary interpolation with filtered backprojection. The presented algorithm has three main advantages over Wang's algorithm: (1) It overcomes the pitch limitation of Wang's algorithm. (2) It significantly improves z-resolution when suitable sampling schemes are applied. (3) It avoids the waste of applied radiation dose inherent to Wang's algorithm. Usage of the total applied dose is an important requirement in medical imaging. Our method has been implemented on a standard workstation. Reconstructions of computer-simulated data of different phantoms, assuming sampling conditions and image quality requirements typical to medical CT, show encouraging results

  2. 3D dictionary learning based iterative cone beam CT reconstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ti Bai

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This work is to develop a 3D dictionary learning based cone beam CT (CBCT reconstruction algorithm on graphic processing units (GPU to improve the quality of sparse-view CBCT reconstruction with high efficiency. Methods: A 3D dictionary containing 256 small volumes (atoms of 3 × 3 × 3 was trained from a large number of blocks extracted from a high quality volume image. On the basis, we utilized cholesky decomposition based orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm to find the sparse representation of each block. To accelerate the time-consuming sparse coding in the 3D case, we implemented the sparse coding in a parallel fashion by taking advantage of the tremendous computational power of GPU. Conjugate gradient least square algorithm was adopted to minimize the data fidelity term. Evaluations are performed based on a head-neck patient case. FDK reconstruction with full dataset of 364 projections is used as the reference. We compared the proposed 3D dictionary learning based method with tight frame (TF by performing reconstructions on a subset data of 121 projections. Results: Compared to TF based CBCT reconstruction that shows good overall performance, our experiments indicated that 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction is able to recover finer structures, remove more streaking artifacts and also induce less blocky artifacts. Conclusion: 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction algorithm is able to sense the structural information while suppress the noise, and hence to achieve high quality reconstruction under the case of sparse view. The GPU realization of the whole algorithm offers a significant efficiency enhancement, making this algorithm more feasible for potential clinical application.-------------------------------Cite this article as: Bai T, Yan H, Shi F, Jia X, Lou Y, Xu Q, Jiang S, Mou X. 3D dictionary learning based iterative cone beam CT reconstruction. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(2:020240. DOI: 10

  3. The Reconstruction Toolkit (RTK), an open-source cone-beam CT reconstruction toolkit based on the Insight Toolkit (ITK)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rit, S; Vila Oliva, M; Sarrut, D; Brousmiche, S; Labarbe, R; Sharp, G C

    2014-01-01

    We propose the Reconstruction Toolkit (RTK, http://www.openrtk.org), an open-source toolkit for fast cone-beam CT reconstruction, based on the Insight Toolkit (ITK) and using GPU code extracted from Plastimatch. RTK is developed by an open consortium (see affiliations) under the non-contaminating Apache 2.0 license. The quality of the platform is daily checked with regression tests in partnership with Kitware, the company supporting ITK. Several features are already available: Elekta, Varian and IBA inputs, multi-threaded Feldkamp-David-Kress reconstruction on CPU and GPU, Parker short scan weighting, multi-threaded CPU and GPU forward projectors, etc. Each feature is either accessible through command line tools or C++ classes that can be included in independent software. A MIDAS community has been opened to share CatPhan datasets of several vendors (Elekta, Varian and IBA). RTK will be used in the upcoming cone-beam CT scanner developed by IBA for proton therapy rooms. Many features are under development: new input format support, iterative reconstruction, hybrid Monte Carlo / deterministic CBCT simulation, etc. RTK has been built to freely share tomographic reconstruction developments between researchers and is open for new contributions.

  4. Three-dimensional single-photon emission computed tomography using cone beam collimation (CB-SPECT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E. Jr.; Manglos, S.H.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1986-01-01

    A simple and economically practical method of improving the sensitivity of camera-based SPECT was developed using converging (cone-beam) collimation. This geometry is particularly advantageous for SPECT devices using large field-of-view cameras in imaging smaller, centrally located activity distributions. Geometric sensitivities, spatial resolutions, and fields-of-view of a cone-beam collimator having a focal length of 48 cm and a similarly designed parallel hole collimator were compared analytically. At 15 cm from the collimator surface the point-source sensitivity of the cone-beam collimator was 2.4 times the sensitivity of the parallel-hole collimator. SPECT projection data (simulated using Monte Carlo methodology) were reconstructed using a 3-D filtered backprojection algorithm. Cone-beam emission CT (CB-SPECT) seems potentially useful for animal investigations, pediatric studies, and for brain imaging

  5. Multi-sheet surface rebinning methods for reconstruction from asymmetrically truncated cone beam projections: I. Approximation and optimality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Betcke, Marta M; Lionheart, William R B

    2013-01-01

    The mechanical motion of the gantry in conventional cone beam CT scanners restricts the speed of data acquisition in applications with near real time requirements. A possible resolution of this problem is to replace the moving source detector assembly with static parts that are electronically activated. An example of such a system is the Rapiscan Systems RTT80 real time tomography scanner, with a static ring of sources and axially offset static cylinder of detectors. A consequence of such a design is asymmetrical axial truncation of the cone beam projections resulting, in the sense of integral geometry, in severely incomplete data. In particular we collect data only in a fraction of the Tam–Danielsson window, hence the standard cone beam reconstruction techniques do not apply. In this work we propose a family of multi-sheet surface rebinning methods for reconstruction from such truncated projections. The proposed methods combine analytical and numerical ideas utilizing linearity of the ray transform to reconstruct data on multi-sheet surfaces, from which the volumetric image is obtained through deconvolution. In this first paper in the series, we discuss the rebinning to multi-sheet surfaces. In particular we concentrate on the underlying transforms on multi-sheet surfaces and their approximation with data collected by offset multi-source scanning geometries like the RTT. The optimal multi-sheet surface and the corresponding rebinning function are found as a solution of a variational problem. In the case of the quadratic objective, the variational problem for the optimal rebinning pair can be solved by a globally convergent iteration. Examples of optimal rebinning pairs are computed for different trajectories. We formulate the axial deconvolution problem for the recovery of the volumetric image from the reconstructions on multi-sheet surfaces. Efficient and stable solution of the deconvolution problem is the subject of the second paper in this series (Betcke and

  6. Parallel statistical image reconstruction for cone-beam x-ray CT on a shared memory computation platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kole, J S; Beekman, F J

    2005-01-01

    Statistical reconstruction methods offer possibilities of improving image quality as compared to analytical methods, but current reconstruction times prohibit routine clinical applications. To reduce reconstruction times we have parallelized a statistical reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam x-ray CT, the ordered subset convex algorithm (OSC), and evaluated it on a shared memory computer. Two different parallelization strategies were developed: one that employs parallelism by computing the work for all projections within a subset in parallel, and one that divides the total volume into parts and processes the work for each sub-volume in parallel. Both methods are used to reconstruct a three-dimensional mathematical phantom on two different grid densities. The reconstructed images are binary identical to the result of the serial (non-parallelized) algorithm. The speed-up factor equals approximately 30 when using 32 to 40 processors, and scales almost linearly with the number of cpus for both methods. The huge reduction in computation time allows us to apply statistical reconstruction to clinically relevant studies for the first time

  7. Cone-beam local reconstruction based on a Radon inversion transformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xian-Chao; Yan Bin; Li Lei; Hu Guo-En

    2012-01-01

    The local reconstruction from truncated projection data is one area of interest in image reconstruction for computed tomography (CT), which creates the possibility for dose reduction. In this paper, a filtered-backprojection (FBP) algorithm based on the Radon inversion transform is presented to deal with the three-dimensional (3D) local reconstruction in the circular geometry. The algorithm achieves the data filtering in two steps. The first step is the derivative of projections, which acts locally on the data and can thus be carried out accurately even in the presence of data truncation. The second step is the nonlocal Hilbert filtering. The numerical simulations and the real data reconstructions have been conducted to validate the new reconstruction algorithm. Compared with the approximate truncation resistant algorithm for computed tomography (ATRACT), not only it has a comparable ability to restrain truncation artifacts, but also its reconstruction efficiency is improved. It is about twice as fast as that of the ATRACT. Therefore, this work provides a simple and efficient approach for the approximate reconstruction from truncated projections in the circular cone-beam CT

  8. A general exact method for synthesizing parallel-beam projections from cone-beam projections via filtered backprojection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Liang; Chen Zhiqiang; Xing Yuxiang; Zhang Li; Kang Kejun; Wang Ge

    2006-01-01

    In recent years, image reconstruction methods for cone-beam computed tomography (CT) have been extensively studied. However, few of these studies discussed computing parallel-beam projections from cone-beam projections. In this paper, we focus on the exact synthesis of complete or incomplete parallel-beam projections from cone-beam projections. First, an extended central slice theorem is described to establish a relationship between the Radon space and the Fourier space. Then, data sufficiency conditions are proposed for computing parallel-beam projection data from cone-beam data. Using these results, a general filtered backprojection algorithm is formulated that can exactly synthesize parallel-beam projection data from cone-beam projection data. As an example, we prove that parallel-beam projections can be exactly synthesized in an angular range in the case of circular cone-beam scanning. Interestingly, this angular range is larger than that derived in the Feldkamp reconstruction framework. Numerical experiments are performed in the circular scanning case to verify our method

  9. Cone beam tomography of the heart using single-photon emission-computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullberg, G.T.; Christian, P.E.; Zeng, G.L.; Datz, F.L.; Morgan, H.T.

    1991-01-01

    The authors evaluated cone beam single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) of the heart. A new cone beam reconstruction algorithm was used to reconstruct data collected from short scan acquisitions (of slightly more than 180 degrees) of a detector anteriorally traversing a noncircular orbit. The less than 360 degrees acquisition was used to minimize the attenuation artifacts that result from reconstructing posterior projections of 201T1 emissions from the heart. The algorithm includes a new method for reconstructing truncated projections of background tissue activity that eliminates reconstruction ring artifacts. Phantom and patient results are presented which compare a high-resolution cone beam collimator (50-cm focal length; 6.0-mm full width at half maximum [FWHM] at 10 cm) to a low-energy general purpose (LEGP) parallel hole collimator (8.2-mm FWHM at 10 cm) which is 1.33 times more sensitive. The cone beam tomographic results are free of reconstruction artifacts and show improved spatial and contrast resolution over that obtained with the LEGP parallel hole collimator. The limited angular sampling restrictions and truncation problems associated with cone beam tomography do not deter from obtaining diagnostic information. However, even though these preliminary results are encouraging, a thorough clinical study is still needed to investigate the specificity and sensitivity of cone beam tomography

  10. A fast and efficient method for sequential cone-beam tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koehler, Th.; Proksa, R.; Grass, M.

    2001-01-01

    Sequential cone-beam tomography is a method that uses data of two or more parallel circular trajectories of a cone-beam scanner to reconstruct the object function. We propose a condition for the data acquisition that ensures that all object points between two successive circles are irradiated over an angular span of the x-ray source position of exactly 360 deg. in total as seen along the rotation axis. A fast and efficient approximative reconstruction method for the proposed acquisition is presented which uses data from exactly 360 deg. for every object point. It is based on the Tent-FDK method which was recently developed for single circular cone-beam CT. The measurement geometry does not provide sufficient data for exact reconstruction but it is shown that the proposed reconstruction method provides satisfying image quality for small cone angles

  11. The completeness condition and source orbits for exact image reconstruction in 3D cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao Xiping; Kang Kejun

    1997-01-01

    The completeness condition for exact image reconstruction in 3D cone-beam CT are carefully analyzed in theory, and discussions about some source orbits which fulfill the completeness condition are followed

  12. Projection matrix acquisition for cone-beam computed tomography iterative reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fuqiang; Zhang, Dinghua; Huang, Kuidong; Shi, Wenlong; Zhang, Caixin; Gao, Zongzhao

    2017-02-01

    Projection matrix is an essential and time-consuming part in computed tomography (CT) iterative reconstruction. In this article a novel calculation algorithm of three-dimensional (3D) projection matrix is proposed to quickly acquire the matrix for cone-beam CT (CBCT). The CT data needed to be reconstructed is considered as consisting of the three orthogonal sets of equally spaced and parallel planes, rather than the individual voxels. After getting the intersections the rays with the surfaces of the voxels, the coordinate points and vertex is compared to obtain the index value that the ray traversed. Without considering ray-slope to voxel, it just need comparing the position of two points. Finally, the computer simulation is used to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm.

  13. Direct fourier methods in 3D-reconstruction from cone-beam data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Axelsson, C.

    1994-01-01

    The problem of 3D-reconstruction is encountered in both medical and industrial applications of X-ray tomography. A method able to utilize a complete set of projections complying with Tuys condition was proposed by Grangeat. His method is mathematically exact and consists of two distinct phases. In phase 1 cone-beam projection data are used to produce the derivative of the radon transform. In phase 2, after interpolation, the radon transform data are used to reconstruct the three-dimensional object function. To a large extent our method is an extension of the Grangeat method. Our aim is to reduce the computational complexity, i.e. to produce a faster method. The most taxing procedure during phase 1 is computation of line-integrals in the detector plane. By applying the direct Fourier method in reverse for this computation, we reduce the complexity of phase 1 from O(N 4 ) to O(N 3 logN). Phase 2 can be performed either as a straight 3D-reconstruction or as a sequence of two 2D-reconstructions in vertical and horizontal planes, respectively. Direct Fourier methods can be applied for the 2D- and for the 3D-reconstruction, which reduces the complexity of phase 2 from O(N 4 ) to O(N 3 logN) as well. In both cases, linogram techniques are applied. For 3D-reconstruction the inversion formula contains the second derivative filter instead of the well-known ramp-filter employed in the 2D-case. The derivative filter is more well-behaved than the 2D ramp-filter. This implies that less zeropadding is necessary which brings about a further reduction of the computational efforts. The method has been verified by experiments on simulated data. The image quality is satisfactory and independent of cone-beam angles. For a 512 3 volume we estimate that our method is ten times faster than Grangeats method

  14. Exact cone beam CT with a spiral scan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tam, K.C.; Samarasekera, S.; Sauer, F.

    1998-01-01

    A method is developed which makes it possible to scan and reconstruct an object with cone beam x-rays in a spiral scan path with area detectors much shorter than the length of the object. The method is mathematically exact. If only a region of interest of the object is to be imaged, a top circle scan at the top level of the region of interest and a bottom circle scan at the bottom level of the region of interest are added. The height of the detector is required to cover only the distance between adjacent turns in the spiral projected at the detector. To reconstruct the object, the Radon transform for each plane intersecting the object is computed from the totality of the cone beam data. This is achieved by suitably combining the cone beam data taken at different source positions on the scan path; the angular range of the cone beam data required at each source position can be determined easily with a mask which is the spiral scan path projected on the detector from the current source position. The spiral scan algorithm has been successfully validated with simulated cone beam data. (author)

  15. Task-driven image acquisition and reconstruction in cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gang, Grace J; Stayman, J Webster; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H; Ehtiati, Tina

    2015-01-01

    This work introduces a task-driven imaging framework that incorporates a mathematical definition of the imaging task, a model of the imaging system, and a patient-specific anatomical model to prospectively design image acquisition and reconstruction techniques to optimize task performance. The framework is applied to joint optimization of tube current modulation, view-dependent reconstruction kernel, and orbital tilt in cone-beam CT. The system model considers a cone-beam CT system incorporating a flat-panel detector and 3D filtered backprojection and accurately describes the spatially varying noise and resolution over a wide range of imaging parameters in the presence of a realistic anatomical model. Task-based detectability index (d′) is incorporated as the objective function in a task-driven optimization of image acquisition and reconstruction techniques. The orbital tilt was optimized through an exhaustive search across tilt angles ranging ±30°. For each tilt angle, the view-dependent tube current and reconstruction kernel (i.e. the modulation profiles) that maximized detectability were identified via an alternating optimization. The task-driven approach was compared with conventional unmodulated and automatic exposure control (AEC) strategies for a variety of imaging tasks and anthropomorphic phantoms. The task-driven strategy outperformed the unmodulated and AEC cases for all tasks. For example, d′ for a sphere detection task in a head phantom was improved by 30% compared to the unmodulated case by using smoother kernels for noisy views and distributing mAs across less noisy views (at fixed total mAs) in a manner that was beneficial to task performance. Similarly for detection of a line-pair pattern, the task-driven approach increased d′ by 80% compared to no modulation by means of view-dependent mA and kernel selection that yields modulation transfer function and noise-power spectrum optimal to the task. Optimization of orbital tilt identified the

  16. A practical attenuation compensation method for cone beam spect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1987-01-01

    An algorithm for attenuation compensation of cone beam SPECT images has been developed and implemented. The algorithm is based on a multiplicative post-processing method previously used for parallel and fan beam geometries. This method computes the compensation from the estimated average attenuation of photons originating from each image pixel. In the present development, a uniform attenuation coefficient inside of the body contour is assumed, although the method could be extended to include a non-uniform attenuation map. The algorithm is tested with experimental projections of a phantom obtained using a cone beam collimator. Profiles through the reconstructed images are presented as a quantitative test of the improvement due to the compensation. The algorithm provides adequate compensation for attenuation in a simple uniform cylindrical phantom, and the computational time is short compared to that expected for iterative reconstruction techniques. Also observed are image distortions in some reconstructed slices when the source distribution extends beyond the edge of the cone beam axial field-of-view

  17. Impact of polychromatic x-ray sources on helical, cone-beam computed tomography and dual-energy methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sidky, Emil Y; Zou Yu; Pan Xiaochuan

    2004-01-01

    Recently, there has been much work devoted to developing accurate and efficient algorithms for image reconstruction in helical, cone-beam computed tomography (CT). Little attention, however, has been directed to the effect of physical factors on helical, cone-beam CT image reconstruction. This work investigates the effect of polychromatic x-rays on image reconstruction in helical, cone-beam computed tomography. A pre-reconstruction dual-energy technique is developed to reduce beam-hardening artefacts and enhance contrast in soft tissue

  18. Time-resolved C-arm cone beam CT angiography (TR-CBCTA) imaging from a single short-scan C-arm cone beam CT acquisition with intra-arterial contrast injection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yinsheng; Garrett, John W.; Li, Ke; Wu, Yijing; Johnson, Kevin; Schafer, Sebastian; Strother, Charles; Chen, Guang-Hong

    2018-04-01

    Time-resolved C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) angiography (TR-CBCTA) images can be generated from a series of CBCT acquisitions that satisfy data sufficiency condition in analytical image reconstruction theory. In this work, a new technique was developed to generate TR-CBCTA images from a single short-scan CBCT data acquisition with contrast media injection. The reconstruction technique enabling this application is a previously developed image reconstruction technique, synchronized multi-artifact reduction with tomographic reconstruction (SMART-RECON). In this new application, the acquired short-scan CBCT projection data were sorted into a union of several sub-sectors of view angles and each sub-sector of view angles corresponds to an individual image volume to be reconstructed. The SMART-RECON method was then used to jointly reconstruct all of these individual image volumes under two constraints: (1) each individual image volume is maximally consistent with the measured cone-beam projection data within the corresponding view angle sector and (2) the nuclear norm of the image matrix is minimized. The difference between these reconstructed individual image volumes is used to generated the desired subtracted angiograms. To validate the technique, numerical simulation data generated from a fractal tree angiogram phantom were used to quantitatively study the accuracy of the proposed method and retrospective in vivo human subject studies were used to demonstrate the feasibility of generating TR-CBCTA in clinical practice.

  19. Optimizing the reconstruction filter in cone-beam CT to improve periodontal ligament space visualization: An in vitro study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Houno, Yuuki; Kodera, Yoshie; Hishikawa, Toshimitsu; Naitoh, Munetaka; Mitani, Akio; Noguchi, Toshihide; Ariji, Eiichiro; Gotoh, Kenichi

    2017-01-01

    Evaluation of alveolar bone is important in the diagnosis of dental diseases. The periodontal ligament space is difficult to clearly depict in cone-beam computed tomography images because the reconstruction filter conditions during image processing cause image blurring, resulting in decreased spatial resolution. We examined different reconstruction filters to assess their ability to improve spatial resolution and allow for a clearer visualization of the periodontal ligament space. Cone-beam computed tomography projections of 2 skull phantoms were reconstructed using 6 reconstruction conditions and then compared using the Thurstone paired comparison method. Physical evaluations, including the modulation transfer function and the Wiener spectrum, as well as an assessment of space visibility, were undertaken using experimental phantoms. Image reconstruction using a modified Shepp-Logan filter resulted in better sensory, physical, and quantitative evaluations. The reconstruction conditions substantially improved the spatial resolution and visualization of the periodontal ligament space. The difference in sensitivity was obtained by altering the reconstruction filter. Modifying the characteristics of a reconstruction filter can generate significant improvement in assessments of the periodontal ligament space. A high-frequency enhancement filter improves the visualization of thin structures and will be useful when accurate assessment of the periodontal ligament space is necessary

  20. Optimizing the reconstruction filter in cone-beam CT to improve periodontal ligament space visualization: An in vitro study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Houno, Yuuki; Kodera, Yoshie [Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya (Japan); Hishikawa, Toshimitsu; Naitoh, Munetaka; Mitani, Akio; Noguchi, Toshihide; Ariji, Eiichiro [Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin (Japan); Gotoh, Kenichi [Div. of Radiology, Dental Hospital, Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin (Japan)

    2017-09-15

    Evaluation of alveolar bone is important in the diagnosis of dental diseases. The periodontal ligament space is difficult to clearly depict in cone-beam computed tomography images because the reconstruction filter conditions during image processing cause image blurring, resulting in decreased spatial resolution. We examined different reconstruction filters to assess their ability to improve spatial resolution and allow for a clearer visualization of the periodontal ligament space. Cone-beam computed tomography projections of 2 skull phantoms were reconstructed using 6 reconstruction conditions and then compared using the Thurstone paired comparison method. Physical evaluations, including the modulation transfer function and the Wiener spectrum, as well as an assessment of space visibility, were undertaken using experimental phantoms. Image reconstruction using a modified Shepp-Logan filter resulted in better sensory, physical, and quantitative evaluations. The reconstruction conditions substantially improved the spatial resolution and visualization of the periodontal ligament space. The difference in sensitivity was obtained by altering the reconstruction filter. Modifying the characteristics of a reconstruction filter can generate significant improvement in assessments of the periodontal ligament space. A high-frequency enhancement filter improves the visualization of thin structures and will be useful when accurate assessment of the periodontal ligament space is necessary.

  1. Improved image quality for asymmetric double-focal cone-beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Z.J.; Tsui, B.M.W.

    1993-01-01

    To optimize both spatial resolution and detection efficiency in brain SPECT imaging using a rectangular camera, an asymmetric double-focal cone-beam collimator is proposed with the focal points located near the base plane of the patient's head. To fit the entire head into the field-of-view of the collimator with dimensions of 50cmx40cm and at a radius-of-rotation of 15 cm, the focal lengths of the collimator are 55 and 70 cm, respectively, in the transverse and axial directions. With this geometry, the artifacts in the reconstructed image produced by the Feldkamp algorithm are more severe compared to those in a symmetric cone-beam geometry, due to the larger vertex angle between the top of the head and the base plane. To improve the reconstructed image quality, a fully three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction algorithm developed previously for single-focal cone-beam SPECT was extended to the asymmetric double-focal cone-beam geometry. The algorithm involves nonstationary 2D filtering and a reprojection technique for estimation of the missing data caused by a single-orbit cone-beam geometry. The results from simulation studies with the 3D Defrise slab phantom demonstrated that the fully 3D algorithm provided a much improved image quality in terms of reduced slice-to-slice cross talks and shape elongation compared to that produced by the conventional Feldkamp algorithm

  2. Single-slice rebinning method for helical cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noo, F.; Defrise, M.; Clackdoyle, R.

    1999-01-01

    In this paper, we present reconstruction results from helical cone-beam CT data, obtained using a simple and fast algorithm, which we call the CB-SSRB algorithm. This algorithm combines the single-slice rebinning method of PET imaging with the weighting schemes of spiral CT algorithms. The reconstruction is approximate but can be performed using 2D multislice fan-beam filtered backprojection. The quality of the results is surprisingly good, and far exceeds what one might expect, even when the pitch of the helix is large. In particular, with this algorithm comparable quality is obtained using helical cone-beam data with a normalized pitch of 10 to that obtained using standard spiral CT reconstruction with a normalized pitch of 2. (author)

  3. Cardiac single-photon emission-computed tomography using combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullberg, Grant T.; Zeng, Gengsheng L.

    2004-01-01

    The objective of this work is to increase system sensitivity in cardiac single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) studies without increasing patient imaging time. For imaging the heart, convergent collimation offers the potential of increased sensitivity over that of parallel-hole collimation. However, if a cone-beam collimated gamma camera is rotated in a planar orbit, the projection data obtained are not complete. Two cone-beam collimators and one fan-beam collimator are used with a three-detector SPECT system. The combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation provides a complete set of data for image reconstruction. The imaging geometry is evaluated using data acquired from phantom and patient studies. For the Jaszazck cardiac torso phantom experiment, the combined cone-beam/fan-beam collimation provided 1.7 times greater sensitivity than standard parallel-hole collimation (low-energy high-resolution collimators). Also, phantom and patient comparison studies showed improved image quality. The combined cone-beam/fan-beam imaging geometry with appropriate weighting of the two data sets provides improved system sensitivity while measuring sufficient data for artifact free cardiac images

  4. Noise simulation in cone beam CT imaging with parallel computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tu, S.-J.; Shaw, Chris C; Chen, Lingyun

    2006-01-01

    We developed a computer noise simulation model for cone beam computed tomography imaging using a general purpose PC cluster. This model uses a mono-energetic x-ray approximation and allows us to investigate three primary performance components, specifically quantum noise, detector blurring and additive system noise. A parallel random number generator based on the Weyl sequence was implemented in the noise simulation and a visualization technique was accordingly developed to validate the quality of the parallel random number generator. In our computer simulation model, three-dimensional (3D) phantoms were mathematically modelled and used to create 450 analytical projections, which were then sampled into digital image data. Quantum noise was simulated and added to the analytical projection image data, which were then filtered to incorporate flat panel detector blurring. Additive system noise was generated and added to form the final projection images. The Feldkamp algorithm was implemented and used to reconstruct the 3D images of the phantoms. A 24 dual-Xeon PC cluster was used to compute the projections and reconstructed images in parallel with each CPU processing 10 projection views for a total of 450 views. Based on this computer simulation system, simulated cone beam CT images were generated for various phantoms and technique settings. Noise power spectra for the flat panel x-ray detector and reconstructed images were then computed to characterize the noise properties. As an example among the potential applications of our noise simulation model, we showed that images of low contrast objects can be produced and used for image quality evaluation

  5. Three-dimensional focus of attention for iterative cone-beam micro-CT reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benson, T M; Gregor, J

    2006-01-01

    Three-dimensional iterative reconstruction of high-resolution, circular orbit cone-beam x-ray CT data is often considered impractical due to the demand for vast amounts of computer cycles and associated memory. In this paper, we show that the computational burden can be reduced by limiting the reconstruction to a small, well-defined portion of the image volume. We first discuss using the support region defined by the set of voxels covered by all of the projection views. We then present a data-driven preprocessing technique called focus of attention that heuristically separates both image and projection data into object and background before reconstruction, thereby further reducing the reconstruction region of interest. We present experimental results for both methods based on mouse data and a parallelized implementation of the SIRT algorithm. The computational savings associated with the support region are substantial. However, the results for focus of attention are even more impressive in that only about one quarter of the computer cycles and memory are needed compared with reconstruction of the entire image volume. The image quality is not compromised by either method

  6. A three-dimensional-weighted cone beam filtered backprojection (CB-FBP) algorithm for image reconstruction in volumetric CT-helical scanning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Xiangyang; Hsieh Jiang; Nilsen, Roy A; Dutta, Sandeep; Samsonov, Dmitry; Hagiwara, Akira

    2006-01-01

    Based on the structure of the original helical FDK algorithm, a three-dimensional (3D)-weighted cone beam filtered backprojection (CB-FBP) algorithm is proposed for image reconstruction in volumetric CT under helical source trajectory. In addition to its dependence on view and fan angles, the 3D weighting utilizes the cone angle dependency of a ray to improve reconstruction accuracy. The 3D weighting is ray-dependent and the underlying mechanism is to give a favourable weight to the ray with the smaller cone angle out of a pair of conjugate rays but an unfavourable weight to the ray with the larger cone angle out of the conjugate ray pair. The proposed 3D-weighted helical CB-FBP reconstruction algorithm is implemented in the cone-parallel geometry that can improve noise uniformity and image generation speed significantly. Under the cone-parallel geometry, the filtering is naturally carried out along the tangential direction of the helical source trajectory. By exploring the 3D weighting's dependence on cone angle, the proposed helical 3D-weighted CB-FBP reconstruction algorithm can provide significantly improved reconstruction accuracy at moderate cone angle and high helical pitches. The 3D-weighted CB-FBP algorithm is experimentally evaluated by computer-simulated phantoms and phantoms scanned by a diagnostic volumetric CT system with a detector dimension of 64 x 0.625 mm over various helical pitches. The computer simulation study shows that the 3D weighting enables the proposed algorithm to reach reconstruction accuracy comparable to that of exact CB reconstruction algorithms, such as the Katsevich algorithm, under a moderate cone angle (4 deg.) and various helical pitches. Meanwhile, the experimental evaluation using the phantoms scanned by a volumetric CT system shows that the spatial resolution along the z-direction and noise characteristics of the proposed 3D-weighted helical CB-FBP reconstruction algorithm are maintained very well in comparison to the FDK

  7. Accurate technique for complete geometric calibration of cone-beam computed tomography systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho Youngbin; Moseley, Douglas J.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.; Jaffray, David A.

    2005-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography systems have been developed to provide in situ imaging for the purpose of guiding radiation therapy. Clinical systems have been constructed using this approach, a clinical linear accelerator (Elekta Synergy RP) and an iso-centric C-arm. Geometric calibration involves the estimation of a set of parameters that describes the geometry of such systems, and is essential for accurate image reconstruction. We have developed a general analytic algorithm and corresponding calibration phantom for estimating these geometric parameters in cone-beam computed tomography (CT) systems. The performance of the calibration algorithm is evaluated and its application is discussed. The algorithm makes use of a calibration phantom to estimate the geometric parameters of the system. The phantom consists of 24 steel ball bearings (BBs) in a known geometry. Twelve BBs are spaced evenly at 30 deg in two plane-parallel circles separated by a given distance along the tube axis. The detector (e.g., a flat panel detector) is assumed to have no spatial distortion. The method estimates geometric parameters including the position of the x-ray source, position, and rotation of the detector, and gantry angle, and can describe complex source-detector trajectories. The accuracy and sensitivity of the calibration algorithm was analyzed. The calibration algorithm estimates geometric parameters in a high level of accuracy such that the quality of CT reconstruction is not degraded by the error of estimation. Sensitivity analysis shows uncertainty of 0.01 deg. (around beam direction) to 0.3 deg. (normal to the beam direction) in rotation, and 0.2 mm (orthogonal to the beam direction) to 4.9 mm (beam direction) in position for the medical linear accelerator geometry. Experimental measurements using a laboratory bench Cone-beam CT system of known geometry demonstrate the sensitivity of the method in detecting small changes in the imaging geometry with an uncertainty of 0.1 mm in

  8. Cone beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dongmei; Zhu, Shouping; Yi, Huangjian; Zhang, Xianghan; Chen, Duofang; Liang, Jimin; Tian, Jie

    2013-03-01

    The appearance of x-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT) opens new possibilities to perform molecular imaging by x ray. In the previous XLCT system, the sample was irradiated by a sequence of narrow x-ray beams and the x-ray luminescence was measured by a highly sensitive charge coupled device (CCD) camera. This resulted in a relatively long sampling time and relatively low utilization of the x-ray beam. In this paper, a novel cone beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography strategy is proposed, which can fully utilize the x-ray dose and shorten the scanning time. The imaging model and reconstruction method are described. The validity of the imaging strategy has been studied in this paper. In the cone beam XLCT system, the cone beam x ray was adopted to illuminate the sample and a highly sensitive CCD camera was utilized to acquire luminescent photons emitted from the sample. Photons scattering in biological tissues makes it an ill-posed problem to reconstruct the 3D distribution of the x-ray luminescent sample in the cone beam XLCT. In order to overcome this issue, the authors used the diffusion approximation model to describe the photon propagation in tissues, and employed the sparse regularization method for reconstruction. An incomplete variables truncated conjugate gradient method and permissible region strategy were used for reconstruction. Meanwhile, traditional x-ray CT imaging could also be performed in this system. The x-ray attenuation effect has been considered in their imaging model, which is helpful in improving the reconstruction accuracy. First, simulation experiments with cylinder phantoms were carried out to illustrate the validity of the proposed compensated method. The experimental results showed that the location error of the compensated algorithm was smaller than that of the uncompensated method. The permissible region strategy was applied and reduced the reconstruction error to less than 2 mm. The robustness and stability were then

  9. Increasing Cone-beam projection usage by temporal fitting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lyksborg, Mark; Hansen, Mads Fogtmann; Larsen, Rasmus

    2010-01-01

    A Cone-beam CT system can be used to image the lung region. The system records 2D projections which will allow 3D reconstruction however a reconstruction based on all projections will lead to a blurred reconstruction in regions were respiratory motion occur. To avoid this the projections are typi......A Cone-beam CT system can be used to image the lung region. The system records 2D projections which will allow 3D reconstruction however a reconstruction based on all projections will lead to a blurred reconstruction in regions were respiratory motion occur. To avoid this the projections...... in [6] prior knowledge of the lung deformation estimated from the planning CT could be used to include all projections into the reconstruction. It has also been attempted to estimate both the motion and 3D volume simultaneously in [4]. Problems with motion estimation are ill-posed leading to suboptimal...... motion which in return affects the reconstruction. By directly including time into the image representation the effect of suboptimal motion fields are avoided and we are still capable of using phase neighbour projections. The 4D image model is fitted by solving a statistical cost function based...

  10. SU-D-206-03: Segmentation Assisted Fast Iterative Reconstruction Method for Cone-Beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, P; Mao, T; Gong, S; Wang, J; Niu, T; Sheng, K; Xie, Y

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Total Variation (TV) based iterative reconstruction (IR) methods enable accurate CT image reconstruction from low-dose measurements with sparse projection acquisition, due to the sparsifiable feature of most CT images using gradient operator. However, conventional solutions require large amount of iterations to generate a decent reconstructed image. One major reason is that the expected piecewise constant property is not taken into consideration at the optimization starting point. In this work, we propose an iterative reconstruction method for cone-beam CT (CBCT) using image segmentation to guide the optimization path more efficiently on the regularization term at the beginning of the optimization trajectory. Methods: Our method applies general knowledge that one tissue component in the CT image contains relatively uniform distribution of CT number. This general knowledge is incorporated into the proposed reconstruction using image segmentation technique to generate the piecewise constant template on the first-pass low-quality CT image reconstructed using analytical algorithm. The template image is applied as an initial value into the optimization process. Results: The proposed method is evaluated on the Shepp-Logan phantom of low and high noise levels, and a head patient. The number of iterations is reduced by overall 40%. Moreover, our proposed method tends to generate a smoother reconstructed image with the same TV value. Conclusion: We propose a computationally efficient iterative reconstruction method for CBCT imaging. Our method achieves a better optimization trajectory and a faster convergence behavior. It does not rely on prior information and can be readily incorporated into existing iterative reconstruction framework. Our method is thus practical and attractive as a general solution to CBCT iterative reconstruction. This work is supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LR16F010001), National High-tech R

  11. SU-D-206-03: Segmentation Assisted Fast Iterative Reconstruction Method for Cone-Beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, P; Mao, T; Gong, S; Wang, J; Niu, T [Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang (China); Sheng, K [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Xie, Y [Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, Guangdong (China)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Total Variation (TV) based iterative reconstruction (IR) methods enable accurate CT image reconstruction from low-dose measurements with sparse projection acquisition, due to the sparsifiable feature of most CT images using gradient operator. However, conventional solutions require large amount of iterations to generate a decent reconstructed image. One major reason is that the expected piecewise constant property is not taken into consideration at the optimization starting point. In this work, we propose an iterative reconstruction method for cone-beam CT (CBCT) using image segmentation to guide the optimization path more efficiently on the regularization term at the beginning of the optimization trajectory. Methods: Our method applies general knowledge that one tissue component in the CT image contains relatively uniform distribution of CT number. This general knowledge is incorporated into the proposed reconstruction using image segmentation technique to generate the piecewise constant template on the first-pass low-quality CT image reconstructed using analytical algorithm. The template image is applied as an initial value into the optimization process. Results: The proposed method is evaluated on the Shepp-Logan phantom of low and high noise levels, and a head patient. The number of iterations is reduced by overall 40%. Moreover, our proposed method tends to generate a smoother reconstructed image with the same TV value. Conclusion: We propose a computationally efficient iterative reconstruction method for CBCT imaging. Our method achieves a better optimization trajectory and a faster convergence behavior. It does not rely on prior information and can be readily incorporated into existing iterative reconstruction framework. Our method is thus practical and attractive as a general solution to CBCT iterative reconstruction. This work is supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. LR16F010001), National High-tech R

  12. Cone Beam X-Ray Luminescence Tomography Imaging Based on KA-FEM Method for Small Animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Dongmei; Meng, Fanzhen; Zhao, Fengjun; Xu, Cao

    2016-01-01

    Cone beam X-ray luminescence tomography can realize fast X-ray luminescence tomography imaging with relatively low scanning time compared with narrow beam X-ray luminescence tomography. However, cone beam X-ray luminescence tomography suffers from an ill-posed reconstruction problem. First, the feasibility of experiments with different penetration and multispectra in small animal has been tested using nanophosphor material. Then, the hybrid reconstruction algorithm with KA-FEM method has been applied in cone beam X-ray luminescence tomography for small animals to overcome the ill-posed reconstruction problem, whose advantage and property have been demonstrated in fluorescence tomography imaging. The in vivo mouse experiment proved the feasibility of the proposed method.

  13. Derivation and implementation of a cone-beam reconstruction algorithm for nonplanar orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kudo, Hiroyuki; Saito, Tsuneo

    1994-01-01

    Smith and Grangeat derived a cone-beam inversion formula that can be applied when a nonplanar orbit satisfying the completeness condition is used. Although Grangeat's inversion formula is mathematically different from Smith's, they have similar overall structures to each other. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. First, based on the derivation of Smith, the authors point out that Grangeat's inversion formula and Smith's can be conveniently described using a single formula (the Smith-Grangeat inversion formula) that is in the form of space-variant filtering followed by cone-beam backprojection. Furthermore, the resulting formula is reformulated for data acquisition systems with a planar detector to obtain a new reconstruction algorithm. Second, the authors make two significant modifications to the new algorithm to reduce artifacts and numerical errors encountered in direct implementation of the new algorithm. As for exactness of the new algorithm, the following fact can be stated. The algorithm based on Grangeat's intermediate function is exact for any complete orbit, whereas that based on Smith's intermediate function should be considered as an approximate inverse excepting the special case where almost every plane in 3-D space meets the orbit. The validity of the new algorithm is demonstrated by simulation studies

  14. An analytical reconstruction model of the spread-out Bragg peak using laser-accelerated proton beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tao, Li; Zhu, Kun; Zhu, Jungao; Xu, Xiaohan; Lin, Chen; Ma, Wenjun; Lu, Haiyang; Zhao, Yanying; Lu, Yuanrong; Chen, Jia-Er; Yan, Xueqing

    2017-07-07

    With the development of laser technology, laser-driven proton acceleration provides a new method for proton tumor therapy. However, it has not been applied in practice because of the wide and decreasing energy spectrum of laser-accelerated proton beams. In this paper, we propose an analytical model to reconstruct the spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) using laser-accelerated proton beams. Firstly, we present a modified weighting formula for protons of different energies. Secondly, a theoretical model for the reconstruction of SOBPs with laser-accelerated proton beams has been built. It can quickly calculate the number of laser shots needed for each energy interval of the laser-accelerated protons. Finally, we show the 2D reconstruction results of SOBPs for laser-accelerated proton beams and the ideal situation. The final results show that our analytical model can give an SOBP reconstruction scheme that can be used for actual tumor therapy.

  15. Flat panel detector-based cone beam computed tomography with a circle-plus-two-arcs data acquisition orbit: Preliminary phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ning Ruola; Tang Xiangyang; Conover, David; Yu Rongfeng

    2003-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been investigated in the past two decades due to its potential advantages over a fan beam CT. These advantages include (a) great improvement in data acquisition efficiency, spatial resolution, and spatial resolution uniformity, (b) substantially better utilization of x-ray photons generated by the x-ray tube compared to a fan beam CT, and (c) significant advancement in clinical three-dimensional (3D) CT applications. However, most studies of CBCT in the past are focused on cone beam data acquisition theories and reconstruction algorithms. The recent development of x-ray flat panel detectors (FPD) has made CBCT imaging feasible and practical. This paper reports a newly built flat panel detector-based CBCT prototype scanner and presents the results of the preliminary evaluation of the prototype through a phantom study. The prototype consisted of an x-ray tube, a flat panel detector, a GE 8800 CT gantry, a patient table and a computer system. The prototype was constructed by modifying a GE 8800 CT gantry such that both a single-circle cone beam acquisition orbit and a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit can be achieved. With a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit, a complete set of cone beam projection data can be obtained, consisting of a set of circle projections and a set of arc projections. Using the prototype scanner, the set of circle projections were acquired by rotating the x-ray tube and the FPD together on the gantry, and the set of arc projections were obtained by tilting the gantry while the x-ray tube and detector were at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions, respectively. A filtered backprojection exact cone beam reconstruction algorithm based on a circle-plus-two-arcs orbit was used for cone beam reconstruction from both the circle and arc projections. The system was first characterized in terms of the linearity and dynamic range of the detector. Then the uniformity, spatial resolution and low contrast resolution were assessed using

  16. Auto calibration of a cone-beam-CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gross, Daniel; Heil, Ulrich; Schulze, Ralf; Schoemer, Elmar; Schwanecke, Ulrich

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: This paper introduces a novel autocalibration method for cone-beam-CTs (CBCT) or flat-panel CTs, assuming a perfect rotation. The method is based on ellipse-fitting. Autocalibration refers to accurate recovery of the geometric alignment of a CBCT device from projection images alone, without any manual measurements. Methods: The authors use test objects containing small arbitrarily positioned radio-opaque markers. No information regarding the relative positions of the markers is used. In practice, the authors use three to eight metal ball bearings (diameter of 1 mm), e.g., positioned roughly in a vertical line such that their projection image curves on the detector preferably form large ellipses over the circular orbit. From this ellipse-to-curve mapping and also from its inversion the authors derive an explicit formula. Nonlinear optimization based on this mapping enables them to determine the six relevant parameters of the system up to the device rotation angle, which is sufficient to define the geometry of a CBCT-machine assuming a perfect rotational movement. These parameters also include out-of-plane rotations. The authors evaluate their method by simulation based on data used in two similar approaches [L. Smekal, M. Kachelriess, S. E, and K. Wa, “Geometric misalignment and calibration in cone-beam tomography,” Med. Phys. 31(12), 3242–3266 (2004); K. Yang, A. L. C. Kwan, D. F. Miller, and J. M. Boone, “A geometric calibration method for cone beam CT systems,” Med. Phys. 33(6), 1695–1706 (2006)]. This allows a direct comparison of accuracy. Furthermore, the authors present real-world 3D reconstructions of a dry human spine segment and an electronic device. The reconstructions were computed from projections taken with a commercial dental CBCT device having two different focus-to-detector distances that were both calibrated with their method. The authors compare their reconstruction with a reconstruction computed by the manufacturer of the

  17. A rotating and warping projector/backprojector for fan-beam and cone-beam iterative algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Hsieh, Y.L.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1994-01-01

    A rotating-and-warping projector/backprojector is proposed for iterative algorithms used to reconstruct fan-beam and cone-beam single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) data. The development of a new projector/backprojector for implementing attenuation, geometric point response, and scatter models is motivated by the need to reduce the computation time yet to preserve the fidelity of the corrected reconstruction. At each projection angle, the projector/backprojector first rotates the image volume so that the pixelized cube remains parallel to the detector, and then warps the image volume so that the fan-beam and cone-beam rays are converted into parallel rays. In the authors implementation, these two steps are combined so that the interpolation of voxel values are performed only once. The projection operation is achieved by a simple weighted summation, and the backprojection operation is achieved by copying weighted projection array values to the image volume. An advantage of this projector/backprojector is that the system point response function can be deconvolved via the Fast Fourier Transform using the shift-invariant property of the point response when the voxel-to-detector distance is constant. The fan-beam and cone-beam rotating-and-warping projector/backprojector is applied to SPECT data showing improved resolution

  18. Parameter selection in limited data cone-beam CT reconstruction using edge-preserving total variation algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohvithee, Manasavee; Biguri, Ander; Soleimani, Manuchehr

    2017-12-01

    There are a number of powerful total variation (TV) regularization methods that have great promise in limited data cone-beam CT reconstruction with an enhancement of image quality. These promising TV methods require careful selection of the image reconstruction parameters, for which there are no well-established criteria. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of parameter selection in a number of major TV-based reconstruction algorithms. An appropriate way of selecting the values for each individual parameter has been suggested. Finally, a new adaptive-weighted projection-controlled steepest descent (AwPCSD) algorithm is presented, which implements the edge-preserving function for CBCT reconstruction with limited data. The proposed algorithm shows significant robustness compared to three other existing algorithms: ASD-POCS, AwASD-POCS and PCSD. The proposed AwPCSD algorithm is able to preserve the edges of the reconstructed images better with fewer sensitive parameters to tune.

  19. Medical image reconstruction. A conceptual tutorial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Gengsheng Lawrence

    2010-01-01

    ''Medical Image Reconstruction: A Conceptual Tutorial'' introduces the classical and modern image reconstruction technologies, such as two-dimensional (2D) parallel-beam and fan-beam imaging, three-dimensional (3D) parallel ray, parallel plane, and cone-beam imaging. This book presents both analytical and iterative methods of these technologies and their applications in X-ray CT (computed tomography), SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography), PET (positron emission tomography), and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). Contemporary research results in exact region-of-interest (ROI) reconstruction with truncated projections, Katsevich's cone-beam filtered backprojection algorithm, and reconstruction with highly undersampled data with l 0 -minimization are also included. (orig.)

  20. The measurement of proton stopping power using proton-cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zygmanski, P.; Rabin, M.S.Z.; Gall, K.P.; Rosenthal, S.J.

    2000-01-01

    A cone-beam computed tomography (CT) system utilizing a proton beam has been developed and tested. The cone beam is produced by scattering a 160 MeV proton beam with a modifier that results in a signal in the detector system, which decreases monotonically with depth in the medium. The detector system consists of a Gd 2 O 2 S:Tb intensifying screen viewed by a cooled CCD camera. The Feldkamp-Davis-Kress cone-beam reconstruction algorithm is applied to the projection data to obtain the CT voxel data representing proton stopping power. The system described is capable of reconstructing data over a 16x16x16cm 3 volume into 512x512x512 voxels. A spatial and contrast resolution phantom was scanned to determine the performance of the system. Spatial resolution is significantly degraded by multiple Coulomb scattering effects. Comparison of the reconstructed proton CT values with x-ray CT derived proton stopping powers shows that there may be some advantage to obtaining stopping powers directly with proton CT. The system described suggests a possible practical method of obtaining this measurement in vivo. (author)

  1. Technical aspects of X-ray micro-computed tomography. Initial experience of 27-μm resolution using feldkamp cone-beam reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamamoto, Shuji; Suzuki, Masahiro; Kohara, Kazushi; Iinuma, Gen; Moriyama, Noriyuki

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to introduce the technical utility of micro-computed tomography (CT) with 27-μm resolution by cone-beam CT algorithm. Whole-body micro-CT scans were performed to honeybee. Two- and three-dimensional image analyses were performed by originally developed and available open-source software for acquired images. The original contribution of this work is to describe the technical characteristics of the X-ray micro-CT system, keeping a small experimental insect in a unique condition. Micro-CT may be used as a rapid prototyping tool to research and understand the high-resolution system with Feldkamp cone-beam reconstruction. (author)

  2. Implementation techniques and acceleration of DBPF reconstruction algorithm based on GPGPU for helical cone beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Le; Xing Yuxiang

    2010-01-01

    The derivative back-projection filtered algorithm for a helical cone-beam CT is a newly developed exact reconstruction method. Due to its large computational complexity, the reconstruction is rather slow for practical use. General purpose graphic processing unit (GPGPU) is an SIMD paralleled hardware architecture with powerful float-point operation capacity. In this paper,we propose a new method for PI-line choice and sampling grid, and a paralleled PI-line reconstruction algorithm implemented on NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). Numerical simulation studies are carried out to validate our method. Compared with conventional CPU implementation, the CUDA accelerated method provides images of the same quality with a speedup factor of 318. Optimization strategies for the GPU acceleration are presented. Finally, influence of the parameters of the PI-line samples on the reconstruction speed and image quality is discussed. (authors)

  3. Evaluation of a method for correction of scatter radiation in thorax cone beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rinkel, J.; Dinten, J.M.; Esteve, F.

    2004-01-01

    Purpose: Cone beam CT (CBCT) enables three-dimensional imaging with isotropic resolution. X-ray scatter estimation is a big challenge for quantitative CBCT imaging of thorax: scatter level is significantly higher on cone beam systems compared to collimated fan beam systems. The effects of this scattered radiation are cupping artefacts, streaks, and quantification inaccuracies. The beam stops conventional scatter estimation approach can be used for CBCT but leads to a significant increase in terms of dose and acquisition time. At CEA-LETI has been developed an original scatter management process without supplementary acquisition. Methods and Materials: This Analytical Plus Indexing-based method (API) of scatter correction in CBCT is based on scatter calibration through offline acquisitions with beam stops on lucite plates, combined to an analytical transformation issued from physical equations. This approach has been applied with success in bone densitometry and mammography. To evaluate this method in CBCT, acquisitions from a thorax phantom with and without beam stops have been performed. To compare different scatter correction approaches, Feldkamp algorithm has been applied on rough data corrected from scatter by API and by beam stops approaches. Results: The API method provides results in good agreement with the beam stops array approach, suppressing cupping artefact. Otherwise influence of the scatter correction method on the noise in the reconstructed images has been evaluated. Conclusion: The results indicate that the API method is effective for quantitative CBCT imaging of thorax. Compared to a beam stops array method it needs a lower x-ray dose and shortens acquisition time. (authors)

  4. Fast analytical scatter estimation using graphics processing units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ingleby, Harry; Lippuner, Jonas; Rickey, Daniel W; Li, Yue; Elbakri, Idris

    2015-01-01

    To develop a fast patient-specific analytical estimator of first-order Compton and Rayleigh scatter in cone-beam computed tomography, implemented using graphics processing units. The authors developed an analytical estimator for first-order Compton and Rayleigh scatter in a cone-beam computed tomography geometry. The estimator was coded using NVIDIA's CUDA environment for execution on an NVIDIA graphics processing unit. Performance of the analytical estimator was validated by comparison with high-count Monte Carlo simulations for two different numerical phantoms. Monoenergetic analytical simulations were compared with monoenergetic and polyenergetic Monte Carlo simulations. Analytical and Monte Carlo scatter estimates were compared both qualitatively, from visual inspection of images and profiles, and quantitatively, using a scaled root-mean-square difference metric. Reconstruction of simulated cone-beam projection data of an anthropomorphic breast phantom illustrated the potential of this method as a component of a scatter correction algorithm. The monoenergetic analytical and Monte Carlo scatter estimates showed very good agreement. The monoenergetic analytical estimates showed good agreement for Compton single scatter and reasonable agreement for Rayleigh single scatter when compared with polyenergetic Monte Carlo estimates. For a voxelized phantom with dimensions 128 × 128 × 128 voxels and a detector with 256 × 256 pixels, the analytical estimator required 669 seconds for a single projection, using a single NVIDIA 9800 GX2 video card. Accounting for first order scatter in cone-beam image reconstruction improves the contrast to noise ratio of the reconstructed images. The analytical scatter estimator, implemented using graphics processing units, provides rapid and accurate estimates of single scatter and with further acceleration and a method to account for multiple scatter may be useful for practical scatter correction schemes.

  5. Partial volume and aliasing artefacts in helical cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zou Yu; Sidky, Emil Y; Pan, Xiaochuan

    2004-01-01

    A generalization of the quasi-exact algorithms of Kudo et al (2000 IEEE Trans. Med. Imaging 19 902-21) is developed that allows for data acquisition in a 'practical' frame for clinical diagnostic helical, cone-beam computed tomography (CT). The algorithm is investigated using data that model nonlinear partial volume averaging. This investigation leads to an understanding of aliasing artefacts in helical, cone-beam CT image reconstruction. An ad hoc scheme is proposed to mitigate artefacts due to the nonlinear partial volume and aliasing artefacts

  6. Optical cone beam tomography of Cherenkov-mediated signals for fast 3D dosimetry of x-ray photon beams in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaser, Adam K; Andreozzi, Jacqueline M; Zhang, Rongxiao; Pogue, Brian W; Gladstone, David J

    2015-07-01

    To test the use of a three-dimensional (3D) optical cone beam computed tomography reconstruction algorithm, for estimation of the imparted 3D dose distribution from megavoltage photon beams in a water tank for quality assurance, by imaging the induced Cherenkov-excited fluorescence (CEF). An intensified charge-coupled device coupled to a standard nontelecentric camera lens was used to tomographically acquire two-dimensional (2D) projection images of CEF from a complex multileaf collimator (MLC) shaped 6 MV linear accelerator x-ray photon beam operating at a dose rate of 600 MU/min. The resulting projections were used to reconstruct the 3D CEF light distribution, a potential surrogate of imparted dose, using a Feldkamp-Davis-Kress cone beam back reconstruction algorithm. Finally, the reconstructed light distributions were compared to the expected dose values from one-dimensional diode scans, 2D film measurements, and the 3D distribution generated from the clinical Varian ECLIPSE treatment planning system using a gamma index analysis. A Monte Carlo derived correction was applied to the Cherenkov reconstructions to account for beam hardening artifacts. 3D light volumes were successfully reconstructed over a 400 × 400 × 350 mm(3) volume at a resolution of 1 mm. The Cherenkov reconstructions showed agreement with all comparative methods and were also able to recover both inter- and intra-MLC leaf leakage. Based upon a 3%/3 mm criterion, the experimental Cherenkov light measurements showed an 83%-99% pass fraction depending on the chosen threshold dose. The results from this study demonstrate the use of optical cone beam computed tomography using CEF for the profiling of the imparted dose distribution from large area megavoltage photon beams in water.

  7. A fast 4D cone beam CT reconstruction method based on the OSC-TV algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascolo-Fortin, Julia; Matenine, Dmitri; Archambault, Louis; Després, Philippe

    2018-01-01

    Four-dimensional cone beam computed tomography allows for temporally resolved imaging with useful applications in radiotherapy, but raises particular challenges in terms of image quality and computation time. The purpose of this work is to develop a fast and accurate 4D algorithm by adapting a GPU-accelerated ordered subsets convex algorithm (OSC), combined with the total variation minimization regularization technique (TV). Different initialization schemes were studied to adapt the OSC-TV algorithm to 4D reconstruction: each respiratory phase was initialized either with a 3D reconstruction or a blank image. Reconstruction algorithms were tested on a dynamic numerical phantom and on a clinical dataset. 4D iterations were implemented for a cluster of 8 GPUs. All developed methods allowed for an adequate visualization of the respiratory movement and compared favorably to the McKinnon-Bates and adaptive steepest descent projection onto convex sets algorithms, while the 4D reconstructions initialized from a prior 3D reconstruction led to better overall image quality. The most suitable adaptation of OSC-TV to 4D CBCT was found to be a combination of a prior FDK reconstruction and a 4D OSC-TV reconstruction with a reconstruction time of 4.5 minutes. This relatively short reconstruction time could facilitate a clinical use.

  8. Scatter correction, intermediate view estimation and dose characterization in megavoltage cone-beam CT imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sramek, Benjamin Koerner

    The ability to deliver conformal dose distributions in radiation therapy through intensity modulation and the potential for tumor dose escalation to improve treatment outcome has necessitated an increase in localization accuracy of inter- and intra-fractional patient geometry. Megavoltage cone-beam CT imaging using the treatment beam and onboard electronic portal imaging device is one option currently being studied for implementation in image-guided radiation therapy. However, routine clinical use is predicated upon continued improvements in image quality and patient dose delivered during acquisition. The formal statement of hypothesis for this investigation was that the conformity of planned to delivered dose distributions in image-guided radiation therapy could be further enhanced through the application of kilovoltage scatter correction and intermediate view estimation techniques to megavoltage cone-beam CT imaging, and that normalized dose measurements could be acquired and inter-compared between multiple imaging geometries. The specific aims of this investigation were to: (1) incorporate the Feldkamp, Davis and Kress filtered backprojection algorithm into a program to reconstruct a voxelized linear attenuation coefficient dataset from a set of acquired megavoltage cone-beam CT projections, (2) characterize the effects on megavoltage cone-beam CT image quality resulting from the application of Intermediate View Interpolation and Intermediate View Reprojection techniques to limited-projection datasets, (3) incorporate the Scatter and Primary Estimation from Collimator Shadows (SPECS) algorithm into megavoltage cone-beam CT image reconstruction and determine the set of SPECS parameters which maximize image quality and quantitative accuracy, and (4) evaluate the normalized axial dose distributions received during megavoltage cone-beam CT image acquisition using radiochromic film and thermoluminescent dosimeter measurements in anthropomorphic pelvic and head and

  9. Development of a cone-beam CT system for radiological technologist education

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Teramoto, Atsushi; Ohara, Ken; Ozaki, Kaho; Miyashita, Mariko; Ohno, Tomoyuki; Tsuzaka, Masatoshi; Fujita, Hiroshi

    2011-01-01

    For radiological technologists, it is very important to understand the principle of computed tomography (CT) and CT artifacts derived from mechanical and electrical failure. In this study, a CT system for educating radiological technologists was developed. The system consisted of a cone-beam CT scanner and educational software. The cone-beam CT scanner has a simple structure, using a micro-focus X-ray tube and an indirect-conversion flat panel detector. For the educational software, we developed various educational functions of image reconstruction and reconstruction parameters as well as CT artifacts. In the experiments, the capabilities of the system were evaluated using an acrylic phantom. We verified that the system produced the expected results. (author)

  10. WE-AB-207A-08: BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Advanced Scatter Correction and Iterative Reconstruction for Improved Cone-Beam CT Imaging On the TrueBeam Radiotherapy Machine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, A; Paysan, P; Brehm, M; Maslowski, A; Lehmann, M; Messmer, P; Munro, P; Yoon, S; Star-Lack, J; Seghers, D [Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To improve CBCT image quality for image-guided radiotherapy by applying advanced reconstruction algorithms to overcome scatter, noise, and artifact limitations Methods: CBCT is used extensively for patient setup in radiotherapy. However, image quality generally falls short of diagnostic CT, limiting soft-tissue based positioning and potential applications such as adaptive radiotherapy. The conventional TrueBeam CBCT reconstructor uses a basic scatter correction and FDK reconstruction, resulting in residual scatter artifacts, suboptimal image noise characteristics, and other artifacts like cone-beam artifacts. We have developed an advanced scatter correction that uses a finite-element solver (AcurosCTS) to model the behavior of photons as they pass (and scatter) through the object. Furthermore, iterative reconstruction is applied to the scatter-corrected projections, enforcing data consistency with statistical weighting and applying an edge-preserving image regularizer to reduce image noise. The combined algorithms have been implemented on a GPU. CBCT projections from clinically operating TrueBeam systems have been used to compare image quality between the conventional and improved reconstruction methods. Planning CT images of the same patients have also been compared. Results: The advanced scatter correction removes shading and inhomogeneity artifacts, reducing the scatter artifact from 99.5 HU to 13.7 HU in a typical pelvis case. Iterative reconstruction provides further benefit by reducing image noise and eliminating streak artifacts, thereby improving soft-tissue visualization. In a clinical head and pelvis CBCT, the noise was reduced by 43% and 48%, respectively, with no change in spatial resolution (assessed visually). Additional benefits include reduction of cone-beam artifacts and reduction of metal artifacts due to intrinsic downweighting of corrupted rays. Conclusion: The combination of an advanced scatter correction with iterative reconstruction

  11. GPU-based streaming architectures for fast cone-beam CT image reconstruction and demons deformable registration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharp, G C; Kandasamy, N; Singh, H; Folkert, M

    2007-01-01

    This paper shows how to significantly accelerate cone-beam CT reconstruction and 3D deformable image registration using the stream-processing model. We describe data-parallel designs for the Feldkamp, Davis and Kress (FDK) reconstruction algorithm, and the demons deformable registration algorithm, suitable for use on a commodity graphics processing unit. The streaming versions of these algorithms are implemented using the Brook programming environment and executed on an NVidia 8800 GPU. Performance results using CT data of a preserved swine lung indicate that the GPU-based implementations of the FDK and demons algorithms achieve a substantial speedup-up to 80 times for FDK and 70 times for demons when compared to an optimized reference implementation on a 2.8 GHz Intel processor. In addition, the accuracy of the GPU-based implementations was found to be excellent. Compared with CPU-based implementations, the RMS differences were less than 0.1 Hounsfield unit for reconstruction and less than 0.1 mm for deformable registration

  12. High performance cone-beam spiral backprojection with voxel-specific weighting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steckmann, Sven; Knaup, Michael; Kachelriess, Marc

    2009-01-01

    Cone-beam spiral backprojection is computationally highly demanding. At first sight, the backprojection requirements are similar to those of cone-beam backprojection from circular scans such as it is performed in the widely used Feldkamp algorithm. However, there is an additional complication: the illumination of each voxel, i.e. the range of angles the voxel is seen by the x-ray cone, is a complex function of the voxel position. In general, one needs to multiply a voxel-specific weight w(x, y, z, α) prior to adding a projection from angle α to a voxel at position x, y, z. Often, the weight function has no analytically closed form and must be numerically determined. Storage of the weights is prohibitive since the amount of memory required equals the number of voxels per spiral rotation times the number of projections a voxel receives contributions and therefore is in the order of up to 10 12 floating point values for typical spiral scans. We propose a new algorithm that combines the spiral symmetry with the ability of today's 64 bit operating systems to store large amounts of precomputed weights, even above the 4 GB limit. Our trick is to backproject into slices that are rotated in the same manner as the spiral trajectory rotates. Using the spiral symmetry in this way allows one to exploit data-level paralellism and thereby to achieve a very high level of vectorization. An additional postprocessing step rotates these slices back to normal images. Our new backprojection algorithm achieves up to 17 giga voxel updates per second on our systems that are equipped with four standard Intel X7460 hexa core CPUs (Intel Xeon 7300 platform, 2.66 GHz, Intel Corporation). This equals the reconstruction of 344 images per second assuming that each slice consists of 512 x 512 pixels and receives contributions from 512 projections. Thereby, it is an order of magnitude faster than a highly optimized code that does not make use of the spiral symmetry. In its present version, the

  13. High performance cone-beam spiral backprojection with voxel-specific weighting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckmann, Sven; Knaup, Michael; Kachelrieß, Marc

    2009-06-01

    Cone-beam spiral backprojection is computationally highly demanding. At first sight, the backprojection requirements are similar to those of cone-beam backprojection from circular scans such as it is performed in the widely used Feldkamp algorithm. However, there is an additional complication: the illumination of each voxel, i.e. the range of angles the voxel is seen by the x-ray cone, is a complex function of the voxel position. In general, one needs to multiply a voxel-specific weight w(x, y, z, α) prior to adding a projection from angle α to a voxel at position x, y, z. Often, the weight function has no analytically closed form and must be numerically determined. Storage of the weights is prohibitive since the amount of memory required equals the number of voxels per spiral rotation times the number of projections a voxel receives contributions and therefore is in the order of up to 1012 floating point values for typical spiral scans. We propose a new algorithm that combines the spiral symmetry with the ability of today's 64 bit operating systems to store large amounts of precomputed weights, even above the 4 GB limit. Our trick is to backproject into slices that are rotated in the same manner as the spiral trajectory rotates. Using the spiral symmetry in this way allows one to exploit data-level paralellism and thereby to achieve a very high level of vectorization. An additional postprocessing step rotates these slices back to normal images. Our new backprojection algorithm achieves up to 17 giga voxel updates per second on our systems that are equipped with four standard Intel X7460 hexa core CPUs (Intel Xeon 7300 platform, 2.66 GHz, Intel Corporation). This equals the reconstruction of 344 images per second assuming that each slice consists of 512 × 512 pixels and receives contributions from 512 projections. Thereby, it is an order of magnitude faster than a highly optimized code that does not make use of the spiral symmetry. In its present version, the

  14. Performance studies of four-dimensional cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qi Zhihua; Chen Guanghong

    2011-01-01

    Four-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (4DCBCT) has been proposed to characterize the breathing motion of tumors before radiotherapy treatment. However, when the acquired cone beam projection data are retrospectively gated into several respiratory phases, the available data to reconstruct each phase is under-sampled and thus causes streaking artifacts in the reconstructed images. To solve the under-sampling problem and improve image quality in 4DCBCT, various methods have been developed. This paper presents performance studies of three different 4DCBCT methods based on different reconstruction algorithms. The aims of this paper are to study (1) the relationship between the accuracy of the extracted motion trajectories and the data acquisition time of a 4DCBCT scan and (2) the relationship between the accuracy of the extracted motion trajectories and the number of phase bins used to sort projection data. These aims will be applied to three different 4DCBCT methods: conventional filtered backprojection reconstruction (FBP), FBP with McKinnon-Bates correction (MB) and prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) reconstruction. A hybrid phantom consisting of realistic chest anatomy and a moving elliptical object with known 3D motion trajectories was constructed by superimposing the analytical projection data of the moving object to the simulated projection data from a chest CT volume dataset. CBCT scans with gantry rotation times from 1 to 4 min were simulated, and the generated projection data were sorted into 5, 10 and 20 phase bins before different methods were used to reconstruct 4D images. The motion trajectories of the moving object were extracted using a fast free-form deformable registration algorithm. The root mean square errors (RMSE) of the extracted motion trajectories were evaluated for all simulated cases to quantitatively study the performance. The results demonstrate (1) longer acquisition times result in more accurate motion delineation

  15. Kinetic parameter estimation from SPECT cone-beam projection measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huesman, Ronald H.; Reutter, Bryan W.; Zeng, G. Larry; Gullberg, Grant T.

    1998-01-01

    Kinetic parameters are commonly estimated from dynamically acquired nuclear medicine data by first reconstructing a dynamic sequence of images and subsequently fitting the parameters to time-activity curves generated from regions of interest overlaid upon the image sequence. Biased estimates can result from images reconstructed using inconsistent projections of a time-varying distribution of radiopharmaceutical acquired by a rotating SPECT system. If the SPECT data are acquired using cone-beam collimators wherein the gantry rotates so that the focal point of the collimators always remains in a plane, additional biases can arise from images reconstructed using insufficient, as well as truncated, projection samples. To overcome these problems we have investigated the estimation of kinetic parameters directly from SPECT cone-beam projection data by modelling the data acquisition process. To accomplish this it was necessary to parametrize the spatial and temporal distribution of the radiopharmaceutical within the SPECT field of view. In a simulated chest image volume, kinetic parameters were estimated for simple one-compartment models for four myocardial regions of interest. Myocardial uptake and washout parameters estimated by conventional analysis of noiseless simulated cone-beam data had biases ranging between 3-26% and 0-28%, respectively. Parameters estimated directly from the noiseless projection data were unbiased as expected, since the model used for fitting was faithful to the simulation. Statistical uncertainties of parameter estimates for 10 000 000 events ranged between 0.2-9% for the uptake parameters and between 0.3-6% for the washout parameters. (author)

  16. Implementation of a cone-beam reconstruction algorithm for the single-circle source orbit with embedded misalignment correction using homogeneous coordinates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karolczak, Marek; Schaller, Stefan; Engelke, Klaus; Lutz, Andreas; Taubenreuther, Ulrike; Wiesent, Karl; Kalender, Willi

    2001-01-01

    We present an efficient implementation of an approximate cone-beam image reconstruction algorithm for application in tomography, which accounts for scanner mechanical misalignment. The implementation is based on the algorithm proposed by Feldkamp et al. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 6, 612-619 (1984)] and is directed at circular scan paths. The algorithm has been developed for the purpose of reconstructing volume data from projections acquired in an experimental x-ray microtomography (μCT) scanner [Engelke et al., Der Radiologe 39, 203-212 (1999)]. To mathematically model misalignment we use matrix notation with homogeneous coordinates to describe the scanner geometry, its misalignment, and the acquisition process. For convenience analysis is carried out for x-ray CT scanners, but it is applicable to any tomographic modality, where two-dimensional projection acquisition in cone beam geometry takes place, e.g., single photon emission computerized tomography. We derive an algorithm assuming misalignment errors to be small enough to weight and filter original projections and to embed compensation for misalignment in the backprojection. We verify the algorithm on simulations of virtual phantoms and scans of a physical multidisk (Defrise) phantom

  17. Analysis of bite marks in foodstuffs by computer tomography (cone beam CT)--3D reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Jeidson; Musse, Jamilly; Caetano, Catarina; Corte-Real, Francisco; Corte-Real, Ana Teresa

    2013-12-01

    The use of three-dimensional (3D) analysis of forensic evidence is highlighted in comparison with traditional methods. This three-dimensional analysis is based on the registration of the surface from a bitten object. The authors propose to use Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT), which is used in dental practice, in order to study the surface and interior of bitten objects and dental casts of suspects. In this study, CBCT is applied to the analysis of bite marks in foodstuffs, which may be found in a forensic case scenario. 6 different types of foodstuffs were used: chocolate, cheese, apple, chewing gum, pizza and tart (flaky pastry and custard). The food was bitten into and dental casts of the possible suspects were made. The dental casts and bitten objects were registered using an x-ray source and the CBCT equipment iCAT® (Pennsylvania, EUA). The software InVivo5® (Anatomage Inc, EUA) was used to visualize and analyze the tomographic slices and 3D reconstructions of the objects. For each material an estimate of its density was assessed by two methods: HU values and specific gravity. All the used materials were successfully reconstructed as good quality 3D images. The relative densities of the materials in study were compared. Amongst the foodstuffs, the chocolate had the highest density (median value 100.5 HU and 1,36 g/cm(3)), while the pizza showed to have the lowest (median value -775 HU and 0,39 g/cm(3)), on both scales. Through tomographic slices and three-dimensional reconstructions it was possible to perform the metric analysis of the bite marks in all the foodstuffs, except for the pizza. These measurements could also be obtained from the dental casts. The depth of the bite mark was also successfully determined in all the foodstuffs except for the pizza. Cone Beam Computed Tomography has the potential to become an important tool for forensic sciences, namely for the registration and analysis of bite marks in foodstuffs that may be found in a crime

  18. An Approximate Cone Beam Reconstruction Algorithm for Gantry-Tilted CT Using Tangential Filtering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Yan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available FDK algorithm is a well-known 3D (three-dimensional approximate algorithm for CT (computed tomography image reconstruction and is also known to suffer from considerable artifacts when the scanning cone angle is large. Recently, it has been improved by performing the ramp filtering along the tangential direction of the X-ray source helix for dealing with the large cone angle problem. In this paper, we present an FDK-type approximate reconstruction algorithm for gantry-tilted CT imaging. The proposed method improves the image reconstruction by filtering the projection data along a proper direction which is determined by CT parameters and gantry-tilted angle. As a result, the proposed algorithm for gantry-tilted CT reconstruction can provide more scanning flexibilities in clinical CT scanning and is efficient in computation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated with turbell clock phantom and thorax phantom and compared with FDK algorithm and a popular 2D (two-dimensional approximate algorithm. The results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve better image quality for gantry-tilted CT image reconstruction.

  19. Multi-mounted X-ray cone-beam computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Jian; Wang, Jingzheng; Guo, Wei; Peng, Peng

    2018-04-01

    As a powerful nondestructive inspection technique, X-ray computed tomography (X-CT) has been widely applied to clinical diagnosis, industrial production and cutting-edge research. Imaging efficiency is currently one of the major obstacles for the applications of X-CT. In this paper, a multi-mounted three dimensional cone-beam X-CT (MM-CBCT) method is reported. It consists of a novel multi-mounted cone-beam scanning geometry and the corresponding three dimensional statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm. The scanning geometry is the most iconic design and significantly different from the current CBCT systems. Permitting the cone-beam scanning of multiple objects simultaneously, the proposed approach has the potential to achieve an imaging efficiency orders of magnitude greater than the conventional methods. Although multiple objects can be also bundled together and scanned simultaneously by the conventional CBCT methods, it will lead to the increased penetration thickness and signal crosstalk. In contrast, MM-CBCT avoids substantially these problems. This work comprises a numerical study of the method and its experimental verification using a dataset measured with a developed MM-CBCT prototype system. This technique will provide a possible solution for the CT inspection in a large scale.

  20. Truncation artifact suppression in cone-beam radionuclide transmission CT using maximum likelihood techniques: evaluation with human subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.

    1992-01-01

    Transverse image truncation can be a serious problem for human imaging using cone-beam transmission CT (CB-CT) implemented on a conventional rotating gamma camera. This paper presents a reconstruction method to reduce or eliminate the artifacts resulting from the truncation. The method uses a previously published transmission maximum likelihood EM algorithm, adapted to the cone-beam geometry. The reconstruction method is evaluated qualitatively using three human subjects of various dimensions and various degrees of truncation. (author)

  1. Evaluation of tilted cone-beam CT orbits in the development of a dedicated hybrid mammotomograph

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madhav, P; Crotty, D J; Tornai, M P; McKinley, R L

    2009-01-01

    A compact dedicated 3D breast SPECT-CT (mammotomography) system is currently under development. In its initial prototype, the cone-beam CT sub-system is restricted to a fixed-tilt circular rotation around the patient's pendant breast. This study evaluated stationary-tilt angles for the CT sub-system that will enable maximal volumetric sampling and viewing of the breast and chest wall. Images of geometric/anthropomorphic phantoms were acquired using various fixed-tilt circular and 3D sinusoidal trajectories. The iteratively reconstructed images showed more distortion and attenuation coefficient inaccuracy from tilted cone-beam orbits than from the complex trajectory. Additionally, line profiles illustrated cupping artifacts in planes distal to the central plane of the tilted cone-beam, otherwise not apparent for images acquired with complex trajectories. This indicates that undersampled cone-beam data may be an additional cause of cupping artifacts. High-frequency objects could be distinguished for all trajectories, but their shapes and locations were corrupted by out-of-plane frequency information. Although more acrylic balls were visualized with a fixed-tilt and nearly flat cone-beam at the posterior of the breast, 3D complex trajectories have less distortion and more complete sampling throughout the reconstruction volume. While complex trajectories would ideally be preferred, negatively fixed-tilt source-detector configuration demonstrates minimally distorted patient images.

  2. Image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT: A sensitivity analysis of respiratory signal, binning method, reconstruction algorithm, and projection angular spacing

    OpenAIRE

    Shieh, Chun-Chien; Kipritidis, John; O’Brien, Ricky T.; Kuncic, Zdenka; Keall, Paul J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Respiratory signal, binning method, and reconstruction algorithm are three major controllable factors affecting image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT), which is widely used in image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Previous studies have investigated each of these factors individually, but no integrated sensitivity analysis has been performed. In addition, projection angular spacing is also a key factor in reconstruction, but how it affects image quality is not obvious. An inv...

  3. Cone Beam X-ray Luminescence Computed Tomography Based on Bayesian Method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Guanglei; Liu, Fei; Liu, Jie; Luo, Jianwen; Xie, Yaoqin; Bai, Jing; Xing, Lei

    2017-01-01

    X-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT), which aims to achieve molecular and functional imaging by X-rays, has recently been proposed as a new imaging modality. Combining the principles of X-ray excitation of luminescence-based probes and optical signal detection, XLCT naturally fuses functional and anatomical images and provides complementary information for a wide range of applications in biomedical research. In order to improve the data acquisition efficiency of previously developed narrow-beam XLCT, a cone beam XLCT (CB-XLCT) mode is adopted here to take advantage of the useful geometric features of cone beam excitation. Practically, a major hurdle in using cone beam X-ray for XLCT is that the inverse problem here is seriously ill-conditioned, hindering us to achieve good image quality. In this paper, we propose a novel Bayesian method to tackle the bottleneck in CB-XLCT reconstruction. The method utilizes a local regularization strategy based on Gaussian Markov random field to mitigate the ill-conditioness of CB-XLCT. An alternating optimization scheme is then used to automatically calculate all the unknown hyperparameters while an iterative coordinate descent algorithm is adopted to reconstruct the image with a voxel-based closed-form solution. Results of numerical simulations and mouse experiments show that the self-adaptive Bayesian method significantly improves the CB-XLCT image quality as compared with conventional methods.

  4. Explicit control of image noise and error properties in cone-beam microtomography using dual concentric circular source loci

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, Graham

    2005-01-01

    Cone-beam reconstruction from projections with a circular source locus (relative to the specimen) is commonly used in X-ray microtomography systems. Although this method does not provide an 'exact' reconstruction, since there is insufficient data in the projections, the approximation is considered adequate for many purposes. However, some specimens, with sharp changes in X-ray attenuation in the direction of the rotation axis, are particularly prone to cone-beam-related errors. These errors can be reduced by increasing the source-to-specimen distance, but at the expense of reduced signal-to-noise ratio or increased scanning time. An alternative method, based on heuristic arguments, is to scan the specimen with both short and long source-to-specimen distances and combine high frequency components from the former reconstruction with low frequency ones from the latter. This composite reconstruction has the low noise characteristics of the short source-to-specimen reconstruction and the low cone-beam errors of the long one. This has been tested with simulated data representing a particularly error prone specimen

  5. The use of cone beam computed tomography in the postoperative assessment of orbital wall fracture reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsao, Kim; Cheng, Andrew; Goss, Alastair; Donovan, David

    2014-07-01

    Computed tomography (CT) is currently the standard in postoperative evaluation of orbital wall fracture reconstruction, but cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) offers potential advantages including reduced radiation dose and cost. The purpose of this study is to examine objectively the image quality of CBCT in the postoperative evaluation of orbital fracture reconstruction, its radiation dose, and cost compared with CT. Four consecutive patients with orbital wall fractures in whom surgery was indicated underwent orbital reconstruction with radio-opaque grafts (bone, titanium-reinforced polyethylene, and titanium plate) and were assessed postoperatively with orbital CBCT. CBCT was evaluated for its ability to provide objective information regarding the adequacy of orbital reconstruction, radiation dose, and cost. In all patients, CBCT was feasible and provided hard tissue image quality comparable to CT with significantly reduced radiation dose and cost. However, it has poorer soft tissue resolution, which limits its ability to identify the extraocular muscles, their relationship to the reconstructive graft, and potential muscle entrapment. CBCT is a viable alternative to CT in the routine postoperative evaluation of orbital fracture reconstruction. However, in the patient who develops gaze restriction postoperatively, conventional CT is preferred over CBCT for its superior soft tissue resolution to exclude extraocular muscle entrapment.

  6. Full data consistency conditions for cone-beam projections with sources on a plane

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clackdoyle, Rolf; Desbat, Laurent

    2013-01-01

    Cone-beam consistency conditions (also known as range conditions) are mathematical relationships between different cone-beam projections, and they therefore describe the redundancy or overlap of information between projections. These redundancies have often been exploited for applications in image reconstruction. In this work we describe new consistency conditions for cone-beam projections whose source positions lie on a plane. A further restriction is that the target object must not intersect this plane. The conditions require that moments of the cone-beam projections be polynomial functions of the source positions, with some additional constraints on the coefficients of the polynomials. A precise description of the consistency conditions is that the four parameters of the cone-beam projections (two for the detector, two for the source position) can be expressed with just three variables, using a certain formulation involving homogeneous polynomials. The main contribution of this work is our demonstration that these conditions are not only necessary, but also sufficient. Thus the consistency conditions completely characterize all redundancies, so no other independent conditions are possible and in this sense the conditions are full. The idea of the proof is to use the known consistency conditions for 3D parallel projections, and to then apply a 1996 theorem of Edholm and Danielsson that links parallel to cone-beam projections. The consistency conditions are illustrated with a simulation example. (paper)

  7. Prior image constrained scatter correction in cone-beam computed tomography image-guided radiation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, Stephen; Nett, Brian E; Tolakanahalli, Ranjini; Chen, Guang-Hong

    2011-02-21

    X-ray scatter is a significant problem in cone-beam computed tomography when thicker objects and larger cone angles are used, as scattered radiation can lead to reduced contrast and CT number inaccuracy. Advances have been made in x-ray computed tomography (CT) by incorporating a high quality prior image into the image reconstruction process. In this paper, we extend this idea to correct scatter-induced shading artifacts in cone-beam CT image-guided radiation therapy. Specifically, this paper presents a new scatter correction algorithm which uses a prior image with low scatter artifacts to reduce shading artifacts in cone-beam CT images acquired under conditions of high scatter. The proposed correction algorithm begins with an empirical hypothesis that the target image can be written as a weighted summation of a series of basis images that are generated by raising the raw cone-beam projection data to different powers, and then, reconstructing using the standard filtered backprojection algorithm. The weight for each basis image is calculated by minimizing the difference between the target image and the prior image. The performance of the scatter correction algorithm is qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated through phantom studies using a Varian 2100 EX System with an on-board imager. Results show that the proposed scatter correction algorithm using a prior image with low scatter artifacts can substantially mitigate scatter-induced shading artifacts in both full-fan and half-fan modes.

  8. Automated patient setup and gating using cone beam computed tomography projections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wan, Hanlin; Bertholet, Jenny; Ge, Jiajia

    2016-01-01

    In radiation therapy, fiducial markers are often implanted near tumors and used for patient positioning and respiratory gating purposes. These markers are then used to manually align the patients by matching the markers in the cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) reconstruction to those...

  9. Characteristics of megavoltage cone-beam digital tomosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Descovich, M.; Morin, O.; Aubry, J. F.; Aubin, M.; Chen, J.; Bani-Hashemi, A; Pouliot, J.

    2008-01-01

    This article reports on the image characteristics of megavoltage cone-beam digital tomosynthesis (MVCB DT). MVCB DT is an in-room imaging technique, which enables the reconstruction of several two-dimensional slices from a set of projection images acquired over an arc of 20 deg. - 40 deg. The limited angular range reduces the acquisition time and the dose delivered to the patient, but affects the image quality of the reconstructed tomograms. Image characteristics (slice thickness, shape distortion, and contrast-to-noise ratio) are studied as a function of the angular range. Potential clinical applications include patient setup and the development of breath holding techniques for gated imaging

  10. Cone-beam tomography with discrete data sets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrett, H.H.

    1994-01-01

    Sufficiently conditions for cone-beam data are well known for the case of continuous data collection along a cone-vortex curve with continuous detectors. These continuous conditions are inadequate for real-world data where discrete vertex geometries and discrete detector arrays are used. In this paper we present a theoretical formulation of cone-beam tomography with arbitrary discrete arrays of detectors and vertices. The theory models the imaging system as a linear continuous-to-discrete mapping and represents the continuous object exactly as a Fourier series. The reconstruction problem is posed as the estimation of some subset of the Fourier coefficients. The main goal of the theory is to determine which Fourier coefficients can be reliably determined from the data delivered by a specific discrete design. A fourier component will be well determined by the data if it satisfies two conditions: it makes a strong contribution to the data, and this contribution is relatively independent of the contribution of other Fourier components. To make these considerations precise, we introduce a concept called the cross-talk matrix. A diagonal element of this matrix measures the strength of a Fourier component in the data, while an off-diagonal element quantifies the dependence or aliasing of two different components. (Author)

  11. A backprojection-filtration algorithm for nonstandard spiral cone-beam CT with an n-PI-window

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Hengyong; Ye Yangbo; Zhao Shiying; Wang Ge

    2005-01-01

    For applications in bolus-chasing computed tomography (CT) angiography and electron-beam micro-CT, the backprojection-filtration (BPF) formula developed by Zou and Pan was recently generalized by Ye et al to reconstruct images from cone-beam data collected along a rather flexible scanning locus, including a nonstandard spiral. A major implication of the generalized BPF formula is that it can be applied for n-PI-window-based reconstruction in the nonstandard spiral scanning case. In this paper, we design an n-PI-window-based BPF algorithm, and report the numerical simulation results with the 3D Shepp-Logan phantom and Defrise disk phantom. The proposed BPF algorithm consists of three steps: cone-beam data differentiation, weighted backprojection and inverse Hilbert filtration. Our simulated results demonstrate the feasibility and merits of the proposed algorithm

  12. Determination of both mechanical and electronic shifts in cone beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jianying Li; Jaszczak, R.J.; Huili Wang; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1993-01-01

    The difference between the displacement of the centre of rotation (mechanical shift, MS) and the electronic centring misalignment (electronic shift, ES) in cone beam SPECT is evaluated. A method is proposed to determine both MS and ES using the centroid of a projected point source sampled over 360 o C and the Marquardt non-linear fitting algorithm. Both shifts are characterized by two orthogonal components. This method is verified using Monte Carlo simulated point source data with different combinations of mechanical and electronic shifts. Both shifts can be determined correctly. The proposed method was also applied to the authors' cone beam SPECT system to determine both shifts as well as the focal length. The determined ES parameters are then used to correct the projections and the MS parameters are incorporated into a reconstruction algorithm. The point source image are reconstructed and the image resolutions with and without the shift corrections are measured. (Author)

  13. An Efficient Estimation Method for Reducing the Axial Intensity Drop in Circular Cone-Beam CT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Zhu

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Reconstruction algorithms for circular cone-beam (CB scans have been extensively studied in the literature. Since insufficient data are measured, an exact reconstruction is impossible for such a geometry. If the reconstruction algorithm assumes zeros for the missing data, such as the standard FDK algorithm, a major type of resulting CB artifacts is the intensity drop along the axial direction. Many algorithms have been proposed to improve image quality when faced with this problem of data missing; however, development of an effective and computationally efficient algorithm remains a major challenge. In this work, we propose a novel method for estimating the unmeasured data and reducing the intensity drop artifacts. Each CB projection is analyzed in the Radon space via Grangeat's first derivative. Assuming the CB projection is taken from a parallel beam geometry, we extract those data that reside in the unmeasured region of the Radon space. These data are then used as in a parallel beam geometry to calculate a correction term, which is added together with Hu’s correction term to the FDK result to form a final reconstruction. More approximations are then made on the calculation of the additional term, and the final formula is implemented very efficiently. The algorithm performance is evaluated using computer simulations on analytical phantoms. The reconstruction comparison with results using other existing algorithms shows that the proposed algorithm achieves a superior performance on the reduction of axial intensity drop artifacts with a high computation efficiency.

  14. [CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN DIAGNOSTICS OF ODONTOGENIC MAXILLARY SINUSITIS (CASE REPORTS)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demidova, E; Khurdzidze, G

    2017-06-01

    Diagnostic studies performed by cone beam computed tomography Morita 3D made possible to obtain high resolution images of hard tissues of upper jawbone and maxillary sinus, to detect bony tissue defects, such as odontogenic cysts, cystogranulomas and granulomas. High-resolution and three dimensional tomographic image reconstructions allowed for optimal and prompt determination of the scope of surgical treatment and planning of effective conservative treatment regimen. Interactive diagnostics helped to estimate cosmetic and functional results of surgical treatment, to prevent the occurrence of surgical complications, and to evaluate the efficacy of conservative treatment. The obtained data contributed to determination of particular applications of cone beam computed tomography in the diagnosis of odontogenic maxillary sinusitis, detection of specific defects with cone beam tomography as the most informative method of diagnosis; as well as to determination of weak and strong sides, and helped to offer mechanisms of x-ray diagnostics to dental surgeons and ENT specialists.

  15. Reconstruction of a cone-beam CT image via forward iterative projection matching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brock, R. Scott; Docef, Alen; Murphy, Martin J.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To demonstrate the feasibility of reconstructing a cone-beam CT (CBCT) image by deformably altering a prior fan-beam CT (FBCT) image such that it matches the anatomy portrayed in the CBCT projection data set. Methods: A prior FBCT image of the patient is assumed to be available as a source image. A CBCT projection data set is obtained and used as a target image set. A parametrized deformation model is applied to the source FBCT image, digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) that emulate the CBCT projection image geometry are calculated and compared to the target CBCT projection data, and the deformation model parameters are adjusted iteratively until the DRRs optimally match the CBCT projection data set. The resulting deformed FBCT image is hypothesized to be an accurate representation of the patient's anatomy imaged by the CBCT system. The process is demonstrated via numerical simulation. A known deformation is applied to a prior FBCT image and used to create a synthetic set of CBCT target projections. The iterative projection matching process is then applied to reconstruct the deformation represented in the synthetic target projections; the reconstructed deformation is then compared to the known deformation. The sensitivity of the process to the number of projections and the DRR/CBCT projection mismatch is explored by systematically adding noise to and perturbing the contrast of the target projections relative to the iterated source DRRs and by reducing the number of projections. Results: When there is no noise or contrast mismatch in the CBCT projection images, a set of 64 projections allows the known deformed CT image to be reconstructed to within a nRMS error of 1% and the known deformation to within a nRMS error of 7%. A CT image nRMS error of less than 4% is maintained at noise levels up to 3% of the mean projection intensity, at which the deformation error is 13%. At 1% noise level, the number of projections can be reduced to 8 while maintaining

  16. Four-dimensional volume-of-interest reconstruction for cone-beam computed tomography-guided radiation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Moiz; Balter, Peter; Pan, Tinsu

    2011-10-01

    Data sufficiency are a major problem in four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) on linear accelerator-integrated scanners for image-guided radiotherapy. Scan times must be in the range of 4-6 min to avoid undersampling artifacts. Various image reconstruction algorithms have been proposed to accommodate undersampled data acquisitions, but these algorithms are computationally expensive, may require long reconstruction times, and may require algorithm parameters to be optimized. The authors present a novel reconstruction method, 4D volume-of-interest (4D-VOI) reconstruction which suppresses undersampling artifacts and resolves lung tumor motion for undersampled 1-min scans. The 4D-VOI reconstruction is much less computationally expensive than other 4D-CBCT algorithms. The 4D-VOI method uses respiration-correlated projection data to reconstruct a four-dimensional (4D) image inside a VOI containing the moving tumor, and uncorrelated projection data to reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) image outside the VOI. Anatomical motion is resolved inside the VOI and blurred outside the VOI. The authors acquired a 1-min. scan of an anthropomorphic chest phantom containing a moving water-filled sphere. The authors also used previously acquired 1-min scans for two lung cancer patients who had received CBCT-guided radiation therapy. The same raw data were used to test and compare the 4D-VOI reconstruction with the standard 4D reconstruction and the McKinnon-Bates (MB) reconstruction algorithms. Both the 4D-VOI and the MB reconstructions suppress nearly all the streak artifacts compared with the standard 4D reconstruction, but the 4D-VOI has 3-8 times greater contrast-to-noise ratio than the MB reconstruction. In the dynamic chest phantom study, the 4D-VOI and the standard 4D reconstructions both resolved a moving sphere with an 18 mm displacement. The 4D-VOI reconstruction shows a motion blur of only 3 mm, whereas the MB reconstruction shows a motion blur of 13 mm

  17. Brain SPECT with short focal-length cone-beam collimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Mi-Ae; Moore, Stephen C.; Kijewski, Marie Foley

    2005-01-01

    Single-photon emission-computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of deep brain structures is compromised by loss of photons due to attenuation. We have previously shown that a centrally peaked collimator sensitivity function can compensate for this phenomenon, increasing sensitivity over most of the brain. For dual-head instruments, parallel-hole collimators cannot provide variable sensitivity without simultaneously degrading spatial resolution near the center of the brain; this suggests the use of converging collimators. We have designed collimator pairs for dual-head SPECT systems to increase sensitivity, particularly in the center of the brain, and compared the new collimation approach to existing approaches on the basis of performance in estimating activity concentration of small structures at various locations in the brain. The collimator pairs we evaluated included a cone-beam collimator, for increased sensitivity, and a fan-beam collimator, for data sufficiency. We calculated projections of an ellipsoidal uniform background, with 0.9-cm-radius spherical lesions at several locations in the background. From these, we determined ideal signal-to-noise ratios (SNR CRB ) for estimation of activity concentration within the spheres, based on the Cramer-Rao lower bound on variance. We also reconstructed, by an ordered-subset expectation-maximization (OS-EM) procedure, images of this phantom, as well as of the Zubal brain phantom, to allow visual assessment and to ensure that they were free of artifacts. The best of the collimator pairs evaluated comprised a cone-beam collimator with 20 cm focal length, for which the focal point is inside the brain, and a fan-beam collimator with 40 cm focal length. This pair yielded increased SNR CRB , compared to the parallel-parallel pair, throughout the imaging volume. The factor by which SNR CRB increased ranged from 1.1 at the most axially extreme location to 3.5 at the center. The gains in SNR CRB were relatively robust to mismatches

  18. Advanced single-slice rebinning for tilted spiral cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kachelriess, Marc; Fuchs, Theo; Schaller, Stefan; Kalender, Willi A.

    2001-01-01

    Future medical CT scanners and today's micro CT scanners demand cone-beam reconstruction algorithms that are capable of reconstructing data acquired from a tilted spiral trajectory where the vector of rotation is not necessarily parallel to the vector of table increment. For the medical CT scanner this case of nonparallel object motion is met for nonzero gantry tilt: the table moves into a direction that is not perpendicular to the plane of rotation. Since this is not a special application of medical CT but rather a daily routine in head exams, there is a strong need for corresponding reconstruction algorithms. In contrast to medical CT, where the special case of nonperpendicular motion is used on purpose, micro CT scanners cannot avoid aberrations of the rotational axis and the table increment vector due to alignment problems. Especially for those micro CT scanners that have the lifting stage mounted on the rotation table (in contrast to setups where the lifting stage holds the rotation table), this kind of misalignment is equivalent to a gantry tilt. We therefore generalize the advanced single-slice rebinning algorithm (ASSR), which is considered a very promising approach for medical cone-beam reconstruction due to its high image quality and its high reconstruction speed [Med. Phys. 27, 754-772 (2000)], to the case of tilted gantries. We evaluate this extended ASSR approach (which we will denote as ASSR + , for convenience) in comparison to the original ASSR algorithm using simulated phantom data for reconstruction. For the case of nonparallel object motion ASSR + shows significant improvements over ASSR, however, its computational complexity is slightly increased due to the broken symmetry of the spiral trajectory

  19. LBP-based penalized weighted least-squares approach to low-dose cone-beam computed tomography reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ming; Wang, Huafeng; Liu, Yan; Zhang, Hao; Gu, Xianfeng; Liang, Zhengrong

    2014-03-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has attracted growing interest of researchers in image reconstruction. The mAs level of the X-ray tube current, in practical application of CBCT, is mitigated in order to reduce the CBCT dose. The lowering of the X-ray tube current, however, results in the degradation of image quality. Thus, low-dose CBCT image reconstruction is in effect a noise problem. To acquire clinically acceptable quality of image, and keep the X-ray tube current as low as achievable in the meanwhile, some penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS)-based image reconstruction algorithms have been developed. One representative strategy in previous work is to model the prior information for solution regularization using an anisotropic penalty term. To enhance the edge preserving and noise suppressing in a finer scale, a novel algorithm combining the local binary pattern (LBP) with penalized weighted leastsquares (PWLS), called LBP-PWLS-based image reconstruction algorithm, is proposed in this work. The proposed LBP-PWLS-based algorithm adaptively encourages strong diffusion on the local spot/flat region around a voxel and less diffusion on edge/corner ones by adjusting the penalty for cost function, after the LBP is utilized to detect the region around the voxel as spot, flat and edge ones. The LBP-PWLS-based reconstruction algorithm was evaluated using the sinogram data acquired by a clinical CT scanner from the CatPhan® 600 phantom. Experimental results on the noiseresolution tradeoff measurement and other quantitative measurements demonstrated its feasibility and effectiveness in edge preserving and noise suppressing in comparison with a previous PWLS reconstruction algorithm.

  20. Cone-beam volume CT mammographic imaging: feasibility study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Biao; Ning, Ruola

    2001-06-01

    X-ray projection mammography, using a film/screen combination or digital techniques, has proven to be the most effective imaging modality for early detection of breast cancer currently available. However, the inherent superimposition of structures makes small carcinoma (a few millimeters in size) difficult to detect in the occultation case or in dense breasts, resulting in a high false positive biopsy rate. The cone-beam x-ray projection based volume imaging using flat panel detectors (FPDs) makes it possible to obtain three-dimensional breast images. This may benefit diagnosis of the structure and pattern of the lesion while eliminating hard compression of the breast. This paper presents a novel cone-beam volume CT mammographic imaging protocol based on the above techniques. Through computer simulation, the key issues of the system and imaging techniques, including the x-ray imaging geometry and corresponding reconstruction algorithms, x-ray characteristics of breast tissues, x-ray setting techniques, the absorbed dose estimation and the quantitative effect of x-ray scattering on image quality, are addressed. The preliminary simulation results support the proposed cone-beam volume CT mammographic imaging modality in respect to feasibility and practicability for mammography. The absorbed dose level is comparable to that of current two-view mammography and would not be a prominent problem for this imaging protocol. Compared to traditional mammography, the proposed imaging protocol with isotropic spatial resolution will potentially provide significantly better low contrast detectability of breast tumors and more accurate location of breast lesions.

  1. Task-based statistical image reconstruction for high-quality cone-beam CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, Hao; Webster Stayman, J.; Xu, Jennifer; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Sisniega, Alejandro; Mow, Michael; Wang, Xiaohui; Foos, David H.; Aygun, Nafi; Koliatsos, Vassilis E.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

    2017-11-01

    Task-based analysis of medical imaging performance underlies many ongoing efforts in the development of new imaging systems. In statistical image reconstruction, regularization is often formulated in terms to encourage smoothness and/or sharpness (e.g. a linear, quadratic, or Huber penalty) but without explicit formulation of the task. We propose an alternative regularization approach in which a spatially varying penalty is determined that maximizes task-based imaging performance at every location in a 3D image. We apply the method to model-based image reconstruction (MBIR—viz., penalized weighted least-squares, PWLS) in cone-beam CT (CBCT) of the head, focusing on the task of detecting a small, low-contrast intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and we test the performance of the algorithm in the context of a recently developed CBCT prototype for point-of-care imaging of brain injury. Theoretical predictions of local spatial resolution and noise are computed via an optimization by which regularization (specifically, the quadratic penalty strength) is allowed to vary throughout the image to maximize local task-based detectability index ({{d}\\prime} ). Simulation studies and test-bench experiments were performed using an anthropomorphic head phantom. Three PWLS implementations were tested: conventional (constant) penalty; a certainty-based penalty derived to enforce constant point-spread function, PSF; and the task-based penalty derived to maximize local detectability at each location. Conventional (constant) regularization exhibited a fairly strong degree of spatial variation in {{d}\\prime} , and the certainty-based method achieved uniform PSF, but each exhibited a reduction in detectability compared to the task-based method, which improved detectability up to ~15%. The improvement was strongest in areas of high attenuation (skull base), where the conventional and certainty-based methods tended to over-smooth the data. The task-driven reconstruction method presents a

  2. Fast 4D cone-beam CT from 60 s acquisitions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C. Hansen

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & purpose: Four dimensional Cone beam CT (CBCT has many potential benefits for radiotherapy but suffers from poor image quality, long acquisition times, and/or long reconstruction times. In this work we present a fast iterative reconstruction algorithm for 4D reconstruction of fast acquisition cone beam CT, as well as a new method for temporal regularization and compare to state of the art methods for 4D CBCT. Materials & methods: Regularization parameters for the iterative algorithms were found automatically via computer optimization on 60 s acquisitions using the XCAT phantom. Nineteen lung cancer patients were scanned with 60 s arcs using the onboard image on a Varian trilogy linear accelerator. Images were reconstructed using an accelerated ordered subset algorithm. A frequency based temporal regularization algorithm was developed and compared to the McKinnon-Bates algorithm, 4D total variation and prior images compressed sensing (PICCS. Results: All reconstructions were completed in 60 s or less. The proposed method provided a structural similarity of 0.915, compared with 0.786 for the classic McKinnon-bates method. For the patient study, it provided fewer image artefacts than PICCS, and better spatial resolution than 4D TV. Conclusion: Four dimensional iterative CBCT reconstruction was done in less than 60 s, demonstrating the clinical feasibility. The frequency based method outperformed 4D total variation and PICCS on the simulated data, and for patients allowed for tumor location based on 60 s acquisitions, even for slowly breathing patients. It should thus be suitable for routine clinical use.

  3. A filtering approach to image reconstruction in 3D SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bronnikov, Andrei V.

    2000-01-01

    We present a new approach to three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction using analytical inversion of the exponential divergent beam transform, which can serve as a mathematical model for cone-beam 3D SPECT imaging. We apply a circular cone-beam scan and assume constant attenuation inside a convex area with a known boundary, which is satisfactory in brain imaging. The reconstruction problem is reduced to an image restoration problem characterized by a shift-variant point spread function which is given analytically. The method requires two computation steps: backprojection and filtering. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the filter is derived by means of an original methodology using the 2D Laplace transform. The filter is implemented in the frequency domain and requires 2D Fourier transform of transverse slices. In order to obtain a shift-invariant cone-beam projection-backprojection operator we resort to an approximation, assuming that the collimator has a relatively large focal length. Nevertheless, numerical experiments demonstrate surprisingly good results for detectors with relatively short focal lengths. The use of a wavelet-based filtering algorithm greatly improves the stability to Poisson noise. (author)

  4. Reconstruction-of-difference (RoD) imaging for cone-beam CT neuro-angiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, P.; Stayman, J. W.; Mow, M.; Zbijewski, W.; Sisniega, A.; Aygun, N.; Stevens, R.; Foos, D.; Wang, X.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2018-06-01

    Timely evaluation of neurovasculature via CT angiography (CTA) is critical to the detection of pathology such as ischemic stroke. Cone-beam CTA (CBCT-A) systems provide potential advantages in the timely use at the point-of-care, although challenges of a relatively slow gantry rotation speed introduce tradeoffs among image quality, data consistency and data sparsity. This work describes and evaluates a new reconstruction-of-difference (RoD) approach that is robust to such challenges. A fast digital simulation framework was developed to test the performance of the RoD over standard reference reconstruction methods such as filtered back-projection (FBP) and penalized likelihood (PL) over a broad range of imaging conditions, grouped into three scenarios to test the trade-off between data consistency, data sparsity and peak contrast. Two experiments were also conducted using a CBCT prototype and an anthropomorphic neurovascular phantom to test the simulation findings in real data. Performance was evaluated primarily in terms of normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) in comparison to truth, with reconstruction parameters chosen to optimize performance in each case to ensure fair comparison. The RoD approach reduced NRMSE in reconstructed images by up to 50%–53% compared to FBP and up to 29%–31% compared to PL for each scenario. Scan protocols well suited to the RoD approach were identified that balance tradeoffs among data consistency, sparsity and peak contrast—for example, a CBCT-A scan with 128 projections acquired in 8.5 s over a 180°  +  fan angle half-scan for a time attenuation curve with ~8.5 s time-to-peak and 600 HU peak contrast. With imaging conditions such as the simulation scenarios of fixed data sparsity (i.e. varying levels of data consistency and peak contrast), the experiments confirmed the reduction of NRMSE by 34% and 17% compared to FBP and PL, respectively. The RoD approach demonstrated superior performance in 3D angiography

  5. GPU-based fast cone beam CT reconstruction from undersampled and noisy projection data via total variation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia Xun; Lou Yifei; Li Ruijiang; Song, William Y.; Jiang, Steve B.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) plays an important role in image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). However, the large radiation dose from serial CBCT scans in most IGRT procedures raises a clinical concern, especially for pediatric patients who are essentially excluded from receiving IGRT for this reason. The goal of this work is to develop a fast GPU-based algorithm to reconstruct CBCT from undersampled and noisy projection data so as to lower the imaging dose. Methods: The CBCT is reconstructed by minimizing an energy functional consisting of a data fidelity term and a total variation regularization term. The authors developed a GPU-friendly version of the forward-backward splitting algorithm to solve this model. A multigrid technique is also employed. Results: It is found that 20-40 x-ray projections are sufficient to reconstruct images with satisfactory quality for IGRT. The reconstruction time ranges from 77 to 130 s on an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 (NVIDIA, Santa Clara, CA) GPU card, depending on the number of projections used, which is estimated about 100 times faster than similar iterative reconstruction approaches. Moreover, phantom studies indicate that the algorithm enables the CBCT to be reconstructed under a scanning protocol with as low as 0.1 mA s/projection. Comparing with currently widely used full-fan head and neck scanning protocol of ∼360 projections with 0.4 mA s/projection, it is estimated that an overall 36-72 times dose reduction has been achieved in our fast CBCT reconstruction algorithm. Conclusions: This work indicates that the developed GPU-based CBCT reconstruction algorithm is capable of lowering imaging dose considerably. The high computation efficiency in this algorithm makes the iterative CBCT reconstruction approach applicable in real clinical environments.

  6. GPU-based fast cone beam CT reconstruction from undersampled and noisy projection data via total variation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Xun; Lou, Yifei; Li, Ruijiang; Song, William Y; Jiang, Steve B

    2010-04-01

    Cone-beam CT (CBCT) plays an important role in image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). However, the large radiation dose from serial CBCT scans in most IGRT procedures raises a clinical concern, especially for pediatric patients who are essentially excluded from receiving IGRT for this reason. The goal of this work is to develop a fast GPU-based algorithm to reconstruct CBCT from undersampled and noisy projection data so as to lower the imaging dose. The CBCT is reconstructed by minimizing an energy functional consisting of a data fidelity term and a total variation regularization term. The authors developed a GPU-friendly version of the forward-backward splitting algorithm to solve this model. A multigrid technique is also employed. It is found that 20-40 x-ray projections are sufficient to reconstruct images with satisfactory quality for IGRT. The reconstruction time ranges from 77 to 130 s on an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 (NVIDIA, Santa Clara, CA) GPU card, depending on the number of projections used, which is estimated about 100 times faster than similar iterative reconstruction approaches. Moreover, phantom studies indicate that the algorithm enables the CBCT to be reconstructed under a scanning protocol with as low as 0.1 mA s/projection. Comparing with currently widely used full-fan head and neck scanning protocol of approximately 360 projections with 0.4 mA s/projection, it is estimated that an overall 36-72 times dose reduction has been achieved in our fast CBCT reconstruction algorithm. This work indicates that the developed GPU-based CBCT reconstruction algorithm is capable of lowering imaging dose considerably. The high computation efficiency in this algorithm makes the iterative CBCT reconstruction approach applicable in real clinical environments.

  7. Soft-tissue imaging with C-arm cone-beam CT using statistical reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Adam S; Stayman, J Webster; Otake, Yoshito; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H; Kleinszig, Gerhard; Vogt, Sebastian; Gallia, Gary L; Khanna, A Jay

    2014-01-01

    The potential for statistical image reconstruction methods such as penalized-likelihood (PL) to improve C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) soft-tissue visualization for intraoperative imaging over conventional filtered backprojection (FBP) is assessed in this work by making a fair comparison in relation to soft-tissue performance. A prototype mobile C-arm was used to scan anthropomorphic head and abdomen phantoms as well as a cadaveric torso at doses substantially lower than typical values in diagnostic CT, and the effects of dose reduction via tube current reduction and sparse sampling were also compared. Matched spatial resolution between PL and FBP was determined by the edge spread function of low-contrast (∼40–80 HU) spheres in the phantoms, which were representative of soft-tissue imaging tasks. PL using the non-quadratic Huber penalty was found to substantially reduce noise relative to FBP, especially at lower spatial resolution where PL provides a contrast-to-noise ratio increase up to 1.4–2.2× over FBP at 50% dose reduction across all objects. Comparison of sampling strategies indicates that soft-tissue imaging benefits from fully sampled acquisitions at dose above ∼1.7 mGy and benefits from 50% sparsity at dose below ∼1.0 mGy. Therefore, an appropriate sampling strategy along with the improved low-contrast visualization offered by statistical reconstruction demonstrates the potential for extending intraoperative C-arm CBCT to applications in soft-tissue interventions in neurosurgery as well as thoracic and abdominal surgeries by overcoming conventional tradeoffs in noise, spatial resolution, and dose. (paper)

  8. Motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR): Application to four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Justin C. [Center for Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies and Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Kim, Jin Sung [Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul 135-710 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sung Ho [Department of Medical Physics, Asan Medical Center, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of); Liu, Zhaowei [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Song, Bongyong; Song, William Y. [Center for Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies and Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States)

    2013-12-15

    Purpose: Utilization of respiratory correlated four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4DCBCT) has enabled verification of internal target motion and volume immediately prior to treatment. However, with current standard CBCT scan, 4DCBCT poses challenge for reconstruction due to the fact that multiple phase binning leads to insufficient number of projection data to reconstruct and thus cause streaking artifacts. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel 4DCBCT reconstruction algorithm framework called motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR), that allows reconstruction of high quality and high phase resolution 4DCBCT images with no more than the imaging dose as well as projections used in a standard free breathing 3DCBCT (FB-3DCBCT) scan.Methods: The unknown 4DCBCT volume at each phase was mathematically modeled as a combination of FB-3DCBCT and phase-specific update vector which has an associated motion-map matrix. The motion-map matrix, which is the key innovation of the MCIR algorithm, was defined as the matrix that distinguishes voxels that are moving from stationary ones. This 4DCBCT model was then reconstructed with compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction framework such that the voxels with high motion would be aggressively updated by the phase-wise sorted projections and the voxels with less motion would be minimally updated to preserve the FB-3DCBCT. To evaluate the performance of our proposed MCIR algorithm, we evaluated both numerical phantoms and a lung cancer patient. The results were then compared with the (1) clinical FB-3DCBCT reconstructed using the FDK, (2) 4DCBCT reconstructed using the FDK, and (3) 4DCBCT reconstructed using the well-known prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS).Results: Examination of the MCIR algorithm showed that high phase-resolved 4DCBCT with sets of up to 20 phases using a typical FB-3DCBCT scan could be reconstructed without compromising the image quality. Moreover, in comparison with

  9. Motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR): Application to four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Justin C.; Kim, Jin Sung; Park, Sung Ho; Liu, Zhaowei; Song, Bongyong; Song, William Y.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Utilization of respiratory correlated four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4DCBCT) has enabled verification of internal target motion and volume immediately prior to treatment. However, with current standard CBCT scan, 4DCBCT poses challenge for reconstruction due to the fact that multiple phase binning leads to insufficient number of projection data to reconstruct and thus cause streaking artifacts. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel 4DCBCT reconstruction algorithm framework called motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR), that allows reconstruction of high quality and high phase resolution 4DCBCT images with no more than the imaging dose as well as projections used in a standard free breathing 3DCBCT (FB-3DCBCT) scan.Methods: The unknown 4DCBCT volume at each phase was mathematically modeled as a combination of FB-3DCBCT and phase-specific update vector which has an associated motion-map matrix. The motion-map matrix, which is the key innovation of the MCIR algorithm, was defined as the matrix that distinguishes voxels that are moving from stationary ones. This 4DCBCT model was then reconstructed with compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction framework such that the voxels with high motion would be aggressively updated by the phase-wise sorted projections and the voxels with less motion would be minimally updated to preserve the FB-3DCBCT. To evaluate the performance of our proposed MCIR algorithm, we evaluated both numerical phantoms and a lung cancer patient. The results were then compared with the (1) clinical FB-3DCBCT reconstructed using the FDK, (2) 4DCBCT reconstructed using the FDK, and (3) 4DCBCT reconstructed using the well-known prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS).Results: Examination of the MCIR algorithm showed that high phase-resolved 4DCBCT with sets of up to 20 phases using a typical FB-3DCBCT scan could be reconstructed without compromising the image quality. Moreover, in comparison with

  10. Three-dimensional reconstruction from cone-beam data using an efficient Fourier technique combined with a special interpolation filter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Magnusson Seger, Maria

    1998-01-01

    We here present LINCON FAST which is an exact method for 3D reconstruction from cone-beam projection data. The new method is compared to the LINCON method which is known to be fast and to give good image quality. Both methods have O(N 3 log N) complexity and are based on Grangeat's result which states that the derivative of the Radon transform of the object function can be obtained from cone-beam projections. One disadvantage with LINCON is that the rather computationally intensive chirp z-transform is frequently used. In LINCON FAST , FFT and interpolation in the Fourier domain are used instead, which are less computationally demanding. The computation tools involved in LINCON FAST are solely FFT, 1D eight-point interpolation, multiplicative weighting and tri-linear interpolation. We estimate that LINCON FAST will be 2-2.5 times faster than LINCON. The interpolation filter belongs to a special class of filters developed by us. It turns out that the filter must be very carefully designed to keep a good image quality. Visual inspection of experimental results shows that the image quality is almost the same for LINCON and the new method LINCON FAST . However, it should be remembered that LINCON FAST can never give better image quality than LINCON, since LINCON FAST is designed to approximate LINCON as well as possible. (author)

  11. A multiscale filter for noise reduction of low-dose cone beam projections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Weiguang; Farr, Jonathan B

    2015-08-21

    The Poisson or compound Poisson process governs the randomness of photon fluence in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging systems. The probability density function depends on the mean (noiseless) of the fluence at a certain detector. This dependence indicates the natural requirement of multiscale filters to smooth noise while preserving structures of the imaged object on the low-dose cone beam projection. In this work, we used a Gaussian filter, exp(-x2/2σ(2)(f)) as the multiscale filter to de-noise the low-dose cone beam projections. We analytically obtained the expression of σ(f), which represents the scale of the filter, by minimizing local noise-to-signal ratio. We analytically derived the variance of residual noise from the Poisson or compound Poisson processes after Gaussian filtering. From the derived analytical form of the variance of residual noise, optimal σ(2)(f)) is proved to be proportional to the noiseless fluence and modulated by local structure strength expressed as the linear fitting error of the structure. A strategy was used to obtain the reliable linear fitting error: smoothing the projection along the longitudinal direction to calculate the linear fitting error along the lateral direction and vice versa. The performance of our multiscale filter was examined on low-dose cone beam projections of a Catphan phantom and a head-and-neck patient. After performing the filter on the Catphan phantom projections scanned with pulse time 4 ms, the number of visible line pairs was similar to that scanned with 16 ms, and the contrast-to-noise ratio of the inserts was higher than that scanned with 16 ms about 64% in average. For the simulated head-and-neck patient projections with pulse time 4 ms, the visibility of soft tissue structures in the patient was comparable to that scanned with 20 ms. The image processing took less than 0.5 s per projection with 1024   ×   768 pixels.

  12. Two-sheet surface rebinning algorithm for real time cone beam tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Betcke, Marta M. [University College London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Computer Science; Lionheart, William R.B. [Manchester Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Mathematics

    2011-07-01

    The Rapiscan RTT80 is an example of a fast cone beam CT scanner in which the X-ray sources are fixed on a circle while the detector rows are offset axially on one side of the sources. Reconstruction for this offset truncation presents a new challenge and we propose a method using rebinning to an optimal two-sheet surface. (orig.)

  13. Accelerated fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithms for sparsity-regularized cone-beam CT image reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Qiaofeng; Sawatzky, Alex; Anastasio, Mark A.; Yang, Deshan; Tan, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The development of iterative image reconstruction algorithms for cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) remains an active and important research area. Even with hardware acceleration, the overwhelming majority of the available 3D iterative algorithms that implement nonsmooth regularizers remain computationally burdensome and have not been translated for routine use in time-sensitive applications such as image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). In this work, two variants of the fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (FISTA) are proposed and investigated for accelerated iterative image reconstruction in CBCT. Methods: Algorithm acceleration was achieved by replacing the original gradient-descent step in the FISTAs by a subproblem that is solved by use of the ordered subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (OS-SART). Due to the preconditioning matrix adopted in the OS-SART method, two new weighted proximal problems were introduced and corresponding fast gradient projection-type algorithms were developed for solving them. We also provided efficient numerical implementations of the proposed algorithms that exploit the massive data parallelism of multiple graphics processing units. Results: The improved rates of convergence of the proposed algorithms were quantified in computer-simulation studies and by use of clinical projection data corresponding to an IGRT study. The accelerated FISTAs were shown to possess dramatically improved convergence properties as compared to the standard FISTAs. For example, the number of iterations to achieve a specified reconstruction error could be reduced by an order of magnitude. Volumetric images reconstructed from clinical data were produced in under 4 min. Conclusions: The FISTA achieves a quadratic convergence rate and can therefore potentially reduce the number of iterations required to produce an image of a specified image quality as compared to first-order methods. We have proposed and investigated

  14. Accelerated fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithms for sparsity-regularized cone-beam CT image reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qiaofeng; Yang, Deshan; Tan, Jun; Sawatzky, Alex; Anastasio, Mark A.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The development of iterative image reconstruction algorithms for cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) remains an active and important research area. Even with hardware acceleration, the overwhelming majority of the available 3D iterative algorithms that implement nonsmooth regularizers remain computationally burdensome and have not been translated for routine use in time-sensitive applications such as image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). In this work, two variants of the fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (FISTA) are proposed and investigated for accelerated iterative image reconstruction in CBCT. Methods: Algorithm acceleration was achieved by replacing the original gradient-descent step in the FISTAs by a subproblem that is solved by use of the ordered subset simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (OS-SART). Due to the preconditioning matrix adopted in the OS-SART method, two new weighted proximal problems were introduced and corresponding fast gradient projection-type algorithms were developed for solving them. We also provided efficient numerical implementations of the proposed algorithms that exploit the massive data parallelism of multiple graphics processing units. Results: The improved rates of convergence of the proposed algorithms were quantified in computer-simulation studies and by use of clinical projection data corresponding to an IGRT study. The accelerated FISTAs were shown to possess dramatically improved convergence properties as compared to the standard FISTAs. For example, the number of iterations to achieve a specified reconstruction error could be reduced by an order of magnitude. Volumetric images reconstructed from clinical data were produced in under 4 min. Conclusions: The FISTA achieves a quadratic convergence rate and can therefore potentially reduce the number of iterations required to produce an image of a specified image quality as compared to first-order methods. We have proposed and investigated

  15. A new cone-beam X-ray CT system with a reduced size planar detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Liang; Chen Zhiqiang; Zhang Li; Xing Yuxiang; Kang Kejun

    2006-01-01

    In a traditional cone-beam CT system, the cost of product and computation is very high. The authors propose a transversely truncated cone-beam X-ray CT system with a reduced size detector positioned off-center, in which X-ray beams only cover half of the object. The reduced detector size cuts the cost and the X-ray dose of the CT system. The existing CT reconstruction algorithms are not directly applicable in this new CT system. Hence, the authors develop a BPF-type direct backprojection algorithm. Different from the traditional rebinding methods, our algorithm directly backprojects the pretreated projection data without rebinding. This makes the algorithm compact and computationally more efficient. Finally, some numerical simulations and practical experiments are done to validate the proposed algorithm. (authors)

  16. Quality assessment and enhancement for cone-beam computed tomography in dental imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Sung Chae

    2006-02-01

    Cone-beam CT will become increasingly important in diagnostic imaging modality in the dental practice over the next decade. For dental diagnostic imaging, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system based on large area flat panel imager has been designed and developed for three-dimensional volumetric image. The new CBCT system can provide a 3-D volumetric image during only one circular scanning with relatively short times (20-30 seconds) and requires less radiation dose than that of conventional CT. To reconstruct volumetric image from 2-D projection images, FDK algorithm was employed. The prototype of our CBCT system gives the promising results that can be efficiently diagnosed. This dissertation deals with assessment, enhancement, and optimization for dental cone-beam computed tomography with high performance. A new blur estimation method was proposed, namely model based estimation algorithm. Based on the empirical model of the PSF, an image restoration is applied to radiological images. The accuracy of the PSF estimation under Poisson noise and readout electronic noise is significantly better for the R-L estimator than the Wiener estimator. In the image restoration experiment, the result showed much better improvement in the low and middle range of spatial frequency. Our proposed algorithm is more simple and effective method to determine 2-D PSF of the x-ray imaging system than traditional methods. Image based scatter correction scheme to reduce the scatter effects was proposed. This algorithm corrects scatter on projection images based on convolution, scatter fraction, and angular interpolation. The scatter signal was estimated by convolving a projection image with scatter point spread function (SPSF) followed by multiplication with scatter fraction. Scatter fraction was estimated using collimator which is similar to SPECS method. This method does not require extra x-ray dose and any additional phantom. Maximum estimated error for interpolation was less than 7

  17. Improved compressed sensing-based cone-beam CT reconstruction using adaptive prior image constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ho; Xing, Lei; Davidi, Ran; Li, Ruijiang; Qian, Jianguo; Lee, Rena

    2012-04-01

    Volumetric cone-beam CT (CBCT) images are acquired repeatedly during a course of radiation therapy and a natural question to ask is whether CBCT images obtained earlier in the process can be utilized as prior knowledge to reduce patient imaging dose in subsequent scans. The purpose of this work is to develop an adaptive prior image constrained compressed sensing (APICCS) method to solve this problem. Reconstructed images using full projections are taken on the first day of radiation therapy treatment and are used as prior images. The subsequent scans are acquired using a protocol of sparse projections. In the proposed APICCS algorithm, the prior images are utilized as an initial guess and are incorporated into the objective function in the compressed sensing (CS)-based iterative reconstruction process. Furthermore, the prior information is employed to detect any possible mismatched regions between the prior and current images for improved reconstruction. For this purpose, the prior images and the reconstructed images are classified into three anatomical regions: air, soft tissue and bone. Mismatched regions are identified by local differences of the corresponding groups in the two classified sets of images. A distance transformation is then introduced to convert the information into an adaptive voxel-dependent relaxation map. In constructing the relaxation map, the matched regions (unchanged anatomy) between the prior and current images are assigned with smaller weight values, which are translated into less influence on the CS iterative reconstruction process. On the other hand, the mismatched regions (changed anatomy) are associated with larger values and the regions are updated more by the new projection data, thus avoiding any possible adverse effects of prior images. The APICCS approach was systematically assessed by using patient data acquired under standard and low-dose protocols for qualitative and quantitative comparisons. The APICCS method provides an

  18. Evaluation of condyle defects using different reconstruction protocols of cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bastos, Luana Costa; Campos, Paulo Sergio Flores; Ramos-Perez, Flavia Maria de Moraes; Pontual, Andrea dos Anjos; Almeida, Solange Maria

    2013-01-01

    This study was conducted to investigate how well cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) can detect simulated cavitary defects in condyles, and to test the influence of the reconstruction protocols. Defects were created with spherical diamond burs (numbers 1013, 1016, 3017) in superior and / or posterior surfaces of twenty condyles. The condyles were scanned, and cross-sectional reconstructions were performed with nine different protocols, based on slice thickness (0.2, 0.6, 1.0 mm) and on the filters (original image, Sharpen Mild, S9) used. Two observers evaluated the defects, determining their presence and location. Statistical analysis was carried out using simple Kappa coefficient and McNemar’s test to check inter- and intra-rater reliability. The chi-square test was used to compare the rater accuracy. Analysis of variance (Tukey's test) assessed the effect of the protocols used. Kappa values for inter- and intra-rater reliability demonstrate almost perfect agreement. The proportion of correct answers was significantly higher than that of errors for cavitary defects on both condyle surfaces (p < 0.01). Only in identifying the defects located on the posterior surface was it possible to observe the influence of the 1.0 mm protocol thickness and no filter, which showed a significantly lower value. Based on the results of the current study, the technique used was valid for identifying the existence of cavities in the condyle surface. However, the protocol of a 1.0 mm-thick slice and no filter proved to be the worst method for identifying the defects on the posterior surface. (author)

  19. Evaluation of condyle defects using different reconstruction protocols of cone-beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bastos, Luana Costa; Campos, Paulo Sergio Flores, E-mail: bastosluana@ymail.com [Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, BA (Brazil). Fac. de Odontologia. Dept. de Radiologia Oral e Maxilofacial; Ramos-Perez, Flavia Maria de Moraes [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Fac. de Odontologia. Dept. de Clinica e Odontologia Preventiva; Pontual, Andrea dos Anjos [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Camaragibe, PE (Brazil). Fac. de Odontologia. Dept. de Radiologia Oral; Almeida, Solange Maria [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Odontologia. Dept. de Radiologia Oral

    2013-11-15

    This study was conducted to investigate how well cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) can detect simulated cavitary defects in condyles, and to test the influence of the reconstruction protocols. Defects were created with spherical diamond burs (numbers 1013, 1016, 3017) in superior and / or posterior surfaces of twenty condyles. The condyles were scanned, and cross-sectional reconstructions were performed with nine different protocols, based on slice thickness (0.2, 0.6, 1.0 mm) and on the filters (original image, Sharpen Mild, S9) used. Two observers evaluated the defects, determining their presence and location. Statistical analysis was carried out using simple Kappa coefficient and McNemar’s test to check inter- and intra-rater reliability. The chi-square test was used to compare the rater accuracy. Analysis of variance (Tukey's test) assessed the effect of the protocols used. Kappa values for inter- and intra-rater reliability demonstrate almost perfect agreement. The proportion of correct answers was significantly higher than that of errors for cavitary defects on both condyle surfaces (p < 0.01). Only in identifying the defects located on the posterior surface was it possible to observe the influence of the 1.0 mm protocol thickness and no filter, which showed a significantly lower value. Based on the results of the current study, the technique used was valid for identifying the existence of cavities in the condyle surface. However, the protocol of a 1.0 mm-thick slice and no filter proved to be the worst method for identifying the defects on the posterior surface. (author)

  20. Low-dose dual-energy cone-beam CT using a total-variation minimization algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Min, Jong Hwan

    2011-02-01

    Dual-energy cone-beam CT is an important imaging modality in diagnostic applications, and may also find its use in other application such as therapeutic image guidance. Despite of its clinical values, relatively high radiation dose of dual-energy scan may pose a challenge to its wide use. In this work, we investigated a low-dose, pre-reconstruction type of dual-energy cone-beam CT (CBCT) using a total-variation minimization algorithm for image reconstruction. An empirical dual-energy calibration method was used to prepare material-specific projection data. Raw data at high and low tube voltages are converted into a set of basis functions which can be linearly combined to produce material-specific data using the coefficients obtained through the calibration process. From much fewer views than are conventionally used, material specific images are reconstructed by use of the total-variation minimization algorithm. An experimental study was performed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method using a micro-CT system. We have reconstructed images of the phantoms from only 90 projections acquired at tube voltages of 40 kVp and 90 kVp each. Aluminum-only and acryl-only images were successfully decomposed. We evaluated the quality of the reconstructed images by use of contrast-to-noise ratio and detectability. A low-dose dual-energy CBCT can be realized via the proposed method by greatly reducing the number of projections

  1. Brain perfusion imaging using a Reconstruction-of-Difference (RoD) approach for cone-beam computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mow, M.; Zbijewski, W.; Sisniega, A.; Xu, J.; Dang, H.; Stayman, J. W.; Wang, X.; Foos, D. H.; Koliatsos, V.; Aygun, N.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2017-03-01

    Purpose: To improve the timely detection and treatment of intracranial hemorrhage or ischemic stroke, recent efforts include the development of cone-beam CT (CBCT) systems for perfusion imaging and new approaches to estimate perfusion parameters despite slow rotation speeds compared to multi-detector CT (MDCT) systems. This work describes development of a brain perfusion CBCT method using a reconstruction of difference (RoD) approach to enable perfusion imaging on a newly developed CBCT head scanner prototype. Methods: A new reconstruction approach using RoD with a penalized-likelihood framework was developed to image the temporal dynamics of vascular enhancement. A digital perfusion simulation was developed to give a realistic representation of brain anatomy, artifacts, noise, scanner characteristics, and hemo-dynamic properties. This simulation includes a digital brain phantom, time-attenuation curves and noise parameters, a novel forward projection method for improved computational efficiency, and perfusion parameter calculation. Results: Our results show the feasibility of estimating perfusion parameters from a set of images reconstructed from slow scans, sparse data sets, and arc length scans as short as 60 degrees. The RoD framework significantly reduces noise and time-varying artifacts from inconsistent projections. Proper regularization and the use of overlapping reconstructed arcs can potentially further decrease bias and increase temporal resolution, respectively. Conclusions: A digital brain perfusion simulation with RoD imaging approach has been developed and supports the feasibility of using a CBCT head scanner for perfusion imaging. Future work will include testing with data acquired using a 3D-printed perfusion phantom currently and translation to preclinical and clinical studies.

  2. Accelerating an Ordered-Subset Low-Dose X-Ray Cone Beam Computed Tomography Image Reconstruction with a Power Factor and Total Variation Minimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hsuan-Ming; Hsiao, Ing-Tsung

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, there has been increased interest in low-dose X-ray cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in many fields, including dentistry, guided radiotherapy and small animal imaging. Despite reducing the radiation dose, low-dose CBCT has not gained widespread acceptance in routine clinical practice. In addition to performing more evaluation studies, developing a fast and high-quality reconstruction algorithm is required. In this work, we propose an iterative reconstruction method that accelerates ordered-subsets (OS) reconstruction using a power factor. Furthermore, we combine it with the total-variation (TV) minimization method. Both simulation and phantom studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method can accelerate conventional OS methods, greatly increase the convergence speed in early iterations. Moreover, applying the TV minimization to the power acceleration scheme can further improve the image quality while preserving the fast convergence rate.

  3. SU-E-T-143: Effect of X-Ray and Cone Beam CT Reconstruction Parameters On Estimation of Bone Volume of Mice Used in Aging Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Russ, M; Pang, M; Troen, B; Rudin, S; Ionita, C [University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To investigate the variations in bone volume calculations in mice involved in aging research when changing cone beam micro-CT x-ray and reconstruction parameters. Methods: Mouse spines were placed on an indexed turn table that rotated 0.5° per projection and imaged by a self-built micro CT machine containing a CCD-based high-resolution x-ray detector. After the full 360° rotation data set of object images was obtained, a standard filtered back-projection cone beam reconstruction was performed. Four different kVp's between 40–70 kVp in 10kVp increments were selected. For each kVp two mAs settings were used. Each acquisition was reconstructed using two voxel sizes (12 and 25μm) and two step angles, 0.5° and 1°, respectively. A LabView program was written to determine the total bone volume contained in the mouse's total spine volume (bone plus gaps) as a measure of spine health. First, the user selected the desired 512×512 reconstruction to view the whole spine volume which was then used to select a gray-level threshold that allowed for viewing of the bone structure, then another threshold to include gaps. The program returned bone volume, bone × gap volume, and their ratio, BVF. Results: The calculated bone volume fractions were compared as a function of tube potential. Cases with 25μm slice thickness showed trials with lower kVp's had greater image contrast, which resulted in higher calculated bone volume fractions. Cases with 12μm reconstructed slice thickness were significantly noisier, and showed no clear maximum BVF. Conclusion: Using the projection images and reconstructions acquired from the micro CT, it can be shown that the micro-CT x-ray and reconstruction parameters significantly affect the total bone volume calculations. When comparing mice cohorts treated with different therapies researchers need to be aware of such details and use volumes which were acquired and processed in identical conditions.

  4. Ultrafast and scalable cone-beam CT reconstruction using MapReduce in a cloud computing environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Bowen; Pratx, Guillem; Xing, Lei

    2011-12-01

    Four-dimensional CT (4DCT) and cone beam CT (CBCT) are widely used in radiation therapy for accurate tumor target definition and localization. However, high-resolution and dynamic image reconstruction is computationally demanding because of the large amount of data processed. Efficient use of these imaging techniques in the clinic requires high-performance computing. The purpose of this work is to develop a novel ultrafast, scalable and reliable image reconstruction technique for 4D CBCT∕CT using a parallel computing framework called MapReduce. We show the utility of MapReduce for solving large-scale medical physics problems in a cloud computing environment. In this work, we accelerated the Feldcamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm by porting it to Hadoop, an open-source MapReduce implementation. Gated phases from a 4DCT scans were reconstructed independently. Following the MapReduce formalism, Map functions were used to filter and backproject subsets of projections, and Reduce function to aggregate those partial backprojection into the whole volume. MapReduce automatically parallelized the reconstruction process on a large cluster of computer nodes. As a validation, reconstruction of a digital phantom and an acquired CatPhan 600 phantom was performed on a commercial cloud computing environment using the proposed 4D CBCT∕CT reconstruction algorithm. Speedup of reconstruction time is found to be roughly linear with the number of nodes employed. For instance, greater than 10 times speedup was achieved using 200 nodes for all cases, compared to the same code executed on a single machine. Without modifying the code, faster reconstruction is readily achievable by allocating more nodes in the cloud computing environment. Root mean square error between the images obtained using MapReduce and a single-threaded reference implementation was on the order of 10(-7). Our study also proved that cloud computing with MapReduce is fault tolerant: the reconstruction completed

  5. Four-dimensional cone beam CT with adaptive gantry rotation and adaptive data sampling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Jun; Guerrero, Thomas M.; Munro, Peter; Jeung, Andrew; Chi, P.-C. M.; Balter, Peter; Zhu, X. Ronald; Mohan, Radhe; Pan Tinsu

    2007-01-01

    We have developed a new four-dimensional cone beam CT (4D-CBCT) on a Varian image-guided radiation therapy system, which has radiation therapy treatment and cone beam CT imaging capabilities. We adapted the speed of gantry rotation time of the CBCT to the average breath cycle of the patient to maintain the same level of image quality and adjusted the data sampling frequency to keep a similar level of radiation exposure to the patient. Our design utilized the real-time positioning and monitoring system to record the respiratory signal of the patient during the acquisition of the CBCT data. We used the full-fan bowtie filter during data acquisition, acquired the projection data over 200 deg of gantry rotation, and reconstructed the images with a half-scan cone beam reconstruction. The scan time for a 200-deg gantry rotation per patient ranged from 3.3 to 6.6 min for the average breath cycle of 3-6 s. The radiation dose of the 4D-CBCT was about 1-2 times the radiation dose of the 4D-CT on a multislice CT scanner. We evaluated the 4D-CBCT in scanning, data processing and image quality with phantom studies. We demonstrated the clinical applicability of the 4D-CBCT and compared the 4D-CBCT and the 4D-CT scans in four patient studies. The contrast-to-noise ratio of the 4D-CT was 2.8-3.5 times of the contrast-to-noise ratio of the 4D-CBCT in the four patient studies

  6. SU-F-J-23: Field-Of-View Expansion in Cone-Beam CT Reconstruction by Use of Prior Information

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haga, A; Magome, T; Nakano, M; Nakagawa, K [University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo (Japan); Kotoku, J [Teikyo University, Tokyo (Japan)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) has become an integral part of online patient setup in an image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). In addition, the utility of CBCT for dose calculation has actively been investigated. However, the limited size of field-of-view (FOV) and resulted CBCT image with a lack of peripheral area of patient body prevents the reliability of dose calculation. In this study, we aim to develop an FOV expanded CBCT in IGRT system to allow the dose calculation. Methods: Three lung cancer patients were selected in this study. We collected the cone-beam projection images in the CBCT-based IGRT system (X-ray volume imaging unit, ELEKTA), where FOV size of the provided CBCT with these projections was 410 × 410 mm{sup 2} (normal FOV). Using these projections, CBCT with a size of 728 × 728 mm{sup 2} was reconstructed by a posteriori estimation algorithm including a prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS). The treatment planning CT was used as a prior image. To assess the effectiveness of FOV expansion, a dose calculation was performed on the expanded CBCT image with region-of-interest (ROI) density mapping method, and it was compared with that of treatment planning CT as well as that of CBCT reconstructed by filtered back projection (FBP) algorithm. Results: A posteriori estimation algorithm with PICCS clearly visualized an area outside normal FOV, whereas the FBP algorithm yielded severe streak artifacts outside normal FOV due to under-sampling. The dose calculation result using the expanded CBCT agreed with that using treatment planning CT very well; a maximum dose difference was 1.3% for gross tumor volumes. Conclusion: With a posteriori estimation algorithm, FOV in CBCT can be expanded. Dose comparison results suggested that the use of expanded CBCTs is acceptable for dose calculation in adaptive radiation therapy. This study has been supported by KAKENHI (15K08691).

  7. Simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) for 4D cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Jing; Gu, Xuejun

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Image reconstruction and motion model estimation in four-dimensional cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT) are conventionally handled as two sequential steps. Due to the limited number of projections at each phase, the image quality of 4D-CBCT is degraded by view aliasing artifacts, and the accuracy of subsequent motion modeling is decreased by the inferior 4D-CBCT. The objective of this work is to enhance both the image quality of 4D-CBCT and the accuracy of motion model estimation with a novel strategy enabling simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR).Methods: The proposed SMEIR algorithm consists of two alternating steps: (1) model-based iterative image reconstruction to obtain a motion-compensated primary CBCT (m-pCBCT) and (2) motion model estimation to obtain an optimal set of deformation vector fields (DVFs) between the m-pCBCT and other 4D-CBCT phases. The motion-compensated image reconstruction is based on the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) coupled with total variation minimization. During the forward- and backprojection of SART, measured projections from an entire set of 4D-CBCT are used for reconstruction of the m-pCBCT by utilizing the updated DVF. The DVF is estimated by matching the forward projection of the deformed m-pCBCT and measured projections of other phases of 4D-CBCT. The performance of the SMEIR algorithm is quantitatively evaluated on a 4D NCAT phantom. The quality of reconstructed 4D images and the accuracy of tumor motion trajectory are assessed by comparing with those resulting from conventional sequential 4D-CBCT reconstructions (FDK and total variation minimization) and motion estimation (demons algorithm). The performance of the SMEIR algorithm is further evaluated by reconstructing a lung cancer patient 4D-CBCT.Results: Image quality of 4D-CBCT is greatly improved by the SMEIR algorithm in both phantom and patient studies. When all projections are used to reconstruct a 3D-CBCT by FDK, motion

  8. SU-D-207-04: GPU-Based 4D Cone-Beam CT Reconstruction Using Adaptive Meshing Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Z; Gu, X; Iyengar, P; Mao, W; Wang, J; Guo, X

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Due to the limited number of projections at each phase, the image quality of a four-dimensional cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT) is often degraded, which decreases the accuracy of subsequent motion modeling. One of the promising methods is the simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) approach. The objective of this work is to enhance the computational speed of the SMEIR algorithm using adaptive feature-based tetrahedral meshing and GPU-based parallelization. Methods: The first step is to generate the tetrahedral mesh based on the features of a reference phase 4D-CBCT, so that the deformation can be well captured and accurately diffused from the mesh vertices to voxels of the image volume. After the mesh generation, the updated motion model and other phases of 4D-CBCT can be obtained by matching the 4D-CBCT projection images at each phase with the corresponding forward projections of the deformed reference phase of 4D-CBCT. The entire process of this 4D-CBCT reconstruction method is implemented on GPU, resulting in significantly increasing the computational efficiency due to its tremendous parallel computing ability. Results: A 4D XCAT digital phantom was used to test the proposed mesh-based image reconstruction algorithm. The image Result shows both bone structures and inside of the lung are well-preserved and the tumor position can be well captured. Compared to the previous voxel-based CPU implementation of SMEIR, the proposed method is about 157 times faster for reconstructing a 10 -phase 4D-CBCT with dimension 256×256×150. Conclusion: The GPU-based parallel 4D CBCT reconstruction method uses the feature-based mesh for estimating motion model and demonstrates equivalent image Result with previous voxel-based SMEIR approach, with significantly improved computational speed

  9. GPU-based cone beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noël, Peter B; Walczak, Alan M; Xu, Jinhui; Corso, Jason J; Hoffmann, Kenneth R; Schafer, Sebastian

    2010-06-01

    The use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is growing in the clinical arena due to its ability to provide 3D information during interventions, its high diagnostic quality (sub-millimeter resolution), and its short scanning times (60 s). In many situations, the short scanning time of CBCT is followed by a time-consuming 3D reconstruction. The standard reconstruction algorithm for CBCT data is the filtered backprojection, which for a volume of size 256(3) takes up to 25 min on a standard system. Recent developments in the area of Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) make it possible to have access to high-performance computing solutions at a low cost, allowing their use in many scientific problems. We have implemented an algorithm for 3D reconstruction of CBCT data using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) provided by NVIDIA (NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, California), which was executed on a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280. Our implementation results in improved reconstruction times from minutes, and perhaps hours, to a matter of seconds, while also giving the clinician the ability to view 3D volumetric data at higher resolutions. We evaluated our implementation on ten clinical data sets and one phantom data set to observe if differences occur between CPU and GPU-based reconstructions. By using our approach, the computation time for 256(3) is reduced from 25 min on the CPU to 3.2 s on the GPU. The GPU reconstruction time for 512(3) volumes is 8.5 s. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Improving thoracic four-dimensional cone-beam CT reconstruction with anatomical-adaptive image regularization (AAIR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shieh, Chun-Chien; Kipritidis, John; O'Brien, Ricky T; Cooper, Benjamin J; Keall, Paul J; Kuncic, Zdenka

    2015-01-01

    Total-variation (TV) minimization reconstructions can significantly reduce noise and streaks in thoracic four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D CBCT) images compared to the Feldkamp–Davis–Kress (FDK) algorithm currently used in practice. TV minimization reconstructions are, however, prone to over-smoothing anatomical details and are also computationally inefficient. The aim of this study is to demonstrate a proof of concept that these disadvantages can be overcome by incorporating the general knowledge of the thoracic anatomy via anatomy segmentation into the reconstruction. The proposed method, referred as the anatomical-adaptive image regularization (AAIR) method, utilizes the adaptive-steepest-descent projection-onto-convex-sets (ASD-POCS) framework, but introduces an additional anatomy segmentation step in every iteration. The anatomy segmentation information is implemented in the reconstruction using a heuristic approach to adaptively suppress over-smoothing at anatomical structures of interest. The performance of AAIR depends on parameters describing the weighting of the anatomy segmentation prior and segmentation threshold values. A sensitivity study revealed that the reconstruction outcome is not sensitive to these parameters as long as they are chosen within a suitable range. AAIR was validated using a digital phantom and a patient scan and was compared to FDK, ASD-POCS and the prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) method. For the phantom case, AAIR reconstruction was quantitatively shown to be the most accurate as indicated by the mean absolute difference and the structural similarity index. For the patient case, AAIR resulted in the highest signal-to-noise ratio (i.e. the lowest level of noise and streaking) and the highest contrast-to-noise ratios for the tumor and the bony anatomy (i.e. the best visibility of anatomical details). Overall, AAIR was much less prone to over-smoothing anatomical details compared to ASD-POCS and

  11. Accuracy of linear measurement using cone-beam computed tomography at different reconstruction angles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikneshan, Nikneshan; Aval, Shadi Hamidi; Bakhshalian, Neema; Shahab, Shahriyar; Mohammadpour, Mahdis; SarikhanI, Soodeh

    2014-01-01

    This study was performed to evaluate the effect of changing the orientation of a reconstructed image on the accuracy of linear measurements using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Forty-two titanium pins were inserted in seven dry sheep mandibles. The length of these pins was measured using a digital caliper with readability of 0.01 mm. Mandibles were radiographed using a CBCT device. When the CBCT images were reconstructed, the orientation of slices was adjusted to parallel (i.e., 0 degrees), +10 degrees, +12 degrees, -12 degrees, and -10 degrees with respect to the occlusal plane. The length of the pins was measured by three radiologists, and the accuracy of these measurements was reported using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA); p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The differences in radiographic measurements ranged from -0.64 to +0.06 at the orientation of -12 degrees, -0.66 to -0.11 at -10 degrees, -0.51 to +0.19 at 0 degrees, -0.64 to +0.08 at +10 degrees, and -0.64 to +0.1 at +12 degrees. The mean absolute values of the errors were greater at negative orientations than at the parallel position or at positive orientations. The observers underestimated most of the variables by 0.5-0.1 mm (83.6%). In the second set of observations, the reproducibility at all orientations was greater than 0.9. Changing the slice orientation in the range of -12 degrees to +12 degrees reduced the accuracy of linear measurements obtained using CBCT. However, the error value was smaller than 0.5 mm and was, therefore, clinically acceptable.

  12. Cone-beam CT angiography of the thorax. An experimental study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Katsuya; Shimada, Kazuhiro; Tadokoro, Hiroyuki

    1999-01-01

    The authors recently developed a cone-beam computed tomography (CT) scanner and this report presents their evaluation of its potential for thoracic vascular imaging. An X-ray tube and a video-fluoroscopic system were rotated around the objects and 360 projected images were collected in a 12-s scan. Each image was digitized and a 3 dimensional (D) image (256 x 256 x 256 voxel volume with a voxel dimension of 0.9 x 0.9 x 0.9 mm) was reconstructed. Two different 3D-CT angiographies were investigated in 2 pigs: right atriography and thoracic aortography. Each pig was anesthetized, mechanically ventilated and positioned within the scanner. Contrast agent was infused through the right atrium or the aortic root at a rate of 3 ml/s during the scan. The right atriography scan clearly delineated the anatomy of the pulmonary artery, heart chambers and thoracic aorta. The thoracic aortography scan also clearly delineated the aortic anatomy including the internal thoracic and intercostal arteries. In conclusion, cone-beam CT angiography is potentially useful for thoracic vascular imaging. (author)

  13. Excitation-resolved cone-beam x-ray luminescence tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xin; Liao, Qimei; Wang, Hongkai; Yan, Zhuangzhi

    2015-07-01

    Cone-beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography (CB-XLCT), as an emerging imaging technique, plays an important role in in vivo small animal imaging studies. However, CB-XLCT suffers from low-spatial resolution due to the ill-posed nature of reconstruction. We improve the imaging performance of CB-XLCT by using a multiband excitation-resolved imaging scheme combined with principal component analysis. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, the physical phantom experiment is performed with a custom-made XLCT/XCT imaging system. The experimental results validate the feasibility of the method, where two adjacent nanophosphors (with an edge-to-edge distance of 2.4 mm) can be located.

  14. A hybrid reconstruction algorithm for fast and accurate 4D cone-beam CT imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hao; Zhen, Xin; Folkerts, Michael; Li, Yongbao; Pan, Tinsu; Cervino, Laura; Jiang, Steve B; Jia, Xun

    2014-07-01

    4D cone beam CT (4D-CBCT) has been utilized in radiation therapy to provide 4D image guidance in lung and upper abdomen area. However, clinical application of 4D-CBCT is currently limited due to the long scan time and low image quality. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new 4D-CBCT reconstruction method that restores volumetric images based on the 1-min scan data acquired with a standard 3D-CBCT protocol. The model optimizes a deformation vector field that deforms a patient-specific planning CT (p-CT), so that the calculated 4D-CBCT projections match measurements. A forward-backward splitting (FBS) method is invented to solve the optimization problem. It splits the original problem into two well-studied subproblems, i.e., image reconstruction and deformable image registration. By iteratively solving the two subproblems, FBS gradually yields correct deformation information, while maintaining high image quality. The whole workflow is implemented on a graphic-processing-unit to improve efficiency. Comprehensive evaluations have been conducted on a moving phantom and three real patient cases regarding the accuracy and quality of the reconstructed images, as well as the algorithm robustness and efficiency. The proposed algorithm reconstructs 4D-CBCT images from highly under-sampled projection data acquired with 1-min scans. Regarding the anatomical structure location accuracy, 0.204 mm average differences and 0.484 mm maximum difference are found for the phantom case, and the maximum differences of 0.3-0.5 mm for patients 1-3 are observed. As for the image quality, intensity errors below 5 and 20 HU compared to the planning CT are achieved for the phantom and the patient cases, respectively. Signal-noise-ratio values are improved by 12.74 and 5.12 times compared to results from FDK algorithm using the 1-min data and 4-min data, respectively. The computation time of the algorithm on a NVIDIA GTX590 card is 1-1.5 min per phase. High-quality 4D-CBCT imaging based

  15. A hybrid reconstruction algorithm for fast and accurate 4D cone-beam CT imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, Hao; Folkerts, Michael; Jiang, Steve B., E-mail: xun.jia@utsouthwestern.edu, E-mail: steve.jiang@UTSouthwestern.edu; Jia, Xun, E-mail: xun.jia@utsouthwestern.edu, E-mail: steve.jiang@UTSouthwestern.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390 (United States); Zhen, Xin [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510515 (China); Li, Yongbao [Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390 and Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Pan, Tinsu [Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Cervino, Laura [Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States)

    2014-07-15

    Purpose: 4D cone beam CT (4D-CBCT) has been utilized in radiation therapy to provide 4D image guidance in lung and upper abdomen area. However, clinical application of 4D-CBCT is currently limited due to the long scan time and low image quality. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new 4D-CBCT reconstruction method that restores volumetric images based on the 1-min scan data acquired with a standard 3D-CBCT protocol. Methods: The model optimizes a deformation vector field that deforms a patient-specific planning CT (p-CT), so that the calculated 4D-CBCT projections match measurements. A forward-backward splitting (FBS) method is invented to solve the optimization problem. It splits the original problem into two well-studied subproblems, i.e., image reconstruction and deformable image registration. By iteratively solving the two subproblems, FBS gradually yields correct deformation information, while maintaining high image quality. The whole workflow is implemented on a graphic-processing-unit to improve efficiency. Comprehensive evaluations have been conducted on a moving phantom and three real patient cases regarding the accuracy and quality of the reconstructed images, as well as the algorithm robustness and efficiency. Results: The proposed algorithm reconstructs 4D-CBCT images from highly under-sampled projection data acquired with 1-min scans. Regarding the anatomical structure location accuracy, 0.204 mm average differences and 0.484 mm maximum difference are found for the phantom case, and the maximum differences of 0.3–0.5 mm for patients 1–3 are observed. As for the image quality, intensity errors below 5 and 20 HU compared to the planning CT are achieved for the phantom and the patient cases, respectively. Signal-noise-ratio values are improved by 12.74 and 5.12 times compared to results from FDK algorithm using the 1-min data and 4-min data, respectively. The computation time of the algorithm on a NVIDIA GTX590 card is 1–1.5 min per phase

  16. SU-E-I-10: Investigation On Detectability of a Small Target for Different Slice Direction of a Volumetric Cone Beam CT Image

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, C; Han, M; Baek, J [Yonsei University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate the detectability of a small target for different slice direction of a volumetric cone beam CT image and its impact on dose reduction. Methods: Analytic projection data of a sphere object (1 mm diameter, 0.2/cm attenuation coefficient) were generated and reconstructed by FDK algorithm. In this work, we compared the detectability of the small target from four different backprojection Methods: hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON 1), hanning weighted ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON2), ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON 3), and ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON4), respectively. For noise simulation, 200 photons per measurement were used, and the noise only data were reconstructed using FDK algorithm. For each reconstructed volume, axial and coronal slice were extracted and detection-SNR was calculated using channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) with dense difference-of-Gaussian (D-DOG) channels. Results: Detection-SNR of coronal images varies for different backprojection methods, while axial images have a similar detection-SNR. Detection-SNR{sup 2} ratios of coronal and axial images in RECON1 and RECON2 are 1.33 and 1.15, implying that the coronal image has a better detectability than axial image. In other words, using coronal slices for the small target detection can reduce the patient dose about 33% and 15% compared to using axial slices in RECON 1 and RECON 2. Conclusion: In this work, we investigated slice direction dependent detectability of a volumetric cone beam CT image. RECON 1 and RECON 2 produced the highest detection-SNR, with better detectability in coronal slices. These results indicate that it is more beneficial to use coronal slice to improve detectability of a small target in a volumetric cone beam CT image. This research was supported by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the IT Consilience Creative Program (NIPA-2014-H0201

  17. SU-E-I-10: Investigation On Detectability of a Small Target for Different Slice Direction of a Volumetric Cone Beam CT Image

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C; Han, M; Baek, J

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the detectability of a small target for different slice direction of a volumetric cone beam CT image and its impact on dose reduction. Methods: Analytic projection data of a sphere object (1 mm diameter, 0.2/cm attenuation coefficient) were generated and reconstructed by FDK algorithm. In this work, we compared the detectability of the small target from four different backprojection Methods: hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON 1), hanning weighted ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON2), ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON 3), and ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON4), respectively. For noise simulation, 200 photons per measurement were used, and the noise only data were reconstructed using FDK algorithm. For each reconstructed volume, axial and coronal slice were extracted and detection-SNR was calculated using channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) with dense difference-of-Gaussian (D-DOG) channels. Results: Detection-SNR of coronal images varies for different backprojection methods, while axial images have a similar detection-SNR. Detection-SNR 2 ratios of coronal and axial images in RECON1 and RECON2 are 1.33 and 1.15, implying that the coronal image has a better detectability than axial image. In other words, using coronal slices for the small target detection can reduce the patient dose about 33% and 15% compared to using axial slices in RECON 1 and RECON 2. Conclusion: In this work, we investigated slice direction dependent detectability of a volumetric cone beam CT image. RECON 1 and RECON 2 produced the highest detection-SNR, with better detectability in coronal slices. These results indicate that it is more beneficial to use coronal slice to improve detectability of a small target in a volumetric cone beam CT image. This research was supported by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the IT Consilience Creative Program (NIPA-2014-H0201

  18. Priori mask guided image reconstruction (p-MGIR) for ultra-low dose cone-beam computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Justin C.; Zhang, Hao; Chen, Yunmei; Fan, Qiyong; Kahler, Darren L.; Liu, Chihray; Lu, Bo

    2015-11-01

    Recently, the compressed sensing (CS) based iterative reconstruction method has received attention because of its ability to reconstruct cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images with good quality using sparsely sampled or noisy projections, thus enabling dose reduction. However, some challenges remain. In particular, there is always a tradeoff between image resolution and noise/streak artifact reduction based on the amount of regularization weighting that is applied uniformly across the CBCT volume. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel low-dose CBCT reconstruction algorithm framework called priori mask guided image reconstruction (p-MGIR) that allows reconstruction of high-quality low-dose CBCT images while preserving the image resolution. In p-MGIR, the unknown CBCT volume was mathematically modeled as a combination of two regions: (1) where anatomical structures are complex, and (2) where intensities are relatively uniform. The priori mask, which is the key concept of the p-MGIR algorithm, was defined as the matrix that distinguishes between the two separate CBCT regions where the resolution needs to be preserved and where streak or noise needs to be suppressed. We then alternately updated each part of image by solving two sub-minimization problems iteratively, where one minimization was focused on preserving the edge information of the first part while the other concentrated on the removal of noise/artifacts from the latter part. To evaluate the performance of the p-MGIR algorithm, a numerical head-and-neck phantom, a Catphan 600 physical phantom, and a clinical head-and-neck cancer case were used for analysis. The results were compared with the standard Feldkamp-Davis-Kress as well as conventional CS-based algorithms. Examination of the p-MGIR algorithm showed that high-quality low-dose CBCT images can be reconstructed without compromising the image resolution. For both phantom and the patient cases, the p-MGIR is able to achieve a clinically

  19. Accuracy assessment of three-dimensional surface reconstructions of teeth from cone beam computed tomography scans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Al-Rawi, B.; Hassan, B.; Vandenberge, B.; Jacobs, R.

    2010-01-01

    The use of three-dimensional (3D) models of the dentition obtained from cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is becoming increasingly more popular in dentistry. A recent trend is to replace the traditional dental casts with digital CBCT models for diagnosis, treatment planning and simulation. The

  20. High-quality 3D correction of ring and radiant artifacts in flat panel detector-based cone beam volume CT imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu Anas, Emran Mohammad; Kim, Jae Gon; Lee, Soo Yeol; Kamrul Hasan, Md

    2011-10-01

    The use of an x-ray flat panel detector is increasingly becoming popular in 3D cone beam volume CT machines. Due to the deficient semiconductor array manufacturing process, the cone beam projection data are often corrupted by different types of abnormalities, which cause severe ring and radiant artifacts in a cone beam reconstruction image, and as a result, the diagnostic image quality is degraded. In this paper, a novel technique is presented for the correction of error in the 2D cone beam projections due to abnormalities often observed in 2D x-ray flat panel detectors. Template images are derived from the responses of the detector pixels using their statistical properties and then an effective non-causal derivative-based detection algorithm in 2D space is presented for the detection of defective and mis-calibrated detector elements separately. An image inpainting-based 3D correction scheme is proposed for the estimation of responses of defective detector elements, and the responses of the mis-calibrated detector elements are corrected using the normalization technique. For real-time implementation, a simplification of the proposed off-line method is also suggested. Finally, the proposed algorithms are tested using different real cone beam volume CT images and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods can effectively remove ring and radiant artifacts from cone beam volume CT images compared to other reported techniques in the literature.

  1. High-quality 3D correction of ring and radiant artifacts in flat panel detector-based cone beam volume CT imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anas, Emran Mohammad Abu; Hasan, Md Kamrul; Kim, Jae Gon; Lee, Soo Yeol

    2011-01-01

    The use of an x-ray flat panel detector is increasingly becoming popular in 3D cone beam volume CT machines. Due to the deficient semiconductor array manufacturing process, the cone beam projection data are often corrupted by different types of abnormalities, which cause severe ring and radiant artifacts in a cone beam reconstruction image, and as a result, the diagnostic image quality is degraded. In this paper, a novel technique is presented for the correction of error in the 2D cone beam projections due to abnormalities often observed in 2D x-ray flat panel detectors. Template images are derived from the responses of the detector pixels using their statistical properties and then an effective non-causal derivative-based detection algorithm in 2D space is presented for the detection of defective and mis-calibrated detector elements separately. An image inpainting-based 3D correction scheme is proposed for the estimation of responses of defective detector elements, and the responses of the mis-calibrated detector elements are corrected using the normalization technique. For real-time implementation, a simplification of the proposed off-line method is also suggested. Finally, the proposed algorithms are tested using different real cone beam volume CT images and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods can effectively remove ring and radiant artifacts from cone beam volume CT images compared to other reported techniques in the literature.

  2. Regularization design for high-quality cone-beam CT of intracranial hemorrhage using statistical reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dang, H.; Stayman, J. W.; Xu, J.; Sisniega, A.; Zbijewski, W.; Wang, X.; Foos, D. H.; Aygun, N.; Koliatsos, V. E.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2016-03-01

    Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with pathologies such as hemorrhagic stroke and traumatic brain injury. Multi-detector CT is the current front-line imaging modality for detecting ICH (fresh blood contrast 40-80 HU, down to 1 mm). Flat-panel detector (FPD) cone-beam CT (CBCT) offers a potential alternative with a smaller scanner footprint, greater portability, and lower cost potentially well suited to deployment at the point of care outside standard diagnostic radiology and emergency room settings. Previous studies have suggested reliable detection of ICH down to 3 mm in CBCT using high-fidelity artifact correction and penalized weighted least-squared (PWLS) image reconstruction with a post-artifact-correction noise model. However, ICH reconstructed by traditional image regularization exhibits nonuniform spatial resolution and noise due to interaction between the statistical weights and regularization, which potentially degrades the detectability of ICH. In this work, we propose three regularization methods designed to overcome these challenges. The first two compute spatially varying certainty for uniform spatial resolution and noise, respectively. The third computes spatially varying regularization strength to achieve uniform "detectability," combining both spatial resolution and noise in a manner analogous to a delta-function detection task. Experiments were conducted on a CBCT test-bench, and image quality was evaluated for simulated ICH in different regions of an anthropomorphic head. The first two methods improved the uniformity in spatial resolution and noise compared to traditional regularization. The third exhibited the highest uniformity in detectability among all methods and best overall image quality. The proposed regularization provides a valuable means to achieve uniform image quality in CBCT of ICH and is being incorporated in a CBCT prototype for ICH imaging.

  3. Reconstructing cone-beam CT with spatially varying qualities for adaptive radiotherapy: a proof-of-principle study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Wenting; Yan, Hao; Gu, Xuejun; Tian, Zhen; Luo, Ouyang; Yang, Liu; Zhou, Linghong; Cervino, Laura; Wang, Jing; Jiang, Steve; Jia, Xun

    2014-10-21

    With the aim of maximally reducing imaging dose while meeting requirements for adaptive radiation therapy (ART), we propose in this paper a new cone beam CT (CBCT) acquisition and reconstruction method that delivers images with a low noise level inside a region of interest (ROI) and a relatively high noise level outside the ROI. The acquired projection images include two groups: densely sampled projections at a low exposure with a large field of view (FOV) and sparsely sampled projections at a high exposure with a small FOV corresponding to the ROI. A new algorithm combining the conventional filtered back-projection algorithm and the tight-frame iterative reconstruction algorithm is also designed to reconstruct the CBCT based on these projection data. We have validated our method on a simulated head-and-neck (HN) patient case, a semi-real experiment conducted on a HN cancer patient under a full-fan scan mode, as well as a Catphan phantom under a half-fan scan mode. Relative root-mean-square errors (RRMSEs) of less than 3% for the entire image and ~1% within the ROI compared to the ground truth have been observed. These numbers demonstrate the ability of our proposed method to reconstruct high-quality images inside the ROI. As for the part outside ROI, although the images are relatively noisy, it can still provide sufficient information for radiation dose calculations in ART. Dose distributions calculated on our CBCT image and on a standard CBCT image are in agreement, with a mean relative difference of 0.082% inside the ROI and 0.038% outside the ROI. Compared with the standard clinical CBCT scheme, an imaging dose reduction of approximately 3-6 times inside the ROI was achieved, as well as an 8 times outside the ROI. Regarding computational efficiency, it takes 1-3 min to reconstruct a CBCT image depending on the number of projections used. These results indicate that the proposed method has the potential for application in ART.

  4. Comparison of the accuracy of 3-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography and micro-computed tomography reconstructions by using different voxel sizes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maret, Delphine; Peters, Ove A; Galibourg, Antoine; Dumoncel, Jean; Esclassan, Rémi; Kahn, Jean-Luc; Sixou, Michel; Telmon, Norbert

    2014-09-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data are, in principle, metrically exact. However, clinicians need to consider the precision of measurements of dental morphology as well as other hard tissue structures. CBCT spatial resolution, and thus image reconstruction quality, is restricted by the acquisition voxel size. The aim of this study was to assess geometric discrepancies among 3-dimensional CBCT reconstructions relative to the micro-CT reference. A total of 37 permanent teeth from 9 mandibles were scanned with CBCT 9500 and 9000 3D and micro-CT. After semiautomatic segmentation, reconstructions were obtained from CBCT acquisitions (voxel sizes 76, 200, and 300 μm) and from micro-CT (voxel size 41 μm). All reconstructions were positioned in the same plane by image registration. The topography of the geometric discrepancies was displayed by using a color map allowing the maximum differences to be located. The maximum differences were mainly found at the cervical margins and on the cusp tips or incisal edges. Geometric reconstruction discrepancies were significant at 300-μm resolution (P = .01, Wilcoxon test). To study hard tissue morphology, CBCT acquisitions require voxel sizes smaller than 300 μm. This experimental study will have to be complemented by studies in vivo that consider the conditions of clinical practice. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. A Clinical Evaluation Of Cone Beam Computed Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    A CLINICAL EVALUATION OF CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY by Bryan James Behm, D.D.S. Lieutenant, Dental Corps United States Navy A thesis... COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY " is appropriately acknowledged and, beyond brief excerpts, is with the permission of the copyright owner. ~mes Behm Endodontic...printed without the expressed written permission of the author. IV ABSTRACT A CLINICAL EVALUATION OF CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY BRYAN JAMES

  6. An optimization-based method for geometrical calibration in cone-beam CT without dedicated phantoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panetta, D; Belcari, N; Guerra, A Del; Moehrs, S

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we present a new method for the determination of geometrical misalignments in cone-beam CT scanners, from the analysis of the projection data of a generic object. No a priori knowledge of the object shape and positioning is required. We show that a cost function, which depends on the misalignment parameters, can be defined using the projection data and that such a cost function has a local minimum in correspondence to the actual parameters of the system. Hence, the calibration of the scanner can be carried out by minimizing the cost function using standard optimization techniques. The method is developed for a particular class of 3D object functions, for which the redundancy of the fan beam sinogram in the transaxial midplane can be extended to cone-beam projection data, even at wide cone angles. The method has an approximated validity for objects which do not belong to that class; in that case, a suitable subset of the projection data can be selected in order to compute the cost function. We show by numerical simulations that our method is capable to determine with high accuracy the most critical misalignment parameters of the scanner, i.e., the transversal shift and the skew of the detector. Additionally, the detector slant can be determined. Other parameters such as the detector tilt, the longitudinal shift and the error in the source-detector distance cannot be determined with our method, as the proposed cost function has a very weak dependence on them. However, due to the negligible influence of these latter parameters in the reconstructed image quality, they can be kept fixed at estimated values in both calibration and reconstruction processes without compromising the final result. A trade-off between computational cost and calibration accuracy must be considered when choosing the data subset used for the computation of the cost function. Results on real data of a mouse femur as obtained with a small animal micro-CT are shown as well, proving

  7. Statistical reconstruction for cone-beam CT with a post-artifact-correction noise model: application to high-quality head imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dang, H; Stayman, J W; Sisniega, A; Xu, J; Zbijewski, W; Siewerdsen, J H; Wang, X; Foos, D H; Aygun, N; Koliatsos, V E

    2015-01-01

    Non-contrast CT reliably detects fresh blood in the brain and is the current front-line imaging modality for intracranial hemorrhage such as that occurring in acute traumatic brain injury (contrast ∼40–80 HU, size  >  1 mm). We are developing flat-panel detector (FPD) cone-beam CT (CBCT) to facilitate such diagnosis in a low-cost, mobile platform suitable for point-of-care deployment. Such a system may offer benefits in the ICU, urgent care/concussion clinic, ambulance, and sports and military theatres. However, current FPD-CBCT systems face significant challenges that confound low-contrast, soft-tissue imaging. Artifact correction can overcome major sources of bias in FPD-CBCT but imparts noise amplification in filtered backprojection (FBP). Model-based reconstruction improves soft-tissue image quality compared to FBP by leveraging a high-fidelity forward model and image regularization. In this work, we develop a novel penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) image reconstruction method with a noise model that includes accurate modeling of the noise characteristics associated with the two dominant artifact corrections (scatter and beam-hardening) in CBCT and utilizes modified weights to compensate for noise amplification imparted by each correction. Experiments included real data acquired on a FPD-CBCT test-bench and an anthropomorphic head phantom emulating intra-parenchymal hemorrhage. The proposed PWLS method demonstrated superior noise-resolution tradeoffs in comparison to FBP and PWLS with conventional weights (viz. at matched 0.50 mm spatial resolution, CNR = 11.9 compared to CNR = 5.6 and CNR = 9.9, respectively) and substantially reduced image noise especially in challenging regions such as skull base. The results support the hypothesis that with high-fidelity artifact correction and statistical reconstruction using an accurate post-artifact-correction noise model, FPD-CBCT can achieve image quality allowing reliable detection of

  8. Evaluation of a method for correction of scatter radiation in thorax cone beam CT; Evaluation d'une methode de correction du rayonnement diffuse en tomographie du thorax avec faisceau conique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rinkel, J.; Dinten, J.M. [CEA Grenoble (DTBS/STD), Lab. d' Electronique et de Technologie de l' Informatique, LETI, 38 (France); Esteve, F. [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 38 - Grenoble (France)

    2004-07-01

    Purpose: Cone beam CT (CBCT) enables three-dimensional imaging with isotropic resolution. X-ray scatter estimation is a big challenge for quantitative CBCT imaging of thorax: scatter level is significantly higher on cone beam systems compared to collimated fan beam systems. The effects of this scattered radiation are cupping artefacts, streaks, and quantification inaccuracies. The beam stops conventional scatter estimation approach can be used for CBCT but leads to a significant increase in terms of dose and acquisition time. At CEA-LETI has been developed an original scatter management process without supplementary acquisition. Methods and Materials: This Analytical Plus Indexing-based method (API) of scatter correction in CBCT is based on scatter calibration through offline acquisitions with beam stops on lucite plates, combined to an analytical transformation issued from physical equations. This approach has been applied with success in bone densitometry and mammography. To evaluate this method in CBCT, acquisitions from a thorax phantom with and without beam stops have been performed. To compare different scatter correction approaches, Feldkamp algorithm has been applied on rough data corrected from scatter by API and by beam stops approaches. Results: The API method provides results in good agreement with the beam stops array approach, suppressing cupping artefact. Otherwise influence of the scatter correction method on the noise in the reconstructed images has been evaluated. Conclusion: The results indicate that the API method is effective for quantitative CBCT imaging of thorax. Compared to a beam stops array method it needs a lower x-ray dose and shortens acquisition time. (authors)

  9. Applications of cone beam computed tomography for a prosthodontist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, George Puthenpurayil; Joy, Tatu Elenjickal; Mathew, Justin; Kumar, Vinod R B

    2016-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a medical imaging technique of X-ray computed tomography where the X-rays are divergent, forming a cone. CBCT systems have been designed for imaging hard tissues of the maxillofacial region. The increasing availability of this technology provides the dental clinician with an imaging modality capable of providing a three-dimensional representation of the maxillofacial skeleton with minimal distortion. This article is intended to elaborate and enunciate on the various applications and benefits of CBCT, in the realm of maxillofacial prosthodontics, over and beyond its obvious benefits in the rehabilitation of patients with implants. With the onus of meticulous reconstruction of near ideal occlusion resting on the prosthodontist, CBCT provides a unique imaging option, which can be a boon in various aspects of prosthodontic practice - from imaging of the temporomandibular joint for accurate movement simulation, to template assisted maxillofacial reconstruction or even over denture therapy. CBCT could play a crucial role in lessening the burden of a hectic prosthodontic routine for the clinician and critically contribute to accurate and effective treatment for the patient. Apart from the authors' clinical experiences shared here, a web-based search for relevant articles in this specific area of interest was also conducted. The selected articles were critically reviewed and the data acquired were systematically compiled.

  10. Clinical utility of dental cone-beam computed tomography: current perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaju PP

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Prashant P Jaju,1 Sushma P Jaju21Oral Medicine and Radiology, 2Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences and Research Center, Bhopal, IndiaAbstract: Panoramic radiography and computed tomography were the pillars of maxillofacial diagnosis. With the advent of cone-beam computed tomography, dental practice has seen a paradigm shift. This review article highlights the potential applications of cone-beam computed tomography in the fields of dental implantology and forensic dentistry, and its limitations in maxillofacial diagnosis.Keywords: dental implants, cone-beam computed tomography, panoramic radiography, computed tomography

  11. Cone-beam volume CT breast imaging: Feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Biao; Ning Ruola

    2002-01-01

    X-ray projection mammography, using a film/screen combination, or digital techniques, has proven to be the most effective imaging modality currently available for early detection of breast cancer. However, the inherent superimposition of structures makes a small carcinoma (a few millimeters in size) difficult to detect when it is occult or in dense breasts, leading to a high false-positive biopsy rate. Cone-beam x-ray-projection-based volume imaging using flat panel detectors (FPDs) may allow obtaining three-dimensional breast images, resulting in more accurate diagnosis of structures and patterns of lesions while eliminating the hard compression of breasts. This article presents a novel cone-beam volume computed tomographic breast imaging (CBVCTBI) technique based on the above techniques. Through a variety of computer simulations, the key issues of the system and imaging techniques were addressed, including the x-ray imaging geometry and corresponding reconstruction algorithms, x-ray characteristics of breast tissue and lesions, x-ray setting techniques, the absorbed dose estimation, and the quantitative effect of x-ray scattering on image quality. The preliminary simulation results support the proposed CVBCTBI modality for breast imaging in respect to its feasibility and practicability. The absorbed dose level is comparable to that of current mammography and will not be a prominent problem for this imaging technique. Compared to conventional mammography, the proposed imaging technique with isotropic spatial resolution will potentially provide significantly better low-contrast detectability of breast tumors and more accurate location of breast lesions

  12. A characteristic of angiographic cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takase, Tadashi; Take, Toshio; Nakazawa, Yasuo; Kinouchi, Katsunori

    2009-01-01

    Angiographic cone-beam CT, called DynaCT by SIEMENS, is a 3D imaging tool reconstructed from projection data by a rotational C-arm with a flat panel detector. It can visualize low-contrast objects such as soft tissue or small vessels as well as high-contrast structures such as enhanced vessels or bone. We need to understand its image characteristics and dose distribution during 200 degree rotation around a patient. In this research, we evaluated fundamental characteristics and dose effectiveness for optimized clinical images. DynaCT, including soft tissue information and isochronal voxel data along the z-axis, could provide enough CT-like image quality for interventional radiology (IVR) use. In addition, evaluation of accumulated dose distribution helped us to predict and avoid the occurrence of radiodermatitis. Thus, DynaCT is useful as a support and navigation tool for IVR. (author)

  13. Cone-beam CT image contrast and attenuation-map linearity improvement (CALI) for brain stereotactic radiosurgery procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashemi, Sayed Masoud; Lee, Young; Eriksson, Markus; Nordström, Hâkan; Mainprize, James; Grouza, Vladimir; Huynh, Christopher; Sahgal, Arjun; Song, William Y.; Ruschin, Mark

    2017-03-01

    A Contrast and Attenuation-map (CT-number) Linearity Improvement (CALI) framework is proposed for cone-beam CT (CBCT) images used for brain stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). The proposed framework is used together with our high spatial resolution iterative reconstruction algorithm and is tailored for the Leksell Gamma Knife ICON (Elekta, Stockholm, Sweden). The incorporated CBCT system in ICON facilitates frameless SRS planning and treatment delivery. The ICON employs a half-cone geometry to accommodate the existing treatment couch. This geometry increases the amount of artifacts and together with other physical imperfections causes image inhomogeneity and contrast reduction. Our proposed framework includes a preprocessing step, involving a shading and beam-hardening artifact correction, and a post-processing step to correct the dome/capping artifact caused by the spatial variations in x-ray energy generated by bowtie-filter. Our shading correction algorithm relies solely on the acquired projection images (i.e. no prior information required) and utilizes filtered-back-projection (FBP) reconstructed images to generate a segmented bone and soft-tissue map. Ideal projections are estimated from the segmented images and a smoothed version of the difference between the ideal and measured projections is used in correction. The proposed beam-hardening and dome artifact corrections are segmentation free. The CALI was tested on CatPhan, as well as patient images acquired on the ICON system. The resulting clinical brain images show substantial improvements in soft contrast visibility, revealing structures such as ventricles and lesions which were otherwise un-detectable in FBP-reconstructed images. The linearity of the reconstructed attenuation-map was also improved, resulting in more accurate CT#.

  14. Four-dimensional cone beam CT reconstruction and enhancement using a temporal nonlocal means method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jia Xun; Tian Zhen; Lou Yifei; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Jiang, Steve B. [Center for Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies and Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037 (United States); School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30318 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam (Netherlands); Center for Advanced Radiotherapy Technologies and Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037 (United States)

    2012-09-15

    Purpose: Four-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) has been developed to provide respiratory phase-resolved volumetric imaging in image guided radiation therapy. Conventionally, it is reconstructed by first sorting the x-ray projections into multiple respiratory phase bins according to a breathing signal extracted either from the projection images or some external surrogates, and then reconstructing a 3D CBCT image in each phase bin independently using FDK algorithm. This method requires adequate number of projections for each phase, which can be achieved using a low gantry rotation or multiple gantry rotations. Inadequate number of projections in each phase bin results in low quality 4D-CBCT images with obvious streaking artifacts. 4D-CBCT images at different breathing phases share a lot of redundant information, because they represent the same anatomy captured at slightly different temporal points. Taking this redundancy along the temporal dimension into account can in principle facilitate the reconstruction in the situation of inadequate number of projection images. In this work, the authors propose two novel 4D-CBCT algorithms: an iterative reconstruction algorithm and an enhancement algorithm, utilizing a temporal nonlocal means (TNLM) method. Methods: The authors define a TNLM energy term for a given set of 4D-CBCT images. Minimization of this term favors those 4D-CBCT images such that any anatomical features at one spatial point at one phase can be found in a nearby spatial point at neighboring phases. 4D-CBCT reconstruction is achieved by minimizing a total energy containing a data fidelity term and the TNLM energy term. As for the image enhancement, 4D-CBCT images generated by the FDK algorithm are enhanced by minimizing the TNLM function while keeping the enhanced images close to the FDK results. A forward-backward splitting algorithm and a Gauss-Jacobi iteration method are employed to solve the problems. The algorithms implementation on

  15. Basic principle of cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Yong Suk; Kim, Gyu Tae; Hwang, Eui Hwan

    2006-01-01

    The use of computed tomography for dental procedures has increased recently. Cone beam computed tomography(CBCT) systems have been designed for imaging hard tissues of the dentomaxillofacial region. CBCT is capable of providing high resolution in images of high diagnostic quality. This technology allows for 3-dimensional representation of the dentomaxillofacial skeleton with minimal distortion, but at lower equipment cost, simpler image acquisition and lower patient dose. Because this technology produces images with isotropic sub-millimeter spatial resolution, it is ideally suited for dedicated dentomaxillofacial imaging. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of cone beam scanning technology and compare it with the fan beam scanning used in conventional CT and the basic principles of currently available CBCT systems

  16. SU-D-206-01: Employing a Novel Consensus Optimization Strategy to Achieve Iterative Cone Beam CT Reconstruction On a Multi-GPU Platform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, B; Tian, Z; Jiang, S; Jia, X; Zhou, L

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: While compressed sensing-based cone-beam CT (CBCT) iterative reconstruction techniques have demonstrated tremendous capability of reconstructing high-quality images from undersampled noisy data, its long computation time still hinders wide application in routine clinic. The purpose of this study is to develop a reconstruction framework that employs modern consensus optimization techniques to achieve CBCT reconstruction on a multi-GPU platform for improved computational efficiency. Methods: Total projection data were evenly distributed to multiple GPUs. Each GPU performed reconstruction using its own projection data with a conventional total variation regularization approach to ensure image quality. In addition, the solutions from GPUs were subject to a consistency constraint that they should be identical. We solved the optimization problem with all the constraints considered rigorously using an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. The reconstruction framework was implemented using OpenCL on a platform with two Nvidia GTX590 GPU cards, each with two GPUs. We studied the performance of our method and demonstrated its advantages through a simulation case with a NCAT phantom and an experimental case with a Catphan phantom. Result: Compared with the CBCT images reconstructed using conventional FDK method with full projection datasets, our proposed method achieved comparable image quality with about one third projection numbers. The computation time on the multi-GPU platform was ∼55 s and ∼ 35 s in the two cases respectively, achieving a speedup factor of ∼ 3.0 compared with single GPU reconstruction. Conclusion: We have developed a consensus ADMM-based CBCT reconstruction method which enabled performing reconstruction on a multi-GPU platform. The achieved efficiency made this method clinically attractive.

  17. SU-D-206-01: Employing a Novel Consensus Optimization Strategy to Achieve Iterative Cone Beam CT Reconstruction On a Multi-GPU Platform

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, B [University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China); Tian, Z; Jiang, S; Jia, X [University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Zhou, L [Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong (China)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: While compressed sensing-based cone-beam CT (CBCT) iterative reconstruction techniques have demonstrated tremendous capability of reconstructing high-quality images from undersampled noisy data, its long computation time still hinders wide application in routine clinic. The purpose of this study is to develop a reconstruction framework that employs modern consensus optimization techniques to achieve CBCT reconstruction on a multi-GPU platform for improved computational efficiency. Methods: Total projection data were evenly distributed to multiple GPUs. Each GPU performed reconstruction using its own projection data with a conventional total variation regularization approach to ensure image quality. In addition, the solutions from GPUs were subject to a consistency constraint that they should be identical. We solved the optimization problem with all the constraints considered rigorously using an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. The reconstruction framework was implemented using OpenCL on a platform with two Nvidia GTX590 GPU cards, each with two GPUs. We studied the performance of our method and demonstrated its advantages through a simulation case with a NCAT phantom and an experimental case with a Catphan phantom. Result: Compared with the CBCT images reconstructed using conventional FDK method with full projection datasets, our proposed method achieved comparable image quality with about one third projection numbers. The computation time on the multi-GPU platform was ∼55 s and ∼ 35 s in the two cases respectively, achieving a speedup factor of ∼ 3.0 compared with single GPU reconstruction. Conclusion: We have developed a consensus ADMM-based CBCT reconstruction method which enabled performing reconstruction on a multi-GPU platform. The achieved efficiency made this method clinically attractive.

  18. The accuracy of the imaging reformation of cone beam computed tomography for the assessment of bone defect healing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Ho Duk; Kim, Gyu Tae; Choi, Yong Suk; Hwang, Eui Hwan

    2007-01-01

    To evaluate the accuracy of the imaging reformation of cone beam computed tomography for the assessment of bone defect healing in rat model. Sprague-Dawely strain rats weighing about 350 gms were selected. Then critical size bone defects were done at parietal bone with implantation of collagen sponge. The rats were divided into seven groups of 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, and 8 weeks. The healing of surgical defect was assessed by multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) images and three-dimensional (3-D) images of cone beam computed tomography, compared with soft X-ray radiograph and histopathologic examination. MPR images and 3-D images showed similar reformation of the healing amount at 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 8 weeks, however, lower reformation at 3 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks. According to imaging-based methodologies, MPR images revealed similar reformation of the healing mount than 3-D images compare with soft X-ray image. Among the four threshold values for 3-D images, 400-500 HU revealed similar reformation of the healing amount. Histopathologic examination confirmed the newly formed trabeculation correspond with imaging-based mythologies. MPR images revealed higher accuracy of the imaging reformation of cone beam computed tomography and cone beam computed tomography is a clinically useful diagnostic tool for the assessment of bone defect healing

  19. [Accurate 3D free-form registration between fan-beam CT and cone-beam CT].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yueqiang; Xu, Hongbing; Li, Baosheng; Li, Hongsheng; Yang, Fujun

    2012-06-01

    Because the X-ray scatters, the CT numbers in cone-beam CT cannot exactly correspond to the electron densities. This, therefore, results in registration error when the intensity-based registration algorithm is used to register planning fan-beam CT and cone-beam CT. In order to reduce the registration error, we have developed an accurate gradient-based registration algorithm. The gradient-based deformable registration problem is described as a minimization of energy functional. Through the calculus of variations and Gauss-Seidel finite difference method, we derived the iterative formula of the deformable registration. The algorithm was implemented by GPU through OpenCL framework, with which the registration time was greatly reduced. Our experimental results showed that the proposed gradient-based registration algorithm could register more accurately the clinical cone-beam CT and fan-beam CT images compared with the intensity-based algorithm. The GPU-accelerated algorithm meets the real-time requirement in the online adaptive radiotherapy.

  20. Identification of dental root canals and their medial line from micro-CT and cone-beam CT records

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benyó Balázs

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Shape of the dental root canal is highly patient specific. Automated identification methods of the medial line of dental root canals and the reproduction of their 3D shape can be beneficial for planning endodontic interventions as severely curved root canals or multi-rooted teeth may pose treatment challenges. Accurate shape information of the root canals may also be used by manufacturers of endodontic instruments in order to make more efficient clinical tools. Method Novel image processing procedures dedicated to the automated detection of the medial axis of the root canal from dental micro-CT and cone-beam CT records are developed. For micro-CT, the 3D model of the root canal is built up from several hundred parallel cross sections, using image enhancement, histogram based fuzzy c-means clustering, center point detection in the segmented slice, three dimensional inner surface reconstruction, and potential field driven curve skeleton extraction in three dimensions. Cone-beam CT records are processed with image enhancement filters and fuzzy chain based regional segmentation, followed by the reconstruction of the root canal surface and detecting its skeleton via a mesh contraction algorithm. Results The proposed medial line identification and root canal detection algorithms are validated on clinical data sets. 25 micro-CT and 36 cone-beam-CT records are used in the validation procedure. The overall success rate of the automatic dental root canal identification was about 92% in both procedures. The algorithms proved to be accurate enough for endodontic therapy planning. Conclusions Accurate medial line identification and shape detection algorithms of dental root canal have been developed. Different procedures are defined for micro-CT and cone-beam CT records. The automated execution of the subsequent processing steps allows easy application of the algorithms in the dental care. The output data of the image processing procedures

  1. Cone-beam CT in paediatric dentistry. DIMITRA project position statement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oenning, Anne Caroline; Jacobs, Reinhilde; Pauwels, Ruben; Stratis, Andreas; Hedesiu, Mihaela; Salmon, Benjamin

    2018-01-01

    DIMITRA (dentomaxillofacial paediatric imaging: an investigation towards low-dose radiation induced risks) is a European multicenter and multidisciplinary project focused on optimizing cone-beam CT exposures for children and adolescents. With increasing use of cone-beam CT for dentomaxillofacial diagnostics, concern arises regarding radiation risks associated with this imaging modality, especially for children. Research evidence concerning cone-beam CT indications in children remains limited, while reports mention inconsistent recommendations for dose reduction. Furthermore, there is no paper using the combined and integrated information on the required indication-oriented image quality and the related patient dose levels. In this paper, therefore, the authors initiate an integrated approach based on current evidence regarding image quality and dose, together with the expertise of DIMITRA's members searching for a state of the art. The aim of this DIMITRA position statement is to provide indication-oriented and patient-specific recommendations regarding the main cone-beam CT applications in the pediatric field. The authors will review this position statement document when results regarding multidisciplinary approaches evolve, in a period of 5 years or earlier. (orig.)

  2. Spiral scan long object reconstruction through PI line reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tam, K C; Hu, J; Sourbelle, K

    2004-01-01

    The response of a point object in a cone beam (CB) spiral scan is analysed. Based on the result, a reconstruction algorithm for long object imaging in spiral scan cone beam CT is developed. A region-of-interest (ROI) of the long object is scanned with a detector smaller than the ROI, and a portion of it can be reconstructed without contamination from overlaying materials. The top and bottom surfaces of the ROI are defined by two sets of PI lines near the two ends of the spiral path. With this novel definition of the top and bottom ROI surfaces and through the use of projective geometry, it is straightforward to partition the cone beam image into regions corresponding to projections of the ROI, the overlaying objects or both. This also simplifies computation at source positions near the spiral ends, and makes it possible to reduce radiation exposure near the spiral ends substantially through simple hardware collimation. Simulation results to validate the algorithm are presented

  3. Reduction of Cone-Beam CT scan time without compromising the accuracy of the image registration in IGRT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westberg, Jonas; Jensen, Henrik R.; Bertelsen, Anders; Brink, Carsten

    2010-01-01

    Background. In modern radiotherapy accelerators are equipped with 3D cone-beam CT (CBCT) which is used to verify patient position before treatment. The verification is based on an image registration between the CBCT acquired just before treatment and the CT scan made for the treatment planning. The purpose of this study is to minimise the scan time of the CBCT without compromising the accuracy of the image registration in IGRT. Material and methods. Fast scans were simulated by reducing the number of acquired projection images, i.e. new reconstructions based on a subset of the original projections were made. The deviation between the registrations of these new reconstructions and the original registration was measured as function of the amount of reduction. Results and Discussion. Twenty nine head and neck (HandN) and 11 stereotactic lung patients were included in the study. The mean of the registration deviation did not differ significantly from zero independently of the number of projections included in the reconstruction. Except for the smallest subset of reconstructions (10% and 25% of the original projection for the lung and HandN patients, respectively) the standard deviation of the registration differences was constant. The standard deviations were approximately 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm for the HandN and lung group, respectively. Based on these results an in-house developed solution, able to reduce the Cone-Beam CT scan time, has been implemented clinically

  4. Simulation and experimental studies of three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction from insufficient sampling data based on compressed-sensing theory for potential applications to dental cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Je, U.K.; Lee, M.S.; Cho, H.S.; Hong, D.K.; Park, Y.O.; Park, C.K.; Cho, H.M.; Choi, S.I.; Woo, T.H.

    2015-01-01

    In practical applications of three-dimensional (3D) tomographic imaging, there are often challenges for image reconstruction from insufficient sampling data. In computed tomography (CT), for example, image reconstruction from sparse views and/or limited-angle (<360°) views would enable fast scanning with reduced imaging doses to the patient. In this study, we investigated and implemented a reconstruction algorithm based on the compressed-sensing (CS) theory, which exploits the sparseness of the gradient image with substantially high accuracy, for potential applications to low-dose, high-accurate dental cone-beam CT (CBCT). We performed systematic simulation works to investigate the image characteristics and also performed experimental works by applying the algorithm to a commercially-available dental CBCT system to demonstrate its effectiveness for image reconstruction in insufficient sampling problems. We successfully reconstructed CBCT images of superior accuracy from insufficient sampling data and evaluated the reconstruction quality quantitatively. Both simulation and experimental demonstrations of the CS-based reconstruction from insufficient data indicate that the CS-based algorithm can be applied directly to current dental CBCT systems for reducing the imaging doses and further improving the image quality

  5. Three-dimensional prediction of the human eyeball and canthi for craniofacial reconstruction using cone-beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sang-Rok; Lee, Kyung-Min; Cho, Jin-Hyoung; Hwang, Hyeon-Shik

    2016-04-01

    An anatomical relationship between the hard and soft tissues of the face is mandatory for facial reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the positions of the eyeball and canthi three-dimensionally from the relationships between the facial hard and soft tissues using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). CBCT scan data of 100 living subjects were used to obtain the measurements of facial hard and soft tissues. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were carried out using the hard tissue measurements in the orbit, nasal bone, nasal cavity and maxillary canine to predict the most probable positions of the eyeball and canthi within the orbit. Orbital width, orbital height, and orbital depth were strong predictors of the eyeball and canthi position. Intercanine width was also a predictor of the mediolateral position of the eyeball. Statistically significant regression models for the positions of the eyeball and canthi could be derived from the measurements of orbit and maxillary canine. These results suggest that CBCT data can be useful in predicting the positions of the eyeball and canthi three-dimensionally. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Point spread function modeling and image restoration for cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Hua; Shi Yikai; Huang Kuidong; Xu Zhe

    2015-01-01

    X-ray cone-beam computed tomography (CT) has such notable features as high efficiency and precision, and is widely used in the fields of medical imaging and industrial non-destructive testing, but the inherent imaging degradation reduces the quality of CT images. Aimed at the problems of projection image degradation and restoration in cone-beam CT, a point spread function (PSF) modeling method is proposed first. The general PSF model of cone-beam CT is established, and based on it, the PSF under arbitrary scanning conditions can be calculated directly for projection image restoration without the additional measurement, which greatly improved the application convenience of cone-beam CT. Secondly, a projection image restoration algorithm based on pre-filtering and pre-segmentation is proposed, which can make the edge contours in projection images and slice images clearer after restoration, and control the noise in the equivalent level to the original images. Finally, the experiments verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods. (authors)

  7. WE-G-18A-04: 3D Dictionary Learning Based Statistical Iterative Reconstruction for Low-Dose Cone Beam CT Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bai, T; Yan, H; Shi, F; Jia, X; Jiang, Steve B.; Lou, Y; Xu, Q; Mou, X

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a 3D dictionary learning based statistical reconstruction algorithm on graphic processing units (GPU), to improve the quality of low-dose cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging with high efficiency. Methods: A 3D dictionary containing 256 small volumes (atoms) of 3x3x3 voxels was trained from a high quality volume image. During reconstruction, we utilized a Cholesky decomposition based orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm to find a sparse representation on this dictionary basis of each patch in the reconstructed image, in order to regularize the image quality. To accelerate the time-consuming sparse coding in the 3D case, we implemented our algorithm in a parallel fashion by taking advantage of the tremendous computational power of GPU. Evaluations are performed based on a head-neck patient case. FDK reconstruction with full dataset of 364 projections is used as the reference. We compared the proposed 3D dictionary learning based method with a tight frame (TF) based one using a subset data of 121 projections. The image qualities under different resolutions in z-direction, with or without statistical weighting are also studied. Results: Compared to the TF-based CBCT reconstruction, our experiments indicated that 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction is able to recover finer structures, to remove more streaking artifacts, and is less susceptible to blocky artifacts. It is also observed that statistical reconstruction approach is sensitive to inconsistency between the forward and backward projection operations in parallel computing. Using high a spatial resolution along z direction helps improving the algorithm robustness. Conclusion: 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction algorithm is able to sense the structural information while suppressing noise, and hence to achieve high quality reconstruction. The GPU realization of the whole algorithm offers a significant efficiency enhancement, making this algorithm more feasible for potential

  8. WE-G-18A-04: 3D Dictionary Learning Based Statistical Iterative Reconstruction for Low-Dose Cone Beam CT Imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bai, T [Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an (China); UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Yan, H; Shi, F; Jia, X; Jiang, Steve B. [UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Lou, Y [University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA (United States); Xu, Q; Mou, X [Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an (China)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: To develop a 3D dictionary learning based statistical reconstruction algorithm on graphic processing units (GPU), to improve the quality of low-dose cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging with high efficiency. Methods: A 3D dictionary containing 256 small volumes (atoms) of 3x3x3 voxels was trained from a high quality volume image. During reconstruction, we utilized a Cholesky decomposition based orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm to find a sparse representation on this dictionary basis of each patch in the reconstructed image, in order to regularize the image quality. To accelerate the time-consuming sparse coding in the 3D case, we implemented our algorithm in a parallel fashion by taking advantage of the tremendous computational power of GPU. Evaluations are performed based on a head-neck patient case. FDK reconstruction with full dataset of 364 projections is used as the reference. We compared the proposed 3D dictionary learning based method with a tight frame (TF) based one using a subset data of 121 projections. The image qualities under different resolutions in z-direction, with or without statistical weighting are also studied. Results: Compared to the TF-based CBCT reconstruction, our experiments indicated that 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction is able to recover finer structures, to remove more streaking artifacts, and is less susceptible to blocky artifacts. It is also observed that statistical reconstruction approach is sensitive to inconsistency between the forward and backward projection operations in parallel computing. Using high a spatial resolution along z direction helps improving the algorithm robustness. Conclusion: 3D dictionary learning based CBCT reconstruction algorithm is able to sense the structural information while suppressing noise, and hence to achieve high quality reconstruction. The GPU realization of the whole algorithm offers a significant efficiency enhancement, making this algorithm more feasible for potential

  9. 3-D image reconstruction in radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grangeat, P.

    1999-01-01

    In this course, we present highlights on fully 3-D image reconstruction algorithms used in 3-D X-ray Computed Tomography (3-D-CT) and 3-D Rotational Radiography (3-D-RR). We first consider the case of spiral CT with a one-row detector. Starting from the 2-D fan-beam inversion formula for a circular trajectory, we introduce spiral CT 3-D image reconstruction algorithm using axial interpolation for each transverse slice. In order to improve the X-ray detection efficiency and to speed the acquisition process, the future is to use multi-row detectors associated with small angle cone-beam geometry. The generalization of the 2-D fan-beam image reconstruction algorithm to cone beam defined direct inversion formula referred as Feldkamp's algorithm for a circular trajectory and Wang's algorithm for a spiral trajectory. However, large area detectors does exist such as Radiological Image Intensifiers or in a near future solid state detectors. To get a larger zoom effect, it defines a cone-beam geometry associated with a large aperture angle. For this case, we introduce indirect image reconstruction algorithm by plane re-binning in the Radon domain. We will present some results from a prototype MORPHOMETER device using the RADON reconstruction software. Lastly, we consider the special case of 3-D Rotational Digital Subtraction Angiography with a restricted number of views. We introduce constraint optimization algorithm using quadratic, entropic or half-quadratic constraints. Generalized ART (Algebraic Reconstruction Technique) iterative reconstruction algorithm can be derived from the Bregman algorithm. We present reconstructed vascular trees from a prototype MORPHOMETER device. (author)

  10. Evaluation of Optic Canal and Surrounding Structures Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography: Considerations for Maxillofacial Surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinanoglu, Alper; Orhan, Kaan; Kursun, Sebnem; Inceoglu, Beste; Oztas, Bengi

    2016-07-01

    The optic canal connects the anterior cranial fossa and the orbit and maintains the optic nerve and the ophthalmic artery. Within the extent of the surgical approach of the region, risk of iatrogenic injury of the neural and vascular structures increases. The aim of this retrospective morphometric study is to investigate the radiological anatomy of orbita, optic canal, and its surrounding using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans in a group of Turkish population.Cone beam computed tomography images of a total of 182 patients were evaluated by 2 observers. Anatomical parameters regarding optic canal and orbita were measured for all patients from axial, sagittal, and three-dimensional reconstructed images. To assess intraobserver reliability, the Wilcoxon matched-pairs test was used. Pearson χ test and Student t test were performed for statistical analysis of differences, sex, localization, and measurements (P  0.05). The orbita width and height were larger for the males than females (P  0.05). Examination CBCT scans revealed that the shape of the optic canal was 70% funnel and 28% Hourglass shape, 2% amorph type round.These results provide detailed knowledge of the anatomical characteristics in the orbital area which may be of assistance for surgeons preoperatively. Cone beam computed tomography scans can be an alternative modality for multislice computed tomography with submillimeter resolution and lower dose in preoperative imaging of the orbit.

  11. Common-mask guided image reconstruction (c-MGIR) for enhanced 4D cone-beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Justin C; Zhang, Hao; Chen, Yunmei; Fan, Qiyong; Li, Jonathan G; Liu, Chihray; Lu, Bo

    2015-12-07

    Compared to 3D cone beam computed tomography (3D CBCT), the image quality of commercially available four-dimensional (4D) CBCT is severely impaired due to the insufficient amount of projection data available for each phase. Since the traditional Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK)-based algorithm is infeasible for reconstructing high quality 4D CBCT images with limited projections, investigators had developed several compress-sensing (CS) based algorithms to improve image quality. The aim of this study is to develop a novel algorithm which can provide better image quality than the FDK and other CS based algorithms with limited projections. We named this algorithm 'the common mask guided image reconstruction' (c-MGIR).In c-MGIR, the unknown CBCT volume is mathematically modeled as a combination of phase-specific motion vectors and phase-independent static vectors. The common-mask matrix, which is the key concept behind the c-MGIR algorithm, separates the common static part across all phase images from the possible moving part in each phase image. The moving part and the static part of the volumes were then alternatively updated by solving two sub-minimization problems iteratively. As the novel mathematical transformation allows the static volume and moving volumes to be updated (during each iteration) with global projections and 'well' solved static volume respectively, the algorithm was able to reduce the noise and under-sampling artifact (an issue faced by other algorithms) to the maximum extent. To evaluate the performance of our proposed c-MGIR, we utilized imaging data from both numerical phantoms and a lung cancer patient. The qualities of the images reconstructed with c-MGIR were compared with (1) standard FDK algorithm, (2) conventional total variation (CTV) based algorithm, (3) prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) algorithm, and (4) motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR) algorithm, respectively. To improve the efficiency of the algorithm

  12. The feasibility of polychromatic cone-beam x-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) imaging of gold nanoparticle-loaded objects: a Monte Carlo study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Bernard L; Cho, Sang Hyun

    2011-06-21

    A recent study investigated the feasibility to develop a bench-top x-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT) system capable of determining the spatial distribution and concentration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in vivo using a diagnostic energy range polychromatic (i.e. 110 kVp) pencil-beam source. In this follow-up study, we examined the feasibility of a polychromatic cone-beam implementation of XFCT by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations using the MCNP5 code. In the current MC model, cylindrical columns with various sizes (5-10 mm in diameter) containing water loaded with GNPs (0.1-2% gold by weight) were inserted into a 5 cm diameter cylindrical polymethyl methacrylate phantom. The phantom was then irradiated by a lead-filtered 110 kVp x-ray source, and the resulting gold fluorescence and Compton-scattered photons were collected by a series of energy-sensitive tallies after passing through lead parallel-hole collimators. A maximum-likelihood iterative reconstruction algorithm was implemented to reconstruct the image of GNP-loaded objects within the phantom. The effects of attenuation of both the primary beam through the phantom and the gold fluorescence photons en route to the detector were corrected during the image reconstruction. Accurate images of the GNP-containing phantom were successfully reconstructed for three different phantom configurations, with both spatial distribution and relative concentration of GNPs well identified. The pixel intensity of regions containing GNPs was linearly proportional to the gold concentration. The current MC study strongly suggests the possibility of developing a bench-top, polychromatic, cone-beam XFCT system for in vivo imaging.

  13. Dual resolution cone beam breast CT: A feasibility study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Lingyun; Shen Youtao; Lai, Chao-Jen; Han Tao; Zhong Yuncheng; Ge Shuaiping; Liu Xinming; Wang Tianpeng; Yang, Wei T.; Whitman, Gary J.; Shaw, Chris C.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: In this study, the authors investigated the feasibility of a dual resolution volume-of-interest (VOI) cone beam breast CT technique and compared two implementation approaches in terms of dose saving and scatter reduction. Methods: With this technique, a lead VOI mask with an opening is inserted between the x-ray source and the breast to deliver x-ray exposure to the VOI while blocking x rays outside the VOI. A CCD detector is used to collect the high resolution projection data of the VOI. Low resolution cone beam CT (CBCT) images of the entire breast, acquired with a flat panel (FP) detector, were used to calculate the projection data outside the VOI with the ray-tracing reprojection method. The Feldkamp-Davis-Kress filtered backprojection algorithm was used to reconstruct the dual resolution 3D images. Breast phantoms with 180 μm and smaller microcalcifications (MCs) were imaged with both FP and FP-CCD dual resolution CBCT systems, respectively. Two approaches of implementing the dual resolution technique, breast-centered approach and VOI-centered approach, were investigated and evaluated for dose saving and scatter reduction with Monte Carlo simulation using a GEANT4 package. Results: The results showed that the breast-centered approach saved more breast absorbed dose than did VOI-centered approach with similar scatter reduction. The MCs in fatty breast phantom, which were invisible with FP CBCT scan, became visible with the FP-CCD dual resolution CBCT scan. Conclusions: These results indicate potential improvement of the image quality inside the VOI with reduced breast dose both inside and outside the VOI.

  14. SU-F-I-06: Evaluation of Imaging Dose for Modulation Layer Based Dual Energy Cone-Beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ju, Eunbin [Department of Medical Science, Ewha Womans University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, SoHyun; Cho, Samju; Keum, Ki Chang [Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Yonsei Univeristy, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Rena [Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Dual energy cone beam CT system is finding a variety of promising applications in diagnostic CT, both in imaging of endogenous materials and exogenous materials across a range of body sites. Dual energy cone beam CT system to suggest in this study acquire image by rotating 360 degree with half of the X-ray window covered using copper modulation layer. In the region that covered by modulation layer absorb the low energy X-ray by modulation layer. Relative high energy X-ray passes through the layer and contributes to image reconstruction. Dose evaluation should be carried out in order to utilize such an imaging acquirement technology for clinical use. Methods: For evaluating imaging dose of modulation layer based dual energy cone beam CT system, Prototype cone beam CT that configured X-ray tube (D054SB, Toshiba, Japan) and detector (PaxScan 2520V, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) is used. A range of 0.5–2.0 mm thickness of modulation layer is implemented in Monte Carlo simulation (MCNPX, ver. 2.6.0, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA) with half of X-ray window covered. In-house phantom using in this study that has 3 cylindrical phantoms configured water, Teflon air with PMMA covered for verifying the comparability the various material in human body and is implemented in Monte Carlo simulation. The actual dose with 2.0 mm copper covered half of X-ray window is measured using Gafchromic EBT3 film with 5.0 mm bolus for compared with simulative dose. Results: Dose in phantom reduced 33% by copper modulation layer of 2.0 mm. Scattering dose occurred in modulation layer by Compton scattering effect is 0.04% of overall dose. Conclusion: Modulation layer of that based dual energy cone beam CT has not influence on unnecessary scatter dose. This study was supported by the Radiation Safety Research Programs (1305033) through the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

  15. Dual-energy cone-beam CT with a flat-panel detector: Effect of reconstruction algorithm on material classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zbijewski, W.; Gang, G. J.; Xu, J.; Wang, A. S.; Stayman, J. W.; Taguchi, K.; Carrino, J. A.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) with a flat-panel detector (FPD) is finding application in areas such as breast and musculoskeletal imaging, where dual-energy (DE) capabilities offer potential benefit. The authors investigate the accuracy of material classification in DE CBCT using filtered backprojection (FBP) and penalized likelihood (PL) reconstruction and optimize contrast-enhanced DE CBCT of the joints as a function of dose, material concentration, and detail size. Methods: Phantoms consisting of a 15 cm diameter water cylinder with solid calcium inserts (50–200 mg/ml, 3–28.4 mm diameter) and solid iodine inserts (2–10 mg/ml, 3–28.4 mm diameter), as well as a cadaveric knee with intra-articular injection of iodine were imaged on a CBCT bench with a Varian 4343 FPD. The low energy (LE) beam was 70 kVp (+0.2 mm Cu), and the high energy (HE) beam was 120 kVp (+0.2 mm Cu, +0.5 mm Ag). Total dose (LE+HE) was varied from 3.1 to 15.6 mGy with equal dose allocation. Image-based DE classification involved a nearest distance classifier in the space of LE versus HE attenuation values. Recognizing the differences in noise between LE and HE beams, the LE and HE data were differentially filtered (in FBP) or regularized (in PL). Both a quadratic (PLQ) and a total-variation penalty (PLTV) were investigated for PL. The performance of DE CBCT material discrimination was quantified in terms of voxelwise specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy. Results: Noise in the HE image was primarily responsible for classification errors within the contrast inserts, whereas noise in the LE image mainly influenced classification in the surrounding water. For inserts of diameter 28.4 mm, DE CBCT reconstructions were optimized to maximize the total combined accuracy across the range of calcium and iodine concentrations, yielding values of ∼88% for FBP and PLQ, and ∼95% for PLTV at 3.1 mGy total dose, increasing to ∼95% for FBP and PLQ, and ∼98% for PLTV at 15.6 mGy total dose. For a

  16. TH-E-17A-06: Anatomical-Adaptive Compressed Sensing (AACS) Reconstruction for Thoracic 4-Dimensional Cone-Beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shieh, C; Kipritidis, J; OBrien, R; Cooper, B; Kuncic, Z; Keall, P

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm currently used for clinical thoracic 4-dimensional (4D) cone-beam CT (CBCT) reconstruction suffers from noise and streaking artifacts due to projection under-sampling. Compressed sensing theory enables reconstruction of under-sampled datasets via total-variation (TV) minimization, but TV-minimization algorithms such as adaptive-steepest-descent-projection-onto-convex-sets (ASD-POCS) often converge slowly and are prone to over-smoothing anatomical details. These disadvantages can be overcome by incorporating general anatomical knowledge via anatomy segmentation. Based on this concept, we have developed an anatomical-adaptive compressed sensing (AACS) algorithm for thoracic 4D-CBCT reconstruction. Methods: AACS is based on the ASD-POCS framework, where each iteration consists of a TV-minimization step and a data fidelity constraint step. Prior to every AACS iteration, four major thoracic anatomical structures - soft tissue, lungs, bony anatomy, and pulmonary details - were segmented from the updated solution image. Based on the segmentation, an anatomical-adaptive weighting was applied to the TV-minimization step, so that TV-minimization was enhanced at noisy/streaky regions and suppressed at anatomical structures of interest. The image quality and convergence speed of AACS was compared to conventional ASD-POCS using an XCAT digital phantom and a patient scan. Results: For the XCAT phantom, the AACS image represented the ground truth better than the ASD-POCS image, giving a higher structural similarity index (0.93 vs. 0.84) and lower absolute difference (1.1*10 4 vs. 1.4*10 4 ). For the patient case, while both algorithms resulted in much less noise and streaking than FDK, the AACS image showed considerably better contrast and sharpness of the vessels, tumor, and fiducial marker than the ASD-POCS image. In addition, AACS converged over 50% faster than ASD-POCS in both cases. Conclusions: The proposed AACS algorithm

  17. TH-E-17A-06: Anatomical-Adaptive Compressed Sensing (AACS) Reconstruction for Thoracic 4-Dimensional Cone-Beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shieh, C; Kipritidis, J; OBrien, R; Cooper, B; Kuncic, Z; Keall, P [The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales (Australia)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: The Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm currently used for clinical thoracic 4-dimensional (4D) cone-beam CT (CBCT) reconstruction suffers from noise and streaking artifacts due to projection under-sampling. Compressed sensing theory enables reconstruction of under-sampled datasets via total-variation (TV) minimization, but TV-minimization algorithms such as adaptive-steepest-descent-projection-onto-convex-sets (ASD-POCS) often converge slowly and are prone to over-smoothing anatomical details. These disadvantages can be overcome by incorporating general anatomical knowledge via anatomy segmentation. Based on this concept, we have developed an anatomical-adaptive compressed sensing (AACS) algorithm for thoracic 4D-CBCT reconstruction. Methods: AACS is based on the ASD-POCS framework, where each iteration consists of a TV-minimization step and a data fidelity constraint step. Prior to every AACS iteration, four major thoracic anatomical structures - soft tissue, lungs, bony anatomy, and pulmonary details - were segmented from the updated solution image. Based on the segmentation, an anatomical-adaptive weighting was applied to the TV-minimization step, so that TV-minimization was enhanced at noisy/streaky regions and suppressed at anatomical structures of interest. The image quality and convergence speed of AACS was compared to conventional ASD-POCS using an XCAT digital phantom and a patient scan. Results: For the XCAT phantom, the AACS image represented the ground truth better than the ASD-POCS image, giving a higher structural similarity index (0.93 vs. 0.84) and lower absolute difference (1.1*10{sup 4} vs. 1.4*10{sup 4}). For the patient case, while both algorithms resulted in much less noise and streaking than FDK, the AACS image showed considerably better contrast and sharpness of the vessels, tumor, and fiducial marker than the ASD-POCS image. In addition, AACS converged over 50% faster than ASD-POCS in both cases. Conclusions: The proposed AACS

  18. SU-D-12A-06: A Comprehensive Parameter Analysis for Low Dose Cone-Beam CT Reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, W; Yan, H; Gu, X; Jiang, S; Jia, X; Bai, T; Zhou, L

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: There is always a parameter in compressive sensing based iterative reconstruction (IR) methods low dose cone-beam CT (CBCT), which controls the weight of regularization relative to data fidelity. A clear understanding of the relationship between image quality and parameter values is important. The purpose of this study is to investigate this subject based on experimental data and a representative advanced IR algorithm using Tight-frame (TF) regularization. Methods: Three data sets of a Catphan phantom acquired at low, regular and high dose levels are used. For each tests, 90 projections covering a 200-degree scan range are used for reconstruction. Three different regions-of-interest (ROIs) of different contrasts are used to calculate contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) for contrast evaluation. A single point structure is used to measure modulation transfer function (MTF) for spatial-resolution evaluation. Finally, we analyze CNRs and MTFs to study the relationship between image quality and parameter selections. Results: It was found that: 1) there is no universal optimal parameter. The optimal parameter value depends on specific task and dose level. 2) There is a clear trade-off between CNR and resolution. The parameter for the best CNR is always smaller than that for the best resolution. 3) Optimal parameters are also dose-specific. Data acquired under a high dose protocol require less regularization, yielding smaller optimal parameter values. 4) Comparing with conventional FDK images, TF-based CBCT images are better under a certain optimally selected parameters. The advantages are more obvious for low dose data. Conclusion: We have investigated the relationship between image quality and parameter values in the TF-based IR algorithm. Preliminary results indicate optimal parameters are specific to both the task types and dose levels, providing guidance for selecting parameters in advanced IR algorithms. This work is supported in part by NIH (1R01CA154747-01)

  19. TH-EF-207A-05: Feasibility of Applying SMEIR Method On Small Animal 4D Cone Beam CT Imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhong, Y; Zhang, Y; Shao, Y; Wang, J

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Small animal cone beam CT imaging has been widely used in preclinical research. Due to the higher respiratory rate and heat beats of small animals, motion blurring is inevitable and needs to be corrected in the reconstruction. Simultaneous motion estimation and image reconstruction (SMEIR) method, which uses projection images of all phases, proved to be effective in motion model estimation and able to reconstruct motion-compensated images. We demonstrate the application of SMEIR for small animal 4D cone beam CT imaging by computer simulations on a digital rat model. Methods: The small animal CBCT imaging system was simulated with the source-to-detector distance of 300 mm and the source-to-object distance of 200 mm. A sequence of rat phantom were generated with 0.4 mm 3 voxel size. The respiratory cycle was taken as 1.0 second and the motions were simulated with a diaphragm motion of 2.4mm and an anterior-posterior expansion of 1.6 mm. The projection images were calculated using a ray-tracing method, and 4D-CBCT were reconstructed using SMEIR and FDK methods. The SMEIR method iterates over two alternating steps: 1) motion-compensated iterative image reconstruction by using projections from all respiration phases and 2) motion model estimation from projections directly through a 2D-3D deformable registration of the image obtained in the first step to projection images of other phases. Results: The images reconstructed using SMEIR method reproduced the features in the original phantom. Projections from the same phase were also reconstructed using FDK method. Compared with the FDK results, the images from SMEIR method substantially improve the image quality with minimum artifacts. Conclusion: We demonstrate that it is viable to apply SMEIR method to reconstruct small animal 4D-CBCT images.

  20. Clinical utility of dental cone-beam computed tomography: current perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Jaju, Prashant P; Jaju, Sushma P

    2014-01-01

    Prashant P Jaju,1 Sushma P Jaju21Oral Medicine and Radiology, 2Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences and Research Center, Bhopal, IndiaAbstract: Panoramic radiography and computed tomography were the pillars of maxillofacial diagnosis. With the advent of cone-beam computed tomography, dental practice has seen a paradigm shift. This review article highlights the potential applications of cone-beam computed tomography in the fields of dental implantology an...

  1. Generalized algorithm for X-ray projections generation in cone-beam tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qin Zhongyuan; Mu Xuanqin; Wang Ping; Cai Yuanlong; Hou Chuanjian

    2002-01-01

    In order to get rid of random factors in the measurement so as to support proceeding 3D reconstruction, a general approach is presented to obtain the X-ray projections in cone-beam tomography. The phantom is firstly discretized into cubic volume through inverse transformation then a generalized projection procedure is proposed to the digitized result without concerning what the phantom exactly is. In the second step, line integrals are calculated to obtain the projection of each X-ray through accumulation of tri-linear interpolation. Considering projection angles, a rotation matrix is proposed to the X-ray source and the detector plane so projections in arbitrary angles can be got. In this approach the algorithm is easy to be extended and irregular objects can also be processed. The algorithm is implemented in Visual C++ and experiments are done using different models. Satisfactory results are obtained. It makes good preparation for the proceeding reconstruction

  2. Effects of hole tapering on cone-beam collimation for brain SPECT imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Mi-Ae; Kijewski, Marie Foley; Moore, Stephen C.

    2006-01-01

    New collimator manufacturing technologies, such as photoetching, electrical discharge machining, and stereolithography, expand the range of possible cone-beam collimator configurations. For example, it might now be possible for brain SPECT to make a short-focusing cone-beam collimator with tapered holes that increase in size with distance from the collimator surface; conventional lead-casting techniques produce holes of constant size and, consequently, varying septal thicknesses. Moreover, the changes in hole shape and loss of close packing due to focusing leads to thicker septa in the collimator periphery, especially for shorter focal lengths. We investigated the potential advantages of new cone-beam collimator manufacturing processes, and proposed a new design for very short focal-length collimators for brain SPECT imaging. We compared three cone-beam collimators, a conventional collimator manufactured using casting techniques (CC), a novel collimator with uniform hole sizes on the collimator surface and constant hole size through the collimator thickness (FC), and a novel collimator with uniform hole sizes and tapered holes (TC). We determined the resolution of each collimator analytically for focal lengths ranging from 20-50 cm, and adjusted the entrance hole sizes of FC and TC to equalize resolution of all collimators. Sensitivity was calculated at several locations by Monte Carlo simulation. Sensitivity was higher at all points for TC and FC than for CC, and higher for TC than for FC. The differences in sensitivity were larger for shorter focal lengths. For a point on the focal line at 10 cm in front of the collimator entrance surface, the sensitivity gain for TC compared to CC was 7% and 45% for focal lengths of 50 and 20 cm, respectively. The sensitivity gain for a 20-cm focal length, compared to CC, averaged over all locations, was 44% for TC and 23% for FC. We have shown that the new collimator designs made possible by new manufacturing techniques will

  3. Ultrafast cone-beam CT scatter correction with GPU-based Monte Carlo simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Xu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Scatter artifacts severely degrade image quality of cone-beam CT (CBCT. We present an ultrafast scatter correction framework by using GPU-based Monte Carlo (MC simulation and prior patient CT image, aiming at automatically finish the whole process including both scatter correction and reconstruction within 30 seconds.Methods: The method consists of six steps: 1 FDK reconstruction using raw projection data; 2 Rigid Registration of planning CT to the FDK results; 3 MC scatter calculation at sparse view angles using the planning CT; 4 Interpolation of the calculated scatter signals to other angles; 5 Removal of scatter from the raw projections; 6 FDK reconstruction using the scatter-corrected projections. In addition to using GPU to accelerate MC photon simulations, we also use a small number of photons and a down-sampled CT image in simulation to further reduce computation time. A novel denoising algorithm is used to eliminate MC noise from the simulated scatter images caused by low photon numbers. The method is validated on one simulated head-and-neck case with 364 projection angles.Results: We have examined variation of the scatter signal among projection angles using Fourier analysis. It is found that scatter images at 31 angles are sufficient to restore those at all angles with < 0.1% error. For the simulated patient case with a resolution of 512 × 512 × 100, we simulated 5 × 106 photons per angle. The total computation time is 20.52 seconds on a Nvidia GTX Titan GPU, and the time at each step is 2.53, 0.64, 14.78, 0.13, 0.19, and 2.25 seconds, respectively. The scatter-induced shading/cupping artifacts are substantially reduced, and the average HU error of a region-of-interest is reduced from 75.9 to 19.0 HU.Conclusion: A practical ultrafast MC-based CBCT scatter correction scheme is developed. It accomplished the whole procedure of scatter correction and reconstruction within 30 seconds.----------------------------Cite this

  4. Megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography using a high-efficiency image receptor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seppi, Ed J.; Munro, Peter; Johnsen, Stan W.; Shapiro, Ed G.; Tognina, Carlo; Jones, Dan; Pavkovich, John M.; Webb, Chris; Mollov, Ivan; Partain, Larry D.; Colbeth, Rick E.

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: To develop an image receptor capable of forming high-quality megavoltage CT images using modest radiation doses. Methods and Materials: A flat-panel imaging system consisting of a conventional flat-panel sensor attached to a thick CsI scintillator has been fabricated. The scintillator consists of individual CsI crystals 8 mm thick by 0.38 mm x 0.38-mm pitch. Five sides of each crystal are coated with a reflecting powder/epoxy mixture, and the sixth side is in contact with the flat-panel sensor. A timing interface coordinates acquisition by the imaging system and pulsing of the linear accelerator. With this interface, as little as one accelerator pulse (0.023 cGy at the isocenter) can be used to form projection images. Different CT phantoms irradiated by a 6-MV X-ray beam have been imaged to evaluate the performance of the imaging system. The phantoms have been mounted on a rotating stage and rotated while 360 projection images are acquired in 48 s. These projections have been reconstructed using the Feldkamp cone-beam CT reconstruction algorithm. Results and Discussion: Using an irradiation of 16 cGy (360 projections x 0.046 cGy/projection), the contrast resolution is ∼1% for large objects. High-contrast structures as small as 1.2 mm are clearly visible. The reconstructed CT values are linear (R 2 =0.98) for electron densities between 0.001 and 2.16 g/cm 3 , and the reconstruction time for a 512 x 512 x 512 data set is 6 min. Images of an anthropomorphic phantom show that soft-tissue structures such as the heart, lung, kidneys, and liver are visible in the reconstructed images (16 cGy, 5-mm-thick slices). Conclusions: The acquisition of megavoltage CT images with soft-tissue contrast is possible with irradiations as small as 16 cGy

  5. Common-mask guided image reconstruction (c-MGIR) for enhanced 4D cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Justin C; Li, Jonathan G; Liu, Chihray; Lu, Bo; Zhang, Hao; Chen, Yunmei; Fan, Qiyong

    2015-01-01

    Compared to 3D cone beam computed tomography (3D CBCT), the image quality of commercially available four-dimensional (4D) CBCT is severely impaired due to the insufficient amount of projection data available for each phase. Since the traditional Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK)-based algorithm is infeasible for reconstructing high quality 4D CBCT images with limited projections, investigators had developed several compress-sensing (CS) based algorithms to improve image quality. The aim of this study is to develop a novel algorithm which can provide better image quality than the FDK and other CS based algorithms with limited projections. We named this algorithm ‘the common mask guided image reconstruction’ (c-MGIR).In c-MGIR, the unknown CBCT volume is mathematically modeled as a combination of phase-specific motion vectors and phase-independent static vectors. The common-mask matrix, which is the key concept behind the c-MGIR algorithm, separates the common static part across all phase images from the possible moving part in each phase image. The moving part and the static part of the volumes were then alternatively updated by solving two sub-minimization problems iteratively. As the novel mathematical transformation allows the static volume and moving volumes to be updated (during each iteration) with global projections and ‘well’ solved static volume respectively, the algorithm was able to reduce the noise and under-sampling artifact (an issue faced by other algorithms) to the maximum extent. To evaluate the performance of our proposed c-MGIR, we utilized imaging data from both numerical phantoms and a lung cancer patient. The qualities of the images reconstructed with c-MGIR were compared with (1) standard FDK algorithm, (2) conventional total variation (CTV) based algorithm, (3) prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) algorithm, and (4) motion-map constrained image reconstruction (MCIR) algorithm, respectively. To improve the efficiency of the

  6. Low-dose megavoltage cone-beam CT for radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pouliot, Jean; Bani-Hashemi, Ali; Chen, Josephine; Svatos, Michelle; Ghelmansarai, Farhad; Mitschke, Matthias; Aubin, Michele; Xia Ping; Morin, Olivier; Bucci, Kara; Roach, Mack; Hernandez, Paco; Zheng Zirao; Hristov, Dimitre; Verhey, Lynn

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: The objective of this work was to demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring low-exposure megavoltage cone-beam CT (MV CBCT) three-dimensional (3D) image data of sufficient quality to register the CBCT images to kilovoltage planning CT images for patient alignment and dose verification purposes. Methods and materials: A standard clinical 6-MV Primus linear accelerator, operating in arc therapy mode, and an amorphous-silicon (a-Si) flat-panel electronic portal-imaging device (EPID) were employed. The dose-pulse rate of a 6-MV Primus accelerator beam was windowed to expose an a-Si flat panel by using only 0.02 to 0.08 monitor units (MUs) per image. A triggered image-acquisition mode was designed to produce a high signal-to-noise ratio without pulsing artifacts. Several data sets were acquired for an anthropomorphic head phantom and frozen sheep and pig cadaver heads, as well as for a head-and-neck cancer patient on intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). For each CBCT image, a set of 90 to 180 projection images incremented by 1 deg to 2 deg was acquired. The two-dimensional (2D) projection images were then synthesized into a 3D image by use of cone-beam CT reconstruction. The resulting MV CBCT image set was used to visualize the 3D bony anatomy and some soft-tissue details. The 3D image registration with the kV planning CT was performed either automatically by application of a maximization of mutual information (MMI) algorithm or manually by aligning multiple 2D slices. Results: Low-noise 3D MV CBCT images without pulsing artifacts were acquired with a total delivered dose that ranged from 5 to 15 cGy. Acquisition times, including image readout, were on the order of 90 seconds for 180 projection images taken through a continuous gantry rotation of 180 deg . The processing time of the data required an additional 90 seconds for the reconstruction of a 256 3 cube with 1.0-mm voxel size. Implanted gold markers (1 mm x 3 mm) were easily visible for all exposure

  7. A level set method for cupping artifact correction in cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie, Shipeng; Li, Haibo; Ge, Qi; Li, Chunming

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To reduce cupping artifacts and improve the contrast-to-noise ratio in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: A level set method is proposed to reduce cupping artifacts in the reconstructed image of CBCT. The authors derive a local intensity clustering property of the CBCT image and define a local clustering criterion function of the image intensities in a neighborhood of each point. This criterion function defines an energy in terms of the level set functions, which represent a segmentation result and the cupping artifacts. The cupping artifacts are estimated as a result of minimizing this energy. Results: The cupping artifacts in CBCT are reduced by an average of 90%. The results indicate that the level set-based algorithm is practical and effective for reducing the cupping artifacts and preserving the quality of the reconstructed image. Conclusions: The proposed method focuses on the reconstructed image without requiring any additional physical equipment, is easily implemented, and provides cupping correction through a single-scan acquisition. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method successfully reduces the cupping artifacts

  8. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Cone-Beam CT in Conjunction with DSA for Identifying Prostatic Arterial Anatomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Mao Qiang; Duan, Feng; Yuan, Kai; Zhang, Guo Dong; Yan, Jieyu; Wang, Yan

    2017-01-01

    Purpose To describe findings in prostatic arteries (PAs) at digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and cone-beam computed tomography (CT) that allow identification of benign prostatic hyperplasia and to determine the value added with the use of cone-beam CT. Materials and Methods This retrospective single-institution study was approved by the institutional review board, and the requirement for written informed consent was waived. From February 2009 to December 2014, a total of 148 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 70.5 years ± 14.5) underwent DSA of the internal iliac arteries and cone-beam CT with a flat-detector angiographic system before they underwent prostate artery embolization. Both the DSA and cone-beam CT images were evaluated by two interventional radiologists to determine the number of independent PAs and their origins and anastomoses with adjacent arteries. The exact McNemar test was used to compare the detection rate of the PAs and the anastomoses with DSA and with cone-beam CT. Results The PA anatomy was evaluated successfully by means of cone-beam CT in conjunction with DSA in all patients. Of the 296 pelvic sides, 274 (92.6%) had only one PA. The most frequent PA origin was the common gluteal-pudendal trunk with the superior vesicular artery in 118 (37.1%), followed by the anterior division of the internal iliac artery in 99 (31.1%), and the internal pudendal artery in 77 (24.2%) pelvic sides. In 67 (22.6%) pelvic sides, anastomoses to adjacent arteries were documented. The numbers of PA origins and anastomoses, respectively, that could be identified were significantly higher with cone-beam CT (301 of 318 [94.7%] and 65 of 67 [97.0%]) than with DSA (237 [74.5%] and 39 [58.2%], P < .05). Cone-beam CT provided essential information that was not available with DSA in 90 of 148 (60.8%) patients. Conclusion Cone-beam CT is a useful adjunctive technique to DSA for identification of the PA anatomy and provides information to help treatment planning

  9. Mandibular condyle position in cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Hyoung Joo; Kim, Gyu Tae; Choi, Yong Suk; Hwang, Eui Hwan [Kyung Hee Univ. School of Dentistry, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-06-15

    To evaluate position of the mandibular condyle within articular fossa in an asymptomatic population radiographically by a cone beam computed tomography. Cone beam computed tomography of 60 temporomandibular joints was performed on 15 males and 15 females with no history of any temporomandibular disorders, or any other orthodontic or photoconductors treatments. Position of mandibular condyle within articular fossa at centric occlusion was evaluated. A statistical evaluation was done using a SPSS. In the sagittal views, mandibular condyle within articular fossa was laterally located at central section. Mandibular condyles in the right and left sides were showed asymmetric positional relationship at medial, central, and lateral sections. Mandibular condyle within articular fossa in an asymptomatic population was observed non-concentric position in the sagittal and coronal views.

  10. Cone Beam CT vs. Fan Beam CT: A Comparison of Image Quality and Dose Delivered Between Two Differing CT Imaging Modalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechuga, Lawrence; Weidlich, Georg A

    2016-09-12

    A comparison of image quality and dose delivered between two differing computed tomography (CT) imaging modalities-fan beam and cone beam-was performed. A literature review of quantitative analyses for various image quality aspects such as uniformity, signal-to-noise ratio, artifact presence, spatial resolution, modulation transfer function (MTF), and low contrast resolution was generated. With these aspects quantified, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) shows a superior spatial resolution to that of fan beam, while fan beam shows a greater ability to produce clear and anatomically correct images with better soft tissue differentiation. The results indicate that fan beam CT produces superior images to that of on-board imaging (OBI) cone beam CT systems, while providing a considerably less dose to the patient.

  11. MO-DE-207A-07: Filtered Iterative Reconstruction (FIR) Via Proximal Forward-Backward Splitting: A Synergy of Analytical and Iterative Reconstruction Method for CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, H

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This work is to develop a general framework, namely filtered iterative reconstruction (FIR) method, to incorporate analytical reconstruction (AR) method into iterative reconstruction (IR) method, for enhanced CT image quality. Methods: FIR is formulated as a combination of filtered data fidelity and sparsity regularization, and then solved by proximal forward-backward splitting (PFBS) algorithm. As a result, the image reconstruction decouples data fidelity and image regularization with a two-step iterative scheme, during which an AR-projection step updates the filtered data fidelity term, while a denoising solver updates the sparsity regularization term. During the AR-projection step, the image is projected to the data domain to form the data residual, and then reconstructed by certain AR to a residual image which is in turn weighted together with previous image iterate to form next image iterate. Since the eigenvalues of AR-projection operator are close to the unity, PFBS based FIR has a fast convergence. Results: The proposed FIR method is validated in the setting of circular cone-beam CT with AR being FDK and total-variation sparsity regularization, and has improved image quality from both AR and IR. For example, AIR has improved visual assessment and quantitative measurement in terms of both contrast and resolution, and reduced axial and half-fan artifacts. Conclusion: FIR is proposed to incorporate AR into IR, with an efficient image reconstruction algorithm based on PFBS. The CBCT results suggest that FIR synergizes AR and IR with improved image quality and reduced axial and half-fan artifacts. The authors was partially supported by the NSFC (#11405105), the 973 Program (#2015CB856000), and the Shanghai Pujiang Talent Program (#14PJ1404500).

  12. Attenuation maps for SPECT determined using cone beam transmission computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Bassano, D.A.; Duxbury, C.E.; Capone, R.B.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents a new method for measuring non-uniform attenuation maps, using a cone beam geometry CT scan acquired on a standard rotating gamma camera normally used for SPECT imaging. The resulting map is intended for use in non-uniform attenuation compensation of SPECT images. The method was implemented using a light-weight point source holder attached to the camera. A cone beam collimator may be used on the gamma camera, but the cone beam CT scans may also be acquired without collimator. In either implementation, the advantages include very high efficiency and resolution limited not by the collimator but by the intrinsic camera resolution (about 4 mm). Several phantoms tested the spatial uniformity, noise, linearity as a function of attenuation coefficient, and spatial resolution. Good quality attenuation maps were obtained, at least for the central slices where no truncation was present

  13. Filtered region of interest cone-beam rotational angiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schafer, Sebastian; Noeel, Peter B.; Walczak, Alan M.; Hoffmann, Kenneth R.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: Cone-beam rotational angiography (CBRA) is widely used in the modern clinical settings. In a number of procedures, the area of interest is often considerably smaller than the field of view (FOV) of the detector, subjecting the patient to potentially unnecessary x-ray dose. The authors therefore propose a filter-based method to reduce the dose in the regions of low interest, while supplying high image quality in the region of interest (ROI). Methods: For such procedures, the authors propose a method of filtered region of interest (FROI)-CBRA. In the authors' approach, a gadolinium filter with a circular central opening is placed into the x-ray beam during image acquisition. The central region is imaged with high contrast, while peripheral regions are subjected to a substantial lower intensity and dose through beam filtering. The resulting images contain a high contrast/intensity ROI, as well as a low contrast/intensity peripheral region, and a transition region in between. To equalize the two regions' intensities, the first projection of the acquisition is performed with and without the filter in place. The equalization relationship, based on Beer's law, is established through linear regression using corresponding filtered and nonfiltered data. The transition region is equalized based on radial profiles. Results: Evaluations in 2D and 3D show no visible difference between conventional FROI-CBRA projection images and reconstructions in the ROI. CNR evaluations show similar image quality in the ROI, with a reduced CNR in the reconstructed peripheral region. In all filtered projection images, the scatter fraction inside the ROI was reduced. Theoretical and experimental dose evaluations show a considerable dose reduction; using a ROI half the original FOV reduces the dose by 60% for the filter thickness of 1.29 mm. Conclusions: These results indicate the potential of FROI-CBRA to reduce the dose to the patient while supplying the physician with the desired

  14. Filtered region of interest cone-beam rotational angiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schafer, Sebastian; Noeel, Peter B.; Walczak, Alan M.; Hoffmann, Kenneth R. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Neurosurgery, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States) and Toshiba Stroke Research Center, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Neurosurgery, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Computer Science, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States) and Toshiba Stroke Research Center, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Neurosurgery, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 and Toshiba Stroke Research Center, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Mechanical Engineering, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Neurosurgery, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States); Department of Computer Science, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States) and Toshiba Stroke Research Center, SUNY at Buffalo, 3435 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14214 (United States)

    2010-02-15

    Purpose: Cone-beam rotational angiography (CBRA) is widely used in the modern clinical settings. In a number of procedures, the area of interest is often considerably smaller than the field of view (FOV) of the detector, subjecting the patient to potentially unnecessary x-ray dose. The authors therefore propose a filter-based method to reduce the dose in the regions of low interest, while supplying high image quality in the region of interest (ROI). Methods: For such procedures, the authors propose a method of filtered region of interest (FROI)-CBRA. In the authors' approach, a gadolinium filter with a circular central opening is placed into the x-ray beam during image acquisition. The central region is imaged with high contrast, while peripheral regions are subjected to a substantial lower intensity and dose through beam filtering. The resulting images contain a high contrast/intensity ROI, as well as a low contrast/intensity peripheral region, and a transition region in between. To equalize the two regions' intensities, the first projection of the acquisition is performed with and without the filter in place. The equalization relationship, based on Beer's law, is established through linear regression using corresponding filtered and nonfiltered data. The transition region is equalized based on radial profiles. Results: Evaluations in 2D and 3D show no visible difference between conventional FROI-CBRA projection images and reconstructions in the ROI. CNR evaluations show similar image quality in the ROI, with a reduced CNR in the reconstructed peripheral region. In all filtered projection images, the scatter fraction inside the ROI was reduced. Theoretical and experimental dose evaluations show a considerable dose reduction; using a ROI half the original FOV reduces the dose by 60% for the filter thickness of 1.29 mm. Conclusions: These results indicate the potential of FROI-CBRA to reduce the dose to the patient while supplying the physician with

  15. Prototype heel effect compensation filter for cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, Shinichiro; Endo, Masahiro; Nishizawa, Kanae; Ohno, Mari; Miyazaki, Hiroaki; Tsujita, Kazuhiko; Saito, Yasuo

    2005-01-01

    The prototype cone-beam CT (CBCT) has a larger beam width than the conventional multi-detector row CT (MDCT). This causes a non-uniform angular distribution of the x-ray beam intensity known as the heel effect. Scan conditions for CBCT tube current are adjusted on the anode side to obtain an acceptable clinical image quality. However, as the dose is greater on the cathode side than on the anode side, the signal-to-noise ratio on the cathode side is excessively high, resulting in an unnecessary dose amount. To compensate for the heel effect, we developed a heel effect compensation (HEC) filter. The HEC filter rendered the dose distribution uniform and reduced the dose by an average of 25% for free air and by 20% for CTDI phantoms compared to doses with the conventional filter. In addition, its effect in rendering the effective energy uniform resulted in an improvement in image quality. This new HEC filter may be useful in cone-beam CT studies. (note)

  16. A cone-beam tomography system with a reduced size planar detector: A backprojection-filtration reconstruction algorithm as well as numerical and practical experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Liang; Chen Zhiqiang; Zhang Li; Xing Yuxiang; Kang Kejun

    2007-01-01

    In a traditional cone-beam computed tomography (CT) system, the cost of product and computation is very high. In this paper, we develop a transversely truncated cone-beam X-ray CT system with a reduced-size detector positioned off-center, in which X-ray beams only cover half of the object. The existing filtered backprojection (FBP) or backprojection-filtration (BPF) algorithms are not directly applicable in this new system. Hence, we develop a BPF-type direct backprojection algorithm. Different from the traditional rebinning methods, our algorithm directly backprojects the pretreated projection data without rebinning. This makes the algorithm compact and computationally more efficient. Because of avoiding interpolation errors of rebinning process, higher spatial resolution is obtained. Finally, some numerical simulations and practical experiments are done to validate the proposed algorithm and compare with rebinning algorithm

  17. A One-Step Cone-Beam CT-Enabled Planning-to-Treatment Model for Palliative Radiotherapy-From Development to Implementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, Rebecca K.S.; Letourneau, Daniel; Varma, Anita; Bissonnette, Jean Pierre; Fitzpatrick, David; Grabarz, Daniel; Elder, Christine; Martin, Melanie; Bezjak, Andrea; Panzarella, Tony; Gospodarowicz, Mary; Jaffray, David A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a cone-beam computed tomography (CT)–enabled one-step simulation-to-treatment process for the treatment of bone metastases. Methods and Materials: A three-phase prospective study was conducted. Patients requiring palliative radiotherapy to the spine, mediastinum, or abdomen/pelvis suitable for treatment with simple beam geometry (≤2 beams) were accrued. Phase A established the accuracy of cone-beam CT images for the purpose of gross tumor target volume (GTV) definition. Phase B evaluated the feasibility of implementing the cone-beam CT–enabled planning process at the treatment unit. Phase C evaluated the online cone-beam CT–enabled process for the planning and treatment of patients requiring radiotherapy for bone metastases. Results: Eighty-four patients participated in this study. Phase A (n = 9) established the adequacy of cone-beam CT images for target definition. Phase B (n = 45) established the quality of treatment plans to be adequate for clinical implementation for bone metastases. When the process was applied clinically in bone metastases (Phase C), the degree of overlap between planning computed tomography (PCT) and cone-beam CT for GTV and between PCT and cone-beam CT for treatment field was 82% ± 11% and 97% ± 4%, respectively. The oncologist’s decision to accept the plan under a time-pressured environment remained of high quality, with the cone-beam CT–generated treatment plan delivering at least 90% of the prescribed dose to 100% ± 0% of the cone-beam CT planning target volume (PTV). With the assumption that the PCT PTV is the gold-standard target, the cone-beam CT–generated treatment plan delivered at least 90% and at least 95% of dose to 98% ± 2% and 97% ± 5% of the PCT PTV, respectively. The mean time for the online planning and treatment process was 32.7 ± 4.0 minutes. Patient satisfaction was high, with a trend for superior satisfaction with the cone-beam CT–enabled process. Conclusions: The cone-beam CT

  18. A One-Step Cone-Beam CT-Enabled Planning-to-Treatment Model for Palliative Radiotherapy-From Development to Implementation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Rebecca K.S., E-mail: rebecca.wong@rmp.uhn.on.ca [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Letourneau, Daniel; Varma, Anita [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Bissonnette, Jean Pierre; Fitzpatrick, David; Grabarz, Daniel; Elder, Christine [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Martin, Melanie; Bezjak, Andrea [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Panzarella, Tony [Department of Biostatistics, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Gospodarowicz, Mary [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Jaffray, David A. [Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    2012-11-01

    Purpose: To develop a cone-beam computed tomography (CT)-enabled one-step simulation-to-treatment process for the treatment of bone metastases. Methods and Materials: A three-phase prospective study was conducted. Patients requiring palliative radiotherapy to the spine, mediastinum, or abdomen/pelvis suitable for treatment with simple beam geometry ({<=}2 beams) were accrued. Phase A established the accuracy of cone-beam CT images for the purpose of gross tumor target volume (GTV) definition. Phase B evaluated the feasibility of implementing the cone-beam CT-enabled planning process at the treatment unit. Phase C evaluated the online cone-beam CT-enabled process for the planning and treatment of patients requiring radiotherapy for bone metastases. Results: Eighty-four patients participated in this study. Phase A (n = 9) established the adequacy of cone-beam CT images for target definition. Phase B (n = 45) established the quality of treatment plans to be adequate for clinical implementation for bone metastases. When the process was applied clinically in bone metastases (Phase C), the degree of overlap between planning computed tomography (PCT) and cone-beam CT for GTV and between PCT and cone-beam CT for treatment field was 82% {+-} 11% and 97% {+-} 4%, respectively. The oncologist's decision to accept the plan under a time-pressured environment remained of high quality, with the cone-beam CT-generated treatment plan delivering at least 90% of the prescribed dose to 100% {+-} 0% of the cone-beam CT planning target volume (PTV). With the assumption that the PCT PTV is the gold-standard target, the cone-beam CT-generated treatment plan delivered at least 90% and at least 95% of dose to 98% {+-} 2% and 97% {+-} 5% of the PCT PTV, respectively. The mean time for the online planning and treatment process was 32.7 {+-} 4.0 minutes. Patient satisfaction was high, with a trend for superior satisfaction with the cone-beam CT-enabled process. Conclusions: The cone-beam

  19. Analytical study on the self-healing property of Bessel beam

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, X.

    2012-10-01

    With the help of Babinet principle, an analytical expression for the self-healing of Bessel beam is derived by using the Gaussian absorption function to describe the obstacle. Based on the analytical expression, the self-healing properties of Bessel beam are studied. It shows that Bessel beam has the ability to reconstruct its beam shape disturbed by an obstacle. However, during the self-healing process, not only the intensity of the beam behind the obstacle but also the other part will be affected by the obstruction. Meanwhile, the highlight spot, which intensity is larger than that without the obstacle will appear, and the size and strength of the highlight spot is determined by the size of the obstacle. From the change of Poynting vector and Babinet principle, the physical interpretations for the self-healing ability, the effects of the obstruction on the other part and the appearance of highlight spot are given.

  20. MO-DE-207A-08: Four-Dimensional Cone-Beam CT Iterative Reconstruction with Time-Ordered Chain Graph Model for Non-Periodic Organ Motion and Deformation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakano, M; Haga, A; Hanaoka, S; Nakagawa, K [The University of Tokyo Hospital, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Kotoku, J [Teikyo University, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Magome, T [Komazawa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Masutani, Y [Hiroshima-City University, Hiroshima, Hiroshima (Japan)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to propose a new concept of four-dimensional (4D) cone-beam CT (CBCT) reconstruction for non-periodic organ motion using the Time-ordered Chain Graph Model (TCGM), and to compare the reconstructed results with the previously proposed methods, the total variation-based compressed sensing (TVCS) and prior-image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS). Methods: CBCT reconstruction method introduced in this study consisted of maximum a posteriori (MAP) iterative reconstruction combined with a regularization term derived from a concept of TCGM, which includes a constraint coming from the images of neighbouring time-phases. The time-ordered image series were concurrently reconstructed in the MAP iterative reconstruction framework. Angular range of projections for each time-phase was 90 degrees for TCGM and PICCS, and 200 degrees for TVCS. Two kinds of projection data, an elliptic-cylindrical digital phantom data and two clinical patients’ data, were used for reconstruction. The digital phantom contained an air sphere moving 3 cm along longitudinal axis, and temporal resolution of each method was evaluated by measuring the penumbral width of reconstructed moving air sphere. The clinical feasibility of non-periodic time-ordered 4D CBCT reconstruction was also examined using projection data of prostate cancer patients. Results: The results of reconstructed digital phantom shows that the penumbral widths of TCGM yielded the narrowest result; PICCS and TCGM were 10.6% and 17.4% narrower than that of TVCS, respectively. This suggests that the TCGM has the better temporal resolution than the others. Patients’ CBCT projection data were also reconstructed and all three reconstructed results showed motion of rectal gas and stool. The result of TCGM provided visually clearer and less blurring images. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that the new concept for 4D CBCT reconstruction, TCGM, combined with MAP iterative reconstruction

  1. Asymptomatic radiopaque lesions of the jaws. A radiographic study using cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araki, Masao; Matsumoto, Naoyuki; Matsumoto, Kunihito; Ohnishi, Masaaki; Honda, Kazuya; Komiyama, Kazuo

    2011-01-01

    Panoramic radiography and cone-beam computed tomography (CT) were used to analyze asymptomatic radiopaque lesions in the jaw bones and determine the diagnostic relevance of the lesions based on their relationships to teeth and site of origin. One hundred radiopaque lesions detected between 1998 and 2002 were examined by both panoramic radiography and cone-beam CT. On the basis of panoramic radiographs, the region was classified as periapical, body, or edentulous, and the site was classified as molar or premolar. Follow-up data from medical records were available for only 36 of these cases. The study protocol for simultaneous use of cone-beam CT was approved by the ethics review board of our institution. A large majority of radiopaque lesions were observed in premolar and molar sites of the mandible; 60% of lesions were periapical, 24% were in the body, and 16% were in the edentulous region. An interesting type of radiopaque lesion, which we named a pearl shell structure (PSS), was observed on cone-beam CT in 34 of the 100 lesions. The PSS is a distinctive structure, and this finding on cone-beam CT likely represents the start of bone formation before bone sclerosis. (author)

  2. A motion-compensated cone-beam CT using electrical impedance tomography imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pengpan, T; Smith, N D; Qiu, W; Yao, A; Mitchell, C N; Soleimani, M

    2011-01-01

    Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is an imaging technique used in conjunction with radiation therapy. For example CBCT is used to verify the position of lung cancer tumours just prior to radiation treatment. The accuracy of the radiation treatment of thoracic and upper abdominal structures is heavily affected by respiratory movement. Such movement typically blurs the CBCT reconstruction and ideally should be removed. Hence motion-compensated CBCT has recently been researched for correcting image artefacts due to breathing motion. This paper presents a new dual-modality approach where CBCT is aided by using electrical impedance tomography (EIT) for motion compensation. EIT can generate images of contrasts in electrical properties. The main advantage of using EIT is its high temporal resolution. In this paper motion information is extracted from EIT images and incorporated directly in the CBCT reconstruction. In this study synthetic moving data are generated using simulated and experimental phantoms. The paper demonstrates that image blur, created as a result of motion, can be reduced through motion compensation with EIT

  3. Cone beam computed tomography in veterinary dentistry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Thielen, B.; Siguenza, F.; Hassan, B.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in imaging dogs and cats for diagnostic dental veterinary applications. CBCT scans of heads of six dogs and two cats were made. Dental panoramic and multi-planar reformatted (MPR) para-sagittal

  4. The influence of secondary reconstruction slice thickness on NewTom 3G cone beam computed tomography-based radiological interpretation of sheep mandibular condyle fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirin, Yigit; Guven, Koray; Horasan, Sinan; Sencan, Sabri; Bakir, Baris; Barut, Oya; Tanyel, Cem; Aral, Ali; Firat, Deniz

    2010-11-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the diagnostic accuracy of the different secondary reconstruction slice thicknesses of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) on artificially created mandibular condyle fractures. A total of 63 sheep heads with or without condylar fractures were scanned with a NewTom 3G CBCT scanner. Multiplanar reformatted (MPR) views in 0.2-mm, 1-mm, 2-mm, and 3-mm secondary reconstruction slice thicknesses were evaluated by 7 observers. Inter- and intraobserver agreements were calculated with weighted kappa statistics. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to statistically compare the area under the curve (AUC) of each slice thickness. The kappa coefficients varied from fair and to excellent. The AUCs of 0.2-mm and 1-mm slice thicknesses were found to be significantly higher than those of 2 mm and 3 mm for some type of fractures. CBCT was found to be accurate in detecting all variants of fractures at 0.2 mm and 1 mm. However, 2-mm and 3-mm slices were not suitable to detect fissure, complete, and comminuted types of mandibular condyle fractures. Copyright © 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Cone beam computerized tomography of face. Technological assessment report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saint-Pierre, Francoise; Fanelli, Gaelle; Mosnegutu, Lavinia; Devaux, Frederique

    2009-12-01

    Cone beam computerized tomography is an imagery technique notably used for the maxillofacial complex or a complete or limited exploration of maxillo-mandibular and dento-alveolar structures. Typically, this technique is implemented with devices which are different from scanners in various respects (performance of several linear cuts, use of an open cone beam). Based on a literature survey, this document reports an assessment which aimed at determining technical and dosimetric performances of the device, potential benefits in terms of diagnosis and therapy with respect to existing imagery techniques, specifications and role of this technique in odonto-stomatology, maxillofacial surgery, and even in ENT, and operation conditions and training to perform this act

  6. Upper airway alterations/abnormalities in a case series of obstructive sleep apnea patients identified with cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shigeta, Y.; Shintaku, W.H.; Clark, G.T.; Enciso, R.; Ogawa, T.

    2007-01-01

    There are many factors that influence the configuration of the upper airway and may contribute to the development of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This paper presents a series of 12 consecutive OSA cases where various upper airway alteration/abnormalities were identified using 3D anatomic reconstructions generated from cone-beam CT (CBCT) images. Some cases exhibited more than one type of abnormality and below we describe each of the six types identified with CBCT in this case series. (orig.)

  7. Upper airway alterations/abnormalities in a case series of obstructive sleep apnea patients identified with cone-beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shigeta, Y; Shintaku, W H; Clark, G T [Orofacial Pain/Oral Medicine Center, Div. of Diagnostic Sciences, School of Dentistry, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Enciso, R [Div. of Craniofacial Sciences and Therapeutics, School of Dentistry, Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Ogawa, T [Dept. of Fixed Prosthodontic Dentistry, Tsurumi Univ., School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi (Japan)

    2007-06-15

    There are many factors that influence the configuration of the upper airway and may contribute to the development of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This paper presents a series of 12 consecutive OSA cases where various upper airway alteration/abnormalities were identified using 3D anatomic reconstructions generated from cone-beam CT (CBCT) images. Some cases exhibited more than one type of abnormality and below we describe each of the six types identified with CBCT in this case series. (orig.)

  8. SU-G-206-16: Investigation of Dosimetric Consequence Via Cone-Beam CT Based Dose Reconstruction in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Radiotherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, P; Gang, Y; Qin, S; Li, D [Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Medical Physics and Image Processing Technology, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University (China); Li, H; Chen, J; Ma, C; Yin, Y [Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute (China)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Many patients with technically unresectable or medically inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) had hepatic dosimetric variations as a result of inter-fraction anatomical deformation. This study was conducted to assess the hepatic dosimetric consequences via reconstructing weekly dose in HCC patients receiving three dimensional conformal radiation therapy. Methods: Twenty-one HCC patients with 21 planning CT (pCT) scans and 63 weekly Cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans were enrolled in this investigation. Among them, six patients had been diagnosed of radiation induced liver disease (RILD) and the other fifteen patients had good prognosis after treatment. And each patient had three weekly CBCT before re-planning. In reconstructing CBCT-based weekly dose, we registered pCT to CBCT to provide the correct Hounsfield units for the CBCT using gradient-based deformable image registration (DIR), and this modified CBCT (mCBCT) were introduced to enable dose calculation.To obtain the weekly dosimetric consequences, the initial plan beam configurations and dose constraints were re-applied to mCBCT for performing dose calculation, and the mCBCT were extrapolated to 25 fractions. Besides, the manually delineated contour was propagated automatically onto the mCBCT of the new patient by exploiting the deformation vectors field, and the reconstructed weekly dose was mapped back to pCT to understand the dose distribution difference. Also, weekly dosimetric variations were compared with the hepatic radiation tolerance in terms of D50 and Dmean. Results: Among the twenty-one patients, the three weekly D50 increased by 0.7Gy, 5.1Gy and 6.1Gy, respectively, and Dmean increased by 0.9%, 4.7% and 5.5%, respectively. For patients with RILD, the average values of the third weekly D50 and Dmean were both high than hepatic radiation tolerance, while the values of patients without RILD were below. Conclusion: The planned dose on pCT was not a real dose to the liver, and the liver overdose

  9. Reconstruction of FXR Beam Conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nexen, W E; Scarpetti, R D; Zentler, J

    2001-01-01

    Beam-envelope radius, envelope angle, and beam emittance can be derived from measurements of beam radius for at least three different transport conditions. We have used this technique to reconstruct exit parameters from the FXR injector and accelerator. We use a diamagnetic loop (DML) to measure the magnetic moment of the high current beam. With no assumptions about radial profile, we can derive the beam mean squire radius from the moment under certain easily met conditions. Since it is this parameter which is required for the reconstruction, it is evident that the DML is the ideal diagnostic for this technique. The simplest application of this technique requires at least three shots for a reconstruction but in reality requires averaging over many more shots because of shot to shot variation. Since DML measurements do not interfere with the beam, single shot time resolved measurements of the beam parameters appear feasible if one uses an array of at least three DMLs separated by known transport conditions

  10. Geometric calibration method for multiple head cone beam SPECT systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizo, Ph.; Grangeat, P.; Guillemaud, R.; Sauze, R.

    1993-01-01

    A method is presented for performing geometric calibration on Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) cone beam systems with multiple cone beam collimators, each having its own orientation parameters. This calibration method relies on the fact that, in tomography, for each head, the relative position of the rotation axis and of the collimator does not change during the acquisition. In order to ensure the method stability, the parameters to be estimated in intrinsic parameters and extrinsic parameters are separated. The intrinsic parameters describe the acquisition geometry and the extrinsic parameters position of the detection system with respect to the rotation axis. (authors) 3 refs

  11. Quasi-monoenergetic proton beam produced by cone-top-end target

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Jinqing; Jin Xiaolin; Li Bin; Zhou Weimin; Gu Yuqiu

    2012-01-01

    A scheme for generating quasi-monoenergetic proton beam is presented. In this paper, a new cone-top-end target is proposed and investigated by two-dimensional particle-in-cell (2D-PIC) simulation. The simulation results show that this target configuration can guide the hot electrons by the self-generated magnetic field along the profile of the cone-top-end target. The peak magnitude of sheath field at the rear surface of solid target can be enhanced, so the proton energy can be improved. The proton beam with energy spread of 9.9% can be obtained. (authors)

  12. Cone beam CT findings of retromolar canals: Report of cases and literature review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Sang Sun [Dept. of Dental Hygiene, Eulji University, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of); Park, Chang Seo [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, College of Dentistry, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-12-15

    A retromolar canal is an anatomical variation in the mandible. As it includes the neurovascular bundle, local anesthetic insufficiency can occur, and an injury of the retromolar canal during dental surgery in the mandible may result in excessive bleeding, paresthesia, and traumatic neuroma. Using imaging analysis software, we evaluated the cone-beam computed tomography (CT) images of two Korean patients who presented with retromolar canals. Retromolar canals were detectable on the sagittal and cross-sectional images of cone-beam CT, but not on the panoramic radiographs of the patients. Therefore, the clinician should pay particular attention to the identification of retromolar canals by preoperative radiographic examination, and additional cone beam CT scanning would be recommended.

  13. Cone beam CT findings of retromolar canals: Report of cases and literature review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sang Sun; Park, Chang Seo

    2013-01-01

    A retromolar canal is an anatomical variation in the mandible. As it includes the neurovascular bundle, local anesthetic insufficiency can occur, and an injury of the retromolar canal during dental surgery in the mandible may result in excessive bleeding, paresthesia, and traumatic neuroma. Using imaging analysis software, we evaluated the cone-beam computed tomography (CT) images of two Korean patients who presented with retromolar canals. Retromolar canals were detectable on the sagittal and cross-sectional images of cone-beam CT, but not on the panoramic radiographs of the patients. Therefore, the clinician should pay particular attention to the identification of retromolar canals by preoperative radiographic examination, and additional cone beam CT scanning would be recommended.

  14. 4D cone beam CT via spatiotemporal tensor framelet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Hao; Li, Ruijiang; Xing, Lei; Lin, Yuting

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: On-board 4D cone beam CT (4DCBCT) offers respiratory phase-resolved volumetric imaging, and improves the accuracy of target localization in image guided radiation therapy. However, the clinical utility of this technique has been greatly impeded by its degraded image quality, prolonged imaging time, and increased imaging dose. The purpose of this letter is to develop a novel iterative 4DCBCT reconstruction method for improved image quality, increased imaging speed, and reduced imaging dose. Methods: The essence of this work is to introduce the spatiotemporal tensor framelet (STF), a high-dimensional tensor generalization of the 1D framelet for 4DCBCT, to effectively take into account of highly correlated and redundant features of the patient anatomy during respiration, in a multilevel fashion with multibasis sparsifying transform. The STF-based algorithm is implemented on a GPU platform for improved computational efficiency. To evaluate the method, 4DCBCT full-fan scans were acquired within 30 s, with a gantry rotation of 200°; STF is also compared with a state-of-art reconstruction method via spatiotemporal total variation regularization. Results: Both the simulation and experimental results demonstrate that STF-based reconstruction achieved superior image quality. The reconstruction of 20 respiratory phases took less than 10 min on an NVIDIA Tesla C2070 GPU card. The STF codes are available at https://sites.google.com/site/spatiotemporaltensorframelet . Conclusions: By effectively utilizing the spatiotemporal coherence of the patient anatomy among different respiratory phases in a multilevel fashion with multibasis sparsifying transform, the proposed STF method potentially enables fast and low-dose 4DCBCT with improved image quality.

  15. 4D cone beam CT via spatiotemporal tensor framelet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gao, Hao, E-mail: hao.gao@emory.edu [Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, and Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (United States); Li, Ruijiang; Xing, Lei [Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Lin, Yuting [Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 (United States)

    2012-11-15

    Purpose: On-board 4D cone beam CT (4DCBCT) offers respiratory phase-resolved volumetric imaging, and improves the accuracy of target localization in image guided radiation therapy. However, the clinical utility of this technique has been greatly impeded by its degraded image quality, prolonged imaging time, and increased imaging dose. The purpose of this letter is to develop a novel iterative 4DCBCT reconstruction method for improved image quality, increased imaging speed, and reduced imaging dose. Methods: The essence of this work is to introduce the spatiotemporal tensor framelet (STF), a high-dimensional tensor generalization of the 1D framelet for 4DCBCT, to effectively take into account of highly correlated and redundant features of the patient anatomy during respiration, in a multilevel fashion with multibasis sparsifying transform. The STF-based algorithm is implemented on a GPU platform for improved computational efficiency. To evaluate the method, 4DCBCT full-fan scans were acquired within 30 s, with a gantry rotation of 200°; STF is also compared with a state-of-art reconstruction method via spatiotemporal total variation regularization. Results: Both the simulation and experimental results demonstrate that STF-based reconstruction achieved superior image quality. The reconstruction of 20 respiratory phases took less than 10 min on an NVIDIA Tesla C2070 GPU card. The STF codes are available at https://sites.google.com/site/spatiotemporaltensorframelet . Conclusions: By effectively utilizing the spatiotemporal coherence of the patient anatomy among different respiratory phases in a multilevel fashion with multibasis sparsifying transform, the proposed STF method potentially enables fast and low-dose 4DCBCT with improved image quality.

  16. Algorithm-enabled exploration of image-quality potential of cone-beam CT in image-guided radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Xiao; Sidky, Emil Y; Pan, Xiaochuan; Pearson, Erik; Pelizzari, Charles; Al-Hallaq, Hania; Bian, Junguo

    2015-01-01

    Kilo-voltage (KV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) unit mounted onto a linear accelerator treatment system, often referred to as on-board imager (OBI), plays an increasingly important role in image-guided radiation therapy. While the FDK algorithm is currently used for reconstructing images from clinical OBI data, optimization-based reconstruction has also been investigated for OBI CBCT. An optimization-based reconstruction involves numerous parameters, which can significantly impact reconstruction properties (or utility). The success of an optimization-based reconstruction for a particular class of practical applications thus relies strongly on appropriate selection of parameter values. In the work, we focus on tailoring the constrained-TV-minimization-based reconstruction, an optimization-based reconstruction previously shown of some potential for CBCT imaging conditions of practical interest, to OBI imaging through appropriate selection of parameter values. In particular, for given real data of phantoms and patient collected with OBI CBCT, we first devise utility metrics specific to OBI-quality-assurance tasks and then apply them to guiding the selection of parameter values in constrained-TV-minimization-based reconstruction. The study results show that the reconstructions are with improvement, relative to clinical FDK reconstruction, in both visualization and quantitative assessments in terms of the devised utility metrics. (paper)

  17. Development of a new prior knowledge based image reconstruction algorithm for the cone-beam-CT in radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaegler, Sven

    2016-01-01

    The treatment of cancer in radiation therapy is achievable today by techniques that enable highly conformal dose distributions and steep dose gradients. In order to avoid mistreatment, these irradiation techniques have necessitated enhanced patient localization techniques. With an integrated x-ray tube at modern linear accelerators kV-projections can be acquired over a sufficiently large angular space and can be reconstructed to a volumetric image data set from the current situation of the patient prior to irradiation. The so-called Cone-Beam-CT (CBCT) allows a precise verification of patient positioning as well as adaptive radiotherapy. The benefits of an improved patient positioning due to a daily performed CBCT's is contrary to an increased and not negligible radiation exposure of the patient. In order to decrease the radiation exposure, substantial research effort is focused on various dose reduction strategies. Prominent strategies are the decrease of the charge per projection, the reduction of the number of projections as well as the reduction of the acquisition space. Unfortunately, these acquisition schemes lead to images with degraded quality with the widely used Feldkamp-Davis-Kress image reconstruction algorithm. More sophisticated image reconstruction techniques can deal with these dose-reduction strategies without degrading the image quality. A frequently investigated method is the image reconstruction by minimizing the total variation (TV), which is also known as Compressed Sensing (CS). A Compressed Sensing-based reconstruction framework that includes prior images into the reconstruction algorithm is the Prior-Image-Constrained- Compressed-Sensing algorithm (PICCS). The images reconstructed by PICCS outperform the reconstruction results of the conventional Feldkamp-Davis-Kress algorithm (FDK) based method if only a small number of projections are available. However, a drawback of PICCS is that major deviations between prior image data sets and the

  18. A comprehensive study on decreasing the kilovoltage cone-beam CT dose by reducing the projection number.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Bo; Lu, Haibin; Palta, Jatinder

    2010-05-12

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of kilovoltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) on registration accuracy and image qualities with a reduced number of planar projections used in volumetric imaging reconstruction. The ultimate goal is to evaluate the possibility of reducing the patient dose while maintaining registration accuracy under different projection-number schemes for various clinical sites. An Elekta Synergy Linear accelerator with an onboard CBCT system was used in this study. The quality of the Elekta XVI cone-beam three-dimensional volumetric images reconstructed with a decreasing number of projections was quantitatively evaluated by a Catphan phantom. Subsequently, we tested the registration accuracy of imaging data sets on three rigid anthropomorphic phantoms and three real patient sites under the reduced projection-number (as low as 1/6th) reconstruction of CBCT data with different rectilinear shifts and rota-tions. CBCT scan results of the Catphan phantom indicated the CBCT images got noisier when the number of projections was reduced, but their spatial resolution and uniformity were hardly affected. The maximum registration errors under the small amount transformation of the reference CT images were found to be within 0.7 mm translation and 0.3 masculine rotation. However, when the projection number was lower than one-fourth of the full set with a large amount of transformation of reference CT images, the registration could easily be trapped into local minima solutions for a nonrigid anatomy. We concluded, by using projection-number reduction strategy under conscientious care, imaging-guided localization procedure could achieve a lower patient dose without losing the registration accuracy for various clinical sites and situations. A faster scanning time is the main advantage compared to the mA decrease-based, dose-reduction method.

  19. Application of cone beam computed tomography in facial imaging science

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zacharias Fourie; Janalt Damstra; Yijin Ren

    2012-01-01

    The use of three-dimensional (3D) methods for facial imaging has increased significantly over the past years.Traditional 2D imaging has gradually being replaced by 3D images in different disciplines,particularly in the fields of orthodontics,maxillofacial surgery,plastic and reconstructive surgery,neurosurgery and forensic sciences.In most cases,3D facial imaging overcomes the limitations of traditional 2D methods and provides the clinician with more accurate information regarding the soft-tissues and the underlying skeleton.The aim of this study was to review the types of imaging methods used for facial imaging.It is important to realize the difference between the types of 3D imaging methods as application and indications thereof may differ.Since 3D cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging will play an increasingly importanl role in orthodontics and orthognathic surgery,special emphasis should be placed on discussing CBCT applications in facial evaluations.

  20. Metal artefact reduction for a dental cone beam CT image using image segmentation and backprojection filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohammadi, Mahdi; Khotanlou, Hassan; Mohammadi, Mohammad

    2011-01-01

    Full text: Due to low dose delivery and fast scanning, the dental Cone Beam CT (CBCT) is the latest technology being implanted for a range of dental imaging. The presence of metallic objects including amalgam or gold fillings in the mouth produces an intuitive image for human jaws. The feasibility of a fast and accurate approach for metal artefact reduction for dental CBCT is investigated. The current study investigates the metal artefact reduction using image segmentation and modification of several sinigrams. In order to reduce metal effects such as beam hardening, streak artefact and intense noises, the application of several algorithms is evaluated. The proposed method includes three stages: preprocessing, reconstruction and post-processing. In the pre-processing stage, in order to reduce the noise level, several phase and frequency filters were applied. At the second stage, based on the specific sinogram achieved for each segment, spline interpolation and weighting backprojection filters were applied to reconstruct the original image. A three-dimensional filter was then applied on reconstructed images, to improve the image quality. Results showed that compared to other available filters, standard frequency filters have a significant influence in the preprocessing stage (ΔHU = 48 ± 6). In addition, with the streak artefact, the probability of beam hardening artefact increases. t e post-processing stage, the application of three-dimensional filters improves the quality of reconstructed images (See Fig. I). Conclusion The proposed method reduces metal artefacts especially where there are more than one metal implanted in the region of interest.

  1. Physical performance and image optimization of megavoltage cone-beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morin, Olivier; Aubry, Jean-Francois; Aubin, Michele; Chen, Josephine; Descovich, Martina; Hashemi, Ali-Bani; Pouliot, Jean [Department of Radiation Oncology, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 and UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, San Francisco, California 94158 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 (United States); Siemens Oncology Care Systems, Concord, California 94520 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Helen Diller Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 and UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering, San Francisco, California 94158 (United States)

    2009-04-15

    Megavoltage cone-beam CT (MVCBCT) is the most recent addition to the in-room CT systems developed for image-guided radiation therapy. The first generation MVCBCT system consists of a 6 MV treatment x-ray beam produced by a conventional linear accelerator equipped with a flat panel amorphous silicon detector. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical performance of MVCBCT in order to optimize the system acquisition and reconstruction parameters for image quality. MVCBCT acquisitions were performed with the clinical system but images were reconstructed and analyzed with a separate research workstation. The geometrical stability and the positioning accuracy of the system were evaluated by comparing geometrical calibrations routinely performed over a period of 12 months. The beam output and detector intensity stability during MVCBCT acquisition were also evaluated by analyzing in-air acquisitions acquired at different exposure levels. Several system parameters were varied to quantify their impact on image quality including the exposure (2.7, 4.5, 9.0, 18.0, and 54.0 MU), the craniocaudal imaging length (2, 5, 15, and 27.4 cm), the voxel size (0.5, 1, and 2 mm), the slice thickness (1, 3, and 5 mm), and the phantom size. For the reconstruction algorithm, the study investigated the effect of binning, averaging and diffusion filtering of raw projections as well as three different projection filters. A head-sized water cylinder was used to measure and improve the uniformity of MVCBCT images. Inserts of different electron densities were placed in a water cylinder to measure the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). The spatial resolution was obtained by measuring the point-spread function of the system using an iterative edge blurring technique. Our results showed that the geometric stability and accuracy of MVCBCT were better than 1 mm over a period of 12 months. Beam intensity variations per projection of up to 35.4% were observed for a 2.7 MU MVCBCT acquisition

  2. Scattering calculation and image reconstruction using elevation-focused beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, David P; Astheimer, Jeffrey P; Waag, Robert C

    2009-05-01

    Pressure scattered by cylindrical and spherical objects with elevation-focused illumination and reception has been analytically calculated, and corresponding cross sections have been reconstructed with a two-dimensional algorithm. Elevation focusing was used to elucidate constraints on quantitative imaging of three-dimensional objects with two-dimensional algorithms. Focused illumination and reception are represented by angular spectra of plane waves that were efficiently computed using a Fourier interpolation method to maintain the same angles for all temporal frequencies. Reconstructions were formed using an eigenfunction method with multiple frequencies, phase compensation, and iteration. The results show that the scattered pressure reduces to a two-dimensional expression, and two-dimensional algorithms are applicable when the region of a three-dimensional object within an elevation-focused beam is approximately constant in elevation. The results also show that energy scattered out of the reception aperture by objects contained within the focused beam can result in the reconstructed values of attenuation slope being greater than true values at the boundary of the object. Reconstructed sound speed images, however, appear to be relatively unaffected by the loss in scattered energy. The broad conclusion that can be drawn from these results is that two-dimensional reconstructions require compensation to account for uncaptured three-dimensional scattering.

  3. Cone beam computed tomography in Endodontics - a review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Patel, S.; Durack, C.; Abella, F.; Shemesh, H.; Roig, M.; Lemberg, K.

    2015-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) produces undistorted three-dimensional information of the maxillofacial skeleton, including the teeth and their surrounding tissues with a lower effective radiation dose than computed tomography. The aim of this paper is to: (i) review the current literature on

  4. Scatter kernel estimation with an edge-spread function method for cone-beam computed tomography imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Heng; Mohan, Radhe; Zhu, X Ronald

    2008-01-01

    The clinical applications of kilovoltage x-ray cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) have been compromised by the limited quality of CBCT images, which typically is due to a substantial scatter component in the projection data. In this paper, we describe an experimental method of deriving the scatter kernel of a CBCT imaging system. The estimated scatter kernel can be used to remove the scatter component from the CBCT projection images, thus improving the quality of the reconstructed image. The scattered radiation was approximated as depth-dependent, pencil-beam kernels, which were derived using an edge-spread function (ESF) method. The ESF geometry was achieved with a half-beam block created by a 3 mm thick lead sheet placed on a stack of slab solid-water phantoms. Measurements for ten water-equivalent thicknesses (WET) ranging from 0 cm to 41 cm were taken with (half-blocked) and without (unblocked) the lead sheet, and corresponding pencil-beam scatter kernels or point-spread functions (PSFs) were then derived without assuming any empirical trial function. The derived scatter kernels were verified with phantom studies. Scatter correction was then incorporated into the reconstruction process to improve image quality. For a 32 cm diameter cylinder phantom, the flatness of the reconstructed image was improved from 22% to 5%. When the method was applied to CBCT images for patients undergoing image-guided therapy of the pelvis and lung, the variation in selected regions of interest (ROIs) was reduced from >300 HU to <100 HU. We conclude that the scatter reduction technique utilizing the scatter kernel effectively suppresses the artifact caused by scatter in CBCT.

  5. Self-calibration of a cone-beam micro-CT system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patel, V.; Chityala, R. N.; Hoffmann, K. R.; Ionita, C. N.; Bednarek, D. R.; Rudin, S.

    2009-01-01

    Use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is becoming more frequent. For proper reconstruction, the geometry of the CBCT systems must be known. While the system can be designed to reduce errors in the geometry, calibration measurements must still be performed and corrections applied. Investigators have proposed techniques using calibration objects for system calibration. In this study, the authors present methods to calibrate a rotary-stage CB micro-CT (CBμCT) system using only the images acquired of the object to be reconstructed, i.e., without the use of calibration objects. Projection images are acquired using a CBμCT system constructed in the authors' laboratories. Dark- and flat-field corrections are performed. Exposure variations are detected and quantified using analysis of image regions with an unobstructed view of the x-ray source. Translations that occur during the acquisition in the horizontal direction are detected, quantified, and corrected based on sinogram analysis. The axis of rotation is determined using registration of antiposed projection images. These techniques were evaluated using data obtained with calibration objects and phantoms. The physical geometric axis of rotation is determined and aligned with the rotational axis (assumed to be the center of the detector plane) used in the reconstruction process. The parameters describing this axis agree to within 0.1 mm and 0.3 deg with those determined using other techniques. Blurring due to residual calibration errors has a point-spread function in the reconstructed planes with a full-width-at-half-maximum of less than 125 μm in a tangential direction and essentially zero in the radial direction for the rotating object. The authors have used this approach on over 100 acquisitions over the past 2 years and have regularly obtained high-quality reconstructions, i.e., without artifacts and no detectable blurring of the reconstructed objects. This self-calibrating approach not only obviates

  6. Volume-of-change cone-beam CT for image-guided surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Junghoon; Stayman, J Webster; Otake, Yoshito; Schafer, Sebastian; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Khanna, A Jay; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H; Prince, Jerry L

    2012-01-01

    C-arm cone-beam CT (CBCT) can provide intraoperative 3D imaging capability for surgical guidance, but workflow and radiation dose are the significant barriers to broad utilization. One main reason is that each 3D image acquisition requires a complete scan with a full radiation dose to present a completely new 3D image every time. In this paper, we propose to utilize patient-specific CT or CBCT as prior knowledge to accurately reconstruct the aspects of the region that have changed by the surgical procedure from only a sparse set of x-rays. The proposed methods consist of a 3D–2D registration between the prior volume and a sparse set of intraoperative x-rays, creating digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs) from the registered prior volume, computing difference images by subtracting DRRs from the intraoperative x-rays, a penalized likelihood reconstruction of the volume of change (VOC) from the difference images, and finally a fusion of VOC reconstruction with the prior volume to visualize the entire surgical field. When the surgical changes are local and relatively small, the VOC reconstruction involves only a small volume size and a small number of projections, allowing less computation and lower radiation dose than is needed to reconstruct the entire surgical field. We applied this approach to sacroplasty phantom data obtained from a CBCT test bench and vertebroplasty data with a fresh cadaver acquired from a C-arm CBCT system with a flat-panel detector. The VOCs were reconstructed from a varying number of images (10–66 images) and compared to the CBCT ground truth using four different metrics (mean squared error, correlation coefficient, structural similarity index and perceptual difference model). The results show promising reconstruction quality with structural similarity to the ground truth close to 1 even when only 15–20 images were used, allowing dose reduction by the factor of 10–20. (paper)

  7. Intra–cavity generation of Bessel–like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Litvin, IA

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The authors report on two resonator systems for producing Bessel–like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles (LDBLBs). Such beams have extended propagation distances as compared to conventional Bessel– Gauss beams, with a far field pattern...

  8. Binary moving-blocker-based scatter correction in cone-beam computed tomography with width-truncated projections: proof of concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ho; Fahimian, Benjamin P.; Xing, Lei

    2017-03-01

    This paper proposes a binary moving-blocker (BMB)-based technique for scatter correction in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). In concept, a beam blocker consisting of lead strips, mounted in front of the x-ray tube, moves rapidly in and out of the beam during a single gantry rotation. The projections are acquired in alternating phases of blocked and unblocked cone beams, where the blocked phase results in a stripe pattern in the width direction. To derive the scatter map from the blocked projections, 1D B-Spline interpolation/extrapolation is applied by using the detected information in the shaded regions. The scatter map of the unblocked projections is corrected by averaging two scatter maps that correspond to their adjacent blocked projections. The scatter-corrected projections are obtained by subtracting the corresponding scatter maps from the projection data and are utilized to generate the CBCT image by a compressed-sensing (CS)-based iterative reconstruction algorithm. Catphan504 and pelvis phantoms were used to evaluate the method’s performance. The proposed BMB-based technique provided an effective method to enhance the image quality by suppressing scatter-induced artifacts, such as ring artifacts around the bowtie area. Compared to CBCT without a blocker, the spatial nonuniformity was reduced from 9.1% to 3.1%. The root-mean-square error of the CT numbers in the regions of interest (ROIs) was reduced from 30.2 HU to 3.8 HU. In addition to high resolution, comparable to that of the benchmark image, the CS-based reconstruction also led to a better contrast-to-noise ratio in seven ROIs. The proposed technique enables complete scatter-corrected CBCT imaging with width-truncated projections and allows reducing the acquisition time to approximately half. This work may have significant implications for image-guided or adaptive radiation therapy, where CBCT is often used.

  9. Investigation of cone-beam CT image quality trade-off for image-guided radiation therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, Junguo; Sharp, Gregory C.; Park, Yang-Kyun; Ouyang, Jinsong; Bortfeld, Thomas; El Fakhri, Georges

    2016-05-01

    It is well-known that projections acquired over an angular range slightly over 180° (so-called short scan) are sufficient for fan-beam reconstruction. However, due to practical imaging conditions (projection data and reconstruction image discretization, physical factors, and data noise), the short-scan reconstructions may have different appearances and properties from the full-scan (scans over 360°) reconstructions. Nevertheless, short-scan configurations have been used in applications such as cone-beam CT (CBCT) for head-neck-cancer image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) that only requires a small field of view due to the potential reduced imaging time and dose. In this work, we studied the image quality trade-off for full, short, and full/short scan configurations with both conventional filtered-backprojection (FBP) reconstruction and iterative reconstruction algorithms based on total-variation (TV) minimization for head-neck-cancer IGRT. Anthropomorphic and Catphan phantoms were scanned at different exposure levels with a clinical scanner used in IGRT. Both visualization- and numerical-metric-based evaluation studies were performed. The results indicate that the optimal exposure level and number of views are in the middle range for both FBP and TV-based iterative algorithms and the optimization is object-dependent and task-dependent. The optimal view numbers decrease with the total exposure levels for both FBP and TV-based algorithms. The results also indicate there are slight differences between FBP and TV-based iterative algorithms for the image quality trade-off: FBP seems to be more in favor of larger number of views while the TV-based algorithm is more robust to different data conditions (number of views and exposure levels) than the FBP algorithm. The studies can provide a general guideline for image-quality optimization for CBCT used in IGRT and other applications.

  10. Quantitative cone beam X-ray luminescence tomography/X-ray computed tomography imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Dongmei; Zhu, Shouping; Chen, Xueli; Chao, Tiantian; Cao, Xu; Zhao, Fengjun; Huang, Liyu; Liang, Jimin

    2014-01-01

    X-ray luminescence tomography (XLT) is an imaging technology based on X-ray-excitable materials. The main purpose of this paper is to obtain quantitative luminescence concentration using the structural information of the X-ray computed tomography (XCT) in the hybrid cone beam XLT/XCT system. A multi-wavelength luminescence cone beam XLT method with the structural a priori information is presented to relieve the severe ill-posedness problem in the cone beam XLT. The nanophosphors and phantom experiments were undertaken to access the linear relationship of the system response. Then, an in vivo mouse experiment was conducted. The in vivo experimental results show that the recovered concentration error as low as 6.67% with the location error of 0.85 mm can be achieved. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately recover the nanophosphor inclusion and realize the quantitative imaging

  11. Investigation of bulk electron densities for dose calculations on cone-beam CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambert, J.; Parker, J.; Gupta, S.; Hatton, J.; Tang, C.; Capp, A.; Denham, J.W.; Wright, P.

    2010-01-01

    Full text: If cone-beam CT images are to be used for dose calculations, then the images must be able to provide accurate electron density information. Twelve patients underwent twice weekly cone-beam CT scans in addition to the planning CT scan. A standardised 5-field treatment plan was applied to 169 of the CBCT images. Doses were calculated using the original electron density values in the CBCT and with bulk electron densities applied. Bone was assigned a density of 288 HU, and all other tissue was assigned to be water equivalent (0 HU). The doses were compared to the dose calculated on the original planning CT image. Using the original HU values in the cone-beam images, the average dose del i vered by the plans from all 12 patients was I. I % lower than the intended 200 cOy delivered on the original CT plans (standard devia tion 0.7%, maximum difference -2.93%). When bulk electron densities were applied to the cone-beam images, the average dose was 0.3% lower than the original CT plans (standard deviation 0.8%, maximum difference -2.22%). Compared to using the original HU values, applying bulk electron densities to the CBCT images improved the dose calculations by almost I %. Some variation due to natural changes in anatomy should be expected. The application of bulk elec tron densities to cone beam CT images has the potential to improve the accuracy of dose calculations due to inaccurate H U values. Acknowledgements This work was partially funded by Cancer Council NSW Grant Number RG 07-06.

  12. Three-Dimensional Cone Beam Computed Tomography Volumetric Outcomes of rhBMP-2/Demineralized Bone Matrix versus Iliac Crest Bone Graft for Alveolar Cleft Reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Fan; Yen, Stephen L-K; Imahiyerobo, Thomas; Sanborn, Luke; Yen, Leia; Yen, Daniel; Nazarian, Sheila; Jedrzejewski, Breanna; Urata, Mark; Hammoudeh, Jeffrey

    2017-10-01

    Recent studies indicate that recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) in a demineralized bone matrix scaffold is a comparable alternative to iliac bone autograft in the setting of secondary alveolar cleft repair. Postreconstruction occlusal radiographs demonstrate improved bone stock when rhBMP-2/demineralized bone matrix (DBM) scaffold is used but lack the capacity to evaluate bone growth in three dimensions. This study uses cone beam computed tomography to provide the first clinical evaluation of volumetric and density comparisons between these two treatment modalities. A prospective study was conducted with 31 patients and 36 repairs of the alveolar cleft over a 2-year period. Twenty-one repairs used rhBMP-2/DBM scaffold and 14 repairs used iliac bone grafting. Postoperatively, occlusal radiographs were obtained at 3 months to evaluate bone fill; cone beam computed tomographic images were obtained at 6 to 9 months to compare volumetric and density data. At 3 months, postoperative occlusal radiographs demonstrated that 67 percent of patients receiving rhBMP-2/DBM scaffold had complete bone fill of the alveolus, versus 56 percent of patients in the autologous group. In contrast, cone beam computed tomographic data showed 31.6 percent (95 percent CI, 24.2 to 38.5 percent) fill in the rhBMP-2 group compared with 32.5 percent (95 percent CI, 22.1 to 42.9 percent) in the autologous population. Density analysis demonstrated identical average values between the groups (1.38 g/cc). These data demonstrate comparable bone regrowth and density values following secondary alveolar cleft repair using rhBMP-2/DBM scaffold versus autologous iliac bone graft. Cone beam computed tomography provides a more nuanced understanding of true bone regeneration within the alveolar cleft that may contribute to the information provided by occlusal radiographs alone. Therapeutic, II.

  13. Automated volume of interest delineation and rendering of cone beam CT images in interventional cardiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenz, Cristian; Schäfer, Dirk; Eshuis, Peter; Carroll, John; Grass, Michael

    2012-02-01

    Interventional C-arm systems allow the efficient acquisition of 3D cone beam CT images. They can be used for intervention planning, navigation, and outcome assessment. We present a fast and completely automated volume of interest (VOI) delineation for cardiac interventions, covering the whole visceral cavity including mediastinum and lungs but leaving out rib-cage and spine. The problem is addressed in a model based approach. The procedure has been evaluated on 22 patient cases and achieves an average surface error below 2mm. The method is able to cope with varying image intensities, varying truncations due to the limited reconstruction volume, and partially with heavy metal and motion artifacts.

  14. Assessment of simulated mandibular condyle bone lesions by cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marques, Alexandre Perez; Perrella, Andreia; Arita, Emiko Saito; Pereira, Marlene Fenyo Soeiro de Matos; Cavalcanti, Marcelo de Gusmao Paraiso, E-mail: alexperez34@gmail.co [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Odontologia. Dept. de Estomatologia

    2010-10-15

    There are many limitations to image acquisition, using conventional radiography, of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region. The Computed Tomography (CT) scan is a better option, due to its higher accuracy, for purposes of diagnosis, surgical planning and treatment of bone injuries. The aim of the present study was to analyze two protocols of cone beam computed tomography for the evaluation of simulated mandibular condyle bone lesions. Spherical lesions were simulated in 30 dry mandibular condyles, using dentist drills and drill bits sizes 1, 3 and 6. Each of the mandibular condyles was submitted to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) using two protocols: axial, coronal and sagittal multiplanar reconstruction (MPR); and sagittal plus coronal slices throughout the longitudinal axis of the mandibular condyles. For these protocols, 2 observers analyzed the CBCT images independently, regarding the presence or not of injuries. Only one of the observers, however, performed on 2 different occasions. The results were compared to the gold standard, evaluating the percentage of agreement, degree of accuracy of CBCT protocols and observers' examination. The z test was used for the statistical analysis. The results showed there were no statistically significant differences between the 2 protocols. There was greater difficulty in the assessment of small-size simulated lesions (drill no.1). From the results of this study, it can be concluded that CBCT is an accurate tool for analyzing mandibular condyle bone lesions, with the MPR protocol showing slightly better results than the sagittal plus coronal slices throughout the longitudinal axis. (author)

  15. Fundamentals of cone beam computed tomography for a prosthodontist

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Puthenpurayil John

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT, also referred to as C-arm computed tomography [CT], cone beam volume CT, or flat panel CT is a medical imaging technique of X-ray CT where the X-rays are divergent, forming a cone. [1] CBCT systems have been designed for imaging hard tissues of the maxillofacial region. CBCT is capable of providing sub-millimeter resolution in images of high diagnostic quality, with short scanning times (10-70 s and radiation dosages reportedly up to 15-100 times lower than those of conventional CT scans. Increasing availability of this technology provides the dental clinician with an imaging modality capable of providing a three-dimensional representation of the maxillofacial skeleton with minimal distortion. The aim of this article is to sensitize the Prosthodontist to CBCT technology, provide an overview of currently available maxillofacial CBCT systems and review the specific application of various CBCT display modes to clinical Prosthodontic practice. A MEDLINE search for relevant articles in this specific area of interest was conducted. The selected articles were critically reviewed and the data acquired were systematically compiled.

  16. Fundamentals of cone beam computed tomography for a prosthodontist

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, George Puthenpurayil; Joy, Tatu Elenjickal; Mathew, Justin; Kumar, Vinod R. B.

    2015-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT, also referred to as C-arm computed tomography [CT], cone beam volume CT, or flat panel CT) is a medical imaging technique of X-ray CT where the X-rays are divergent, forming a cone.[1] CBCT systems have been designed for imaging hard tissues of the maxillofacial region. CBCT is capable of providing sub-millimeter resolution in images of high diagnostic quality, with short scanning times (10–70 s) and radiation dosages reportedly up to 15–100 times lower than those of conventional CT scans. Increasing availability of this technology provides the dental clinician with an imaging modality capable of providing a three-dimensional representation of the maxillofacial skeleton with minimal distortion. The aim of this article is to sensitize the Prosthodontist to CBCT technology, provide an overview of currently available maxillofacial CBCT systems and review the specific application of various CBCT display modes to clinical Prosthodontic practice. A MEDLINE search for relevant articles in this specific area of interest was conducted. The selected articles were critically reviewed and the data acquired were systematically compiled. PMID:26929479

  17. C-arm Cone Beam Computed Tomography: A New Tool in the Interventional Suite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raj, Santhosh; Irani, Farah Gillan; Tay, Kiang Hiong; Tan, Bien Soo

    2013-11-01

    C-arm Cone Beam CT (CBCT) is a technology that is being integrated into many of the newer angiography systems in the interventional suite. Due to its ability to provide cross sectional imaging, it has opened a myriad of opportunities for creating new clinical applications. We review the technical aspects, current reported clinical applications and potential benefits of this technology. Searches were made via PubMed using the string "CBCT", "Cone Beam CT", "Cone Beam Computed Tomography" and "C-arm Cone Beam Computed Tomography". All relevant articles in the results were reviewed. CBCT clinical applications have been reported in both vascular and non-vascular interventions. They encompass many aspects of a procedure including preprocedural planning, intraprocedural guidance and postprocedural assessment. As a result, they have allowed the interventionalist to be safer and more accurate in performing image guided procedures. There are however several technical limitations. The quality of images produced is not comparable to conventional computed tomography (CT). Radiation doses are also difficult to quantify when compared to CT and fluoroscopy. CBCT technology in the interventional suite has contributed significant benefits to the patient despite its current limitations. It is a tool that will evolve and potentially become an integral part of imaging guidance for intervention.

  18. Clinical introduction of image lag correction for a cone beam CT system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stankovic, Uros; Ploeger, Lennert S.; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Herk, Marcel van

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Image lag in the flat-panel detector used for Linac integrated cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has a degrading effect on CBCT image quality. The most prominent visible artifact is the presence of bright semicircular structure in the transverse view of the scans, known also as radar artifact. Several correction strategies have been proposed, but until now the clinical introduction of such corrections remains unreported. In November 2013, the authors have clinically implemented a previously proposed image lag correction on all of their machines at their main site in Amsterdam. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effect of the correction on the quality of CBCT images and evaluate the required calibration frequency. Methods: Image lag was measured in five clinical CBCT systems (Elekta Synergy 4.6) using an in-house developed beam interrupting device that stops the x-ray beam midway through the data acquisition of an unattenuated beam for calibration. A triple exponential falling edge response was fitted to the measured data and used to correct image lag from projection images with an infinite response. This filter, including an extrapolation for saturated pixels, was incorporated in the authors’ in-house developed clinical CBCT reconstruction software. To investigate the short-term stability of the lag and associated parameters, a series of five image lag measurement over a period of three months was performed. For quantitative analysis, the authors have retrospectively selected ten patients treated in the pelvic region. The apparent contrast was quantified in polar coordinates for scans reconstructed using the parameters obtained from different dates with and without saturation handling. Results: Visually, the radar artifact was minimal in scans reconstructed using image lag correction especially when saturation handling was used. In patient imaging, there was a significant reduction of the apparent contrast from 43 ± 16.7 to

  19. Clinical introduction of image lag correction for a cone beam CT system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stankovic, Uros; Ploeger, Lennert S; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; van Herk, Marcel

    2016-03-01

    Image lag in the flat-panel detector used for Linac integrated cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has a degrading effect on CBCT image quality. The most prominent visible artifact is the presence of bright semicircular structure in the transverse view of the scans, known also as radar artifact. Several correction strategies have been proposed, but until now the clinical introduction of such corrections remains unreported. In November 2013, the authors have clinically implemented a previously proposed image lag correction on all of their machines at their main site in Amsterdam. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the effect of the correction on the quality of CBCT images and evaluate the required calibration frequency. Image lag was measured in five clinical CBCT systems (Elekta Synergy 4.6) using an in-house developed beam interrupting device that stops the x-ray beam midway through the data acquisition of an unattenuated beam for calibration. A triple exponential falling edge response was fitted to the measured data and used to correct image lag from projection images with an infinite response. This filter, including an extrapolation for saturated pixels, was incorporated in the authors' in-house developed clinical cbct reconstruction software. To investigate the short-term stability of the lag and associated parameters, a series of five image lag measurement over a period of three months was performed. For quantitative analysis, the authors have retrospectively selected ten patients treated in the pelvic region. The apparent contrast was quantified in polar coordinates for scans reconstructed using the parameters obtained from different dates with and without saturation handling. Visually, the radar artifact was minimal in scans reconstructed using image lag correction especially when saturation handling was used. In patient imaging, there was a significant reduction of the apparent contrast from 43 ± 16.7 to 15.5 ± 11.9 HU without the

  20. Image-Guided Radiotherapy for Liver Cancer Using Respiratory-Correlated Computed Tomography and Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guckenberger, Matthias; Sweeney, Reinhart A.; Wilbert, Juergen; Krieger, Thomas; Richter, Anne; Baier, Kurt; Mueller, Gerd; Sauer, Otto; Flentje, Michael

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate a novel four-dimensional (4D) image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) technique in stereotactic body RT for liver tumors. Methods and Materials: For 11 patients with 13 intrahepatic tumors, a respiratory-correlated 4D computed tomography (CT) scan was acquired at treatment planning. The target was defined using CT series reconstructed at end-inhalation and end-exhalation. The liver was delineated on these two CT series and served as a reference for image guidance. A cone-beam CT scan was acquired after patient positioning; the blurred diaphragm dome was interpreted as a probability density function showing the motion range of the liver. Manual contour matching of the liver structures from the planning 4D CT scan with the cone-beam CT scan was performed. Inter- and intrafractional uncertainties of target position and motion range were evaluated, and interobserver variability of the 4D-IGRT technique was tested. Results: The workflow of 4D-IGRT was successfully practiced in all patients. The absolute error in the liver position and error in relation to the bony anatomy was 8 ± 4 mm and 5 ± 2 mm (three-dimensional vector), respectively. Margins of 4-6 mm were calculated for compensation of the intrafractional drifts of the liver. The motion range of the diaphragm dome was reproducible within 5 mm for 11 of 13 lesions, and the interobserver variability of the 4D-IGRT technique was small (standard deviation, 1.5 mm). In 4 patients, the position of the intrahepatic lesion was directly verified using a mobile in-room CT scanner after application of intravenous contrast. Conclusion: The results of our study have shown that 4D image guidance using liver contour matching between respiratory-correlated CT and cone-beam CT scans increased the accuracy compared with stereotactic positioning and compared with IGRT without consideration of breathing motion

  1. A novel region-growing based semi-automatic segmentation protocol for three-dimensional condylar reconstruction using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tong Xi

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To present and validate a semi-automatic segmentation protocol to enable an accurate 3D reconstruction of the mandibular condyles using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Approval from the regional medical ethics review board was obtained for this study. Bilateral mandibular condyles in ten CBCT datasets of patients were segmented using the currently proposed semi-automatic segmentation protocol. This segmentation protocol combined 3D region-growing and local thresholding algorithms. The segmentation of a total of twenty condyles was performed by two observers. The Dice-coefficient and distance map calculations were used to evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of the segmented and 3D rendered condyles. RESULTS: The mean inter-observer Dice-coefficient was 0.98 (range [0.95-0.99]. An average 90th percentile distance of 0.32 mm was found, indicating an excellent inter-observer similarity of the segmented and 3D rendered condyles. No systematic errors were observed in the currently proposed segmentation protocol. CONCLUSION: The novel semi-automated segmentation protocol is an accurate and reproducible tool to segment and render condyles in 3D. The implementation of this protocol in the clinical practice allows the CBCT to be used as an imaging modality for the quantitative analysis of condylar morphology.

  2. Direct estimation of human trabecular bone stiffness using cone beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klintström, Eva; Klintström, Benjamin; Pahr, Dieter; Brismar, Torkel B; Smedby, Örjan; Moreno, Rodrigo

    2018-04-10

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of estimating the biomechanical properties of trabecular bone through finite element simulations by using dental cone beam computed tomography data. Fourteen human radius specimens were scanned in 3 cone beam computed tomography devices: 3-D Accuitomo 80 (J. Morita MFG., Kyoto, Japan), NewTom 5 G (QR Verona, Verona, Italy), and Verity (Planmed, Helsinki, Finland). The imaging data were segmented by using 2 different methods. Stiffness (Young modulus), shear moduli, and the size and shape of the stiffness tensor were studied. Corresponding evaluations by using micro-CT were regarded as the reference standard. The 3-D Accuitomo 80 (J. Morita MFG., Kyoto, Japan) showed good performance in estimating stiffness and shear moduli but was sensitive to the choice of segmentation method. NewTom 5 G (QR Verona, Verona, Italy) and Verity (Planmed, Helsinki, Finland) yielded good correlations, but they were not as strong as Accuitomo 80 (J. Morita MFG., Kyoto, Japan). The cone beam computed tomography devices overestimated both stiffness and shear compared with the micro-CT estimations. Finite element-based calculations of biomechanics from cone beam computed tomography data are feasible, with strong correlations for the Accuitomo 80 scanner (J. Morita MFG., Kyoto, Japan) combined with an appropriate segmentation method. Such measurements might be useful for predicting implant survival by in vivo estimations of bone properties. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Analysis of the effect of cone-beam geometry and test object configuration on the measurement accuracy of a computed tomography scanner used for dimensional measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Jagadeesha; Attridge, Alex; Williams, Mark A; Wood, P K C

    2011-01-01

    Industrial x-ray computed tomography (CT) scanners are used for non-contact dimensional measurement of small, fragile components and difficult-to-access internal features of castings and mouldings. However, the accuracy and repeatability of measurements are influenced by factors such as cone-beam system geometry, test object configuration, x-ray power, material and size of test object, detector characteristics and data analysis methods. An attempt is made in this work to understand the measurement errors of a CT scanner over the complete scan volume, taking into account only the errors in system geometry and the object configuration within the scanner. A cone-beam simulation model is developed with the radiographic image projection and reconstruction steps. A known amount of errors in geometrical parameters were introduced in the model to understand the effect of geometry of the cone-beam CT system on measurement accuracy for different positions, orientations and sizes of the test object. Simulation analysis shows that the geometrical parameters have a significant influence on the dimensional measurement at specific configurations of the test object. Finally, the importance of system alignment and estimation of correct parameters for accurate CT measurements is outlined based on the analysis

  4. Comparison of Swedish and Norwegian Use of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography: a Questionnaire Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerker Edén Strindberg

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Cone-beam computed tomography in dentistry can be used in some countries by other dentists than specialists in radiology. The frequency of buying cone-beam computed tomography to examine patients is rapidly growing, thus knowledge of how to use it is very important. The aim was to compare the outcome of an investigation on the use of cone-beam computed tomography in Sweden with a previous Norwegian study, regarding specifically technical aspects. Material and Methods: The questionnaire contained 45 questions, including 35 comparable questions to Norwegian clinics one year previous. Results were based on inter-comparison of the outcome from each of the two questionnaire studies. Results: Responses rate was 71% in Sweden. There, most of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT examinations performed by dental nurses, while in Norway by specialists. More than two-thirds of the CBCT units had a scout image function, regularly used in both Sweden (79% and Norway (75%. In Sweden 4% and in Norway 41% of the respondents did not wait for the report from the radiographic specialist before initiating treatment. Conclusions: The bilateral comparison showed an overall similarity between the two countries. The survey gave explicit and important knowledge of the need for education and training of the whole team, since radiation dose to the patient could vary a lot for the same kind of radiographic examination. It is essential to establish quality assurance protocols with defined responsibilities in the team in order to maintain high diagnostic accuracy for all examinations when using cone-beam computed tomography for patient examinations.

  5. Analytical inversion formula for uniformly attenuated fan-beam projections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weng, Y.; Zeng, G.L.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1997-01-01

    In deriving algorithms to reconstruct single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) projection data, it is important that the algorithm compensates for photon attenuation in order to obtain quantitative reconstruction results. A convolution backprojection algorithm was derived by Tretiak and Metz to reconstruct two-dimensional (2-D) transaxial slices from uniformly attenuated parallel-beam projections. Using transformation of coordinates, this algorithm can be modified to obtain a formulation useful to reconstruct uniformly attenuated fan-beam projections. Unlike that for parallel-beam projections, this formulation does not produce a filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithm but instead has a formulation that is an inverse integral operator with a spatially varying kernel. This algorithm thus requires more computation time than does the filtered backprojection reconstruction algorithm for the uniformly attenuated parallel-beam case. However, the fan-beam reconstructions demonstrate the same image quality as that of parallel-beam reconstructions

  6. Simulation and track reconstruction for beam telescopes

    CERN Document Server

    Maqbool, Salman

    2017-01-01

    Beam telescopes are used for testing new detectors under development. Sensors are placed and a particle beam is passed through them. To test these novel detectors and determine their properties, the particle tracks need to be reconstructed from the known detectors in the telescope. Based on the reconstructed track, it’s predicted hits on the Device under Test (DUT) are compared with the actual hits on the DUT. Several methods exist for track reconstruction, but most of them don’t account for the effects of multiple scattering. General Broken Lines is one such algorithm which incorporates these effects during reconstruction. The aim of this project was to simulate the beam telescope and extend the track reconstruction framework for the FE-I4 telescope, which takes these effects into account. Section 1 introduces the problem, while section 2 focuses on beam telescopes. This is followed by the Allpix2 simulation framework in Section 3. And finally, Section 4 introduces the Proteus track reconstruction framew...

  7. Simulation and Track Reconstruction for Beam Telescopes

    CERN Document Server

    Maqbool, Salman

    2017-01-01

    Beam telescopes are an important tool to test new detectors under development in a particle beam. To test these novel detectors and determine their properties, the particle tracks need to be reconstructed from the known detectors in the telescope. Based on the reconstructed track, its predicted position on the Device under Test (DUT) are compared with the actual hits on the DUT. Several methods exist for track reconstruction, but most of them do not account for the effects of multiple scattering. General Broken Lines is one such algorithm which incorporates these effects during reconstruction. The aim of this project was to simulate the beam telescope and extend the track reconstruction framework for the FE-I4 telescope, which takes these effects into account. Section 1 introduces the problem, while section 2 focuses on beam telescopes. This is followed by the Allpix2 simulation framework in Section 3. And finally, Section 4 introduces the Proteus track reconstruction framework along with the General Broken ...

  8. The noise power spectrum in CT with direct fan beam reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baek, Jongduk; Pelc, Norbert J.

    2010-01-01

    The noise power spectrum (NPS) is a useful metric for understanding the noise content in images. To examine some unique properties of the NPS of fan beam CT, the authors derived an analytical expression for the NPS of fan beam CT and validated it with computer simulations. The nonstationary noise behavior of fan beam CT was examined by analyzing local regions and the entire field-of-view (FOV). This was performed for cases with uniform as well as nonuniform noise across the detector cells and across views. The simulated NPS from the entire FOV and local regions showed good agreement with the analytically derived NPS. The analysis shows that whereas the NPS of a large FOV in parallel beam CT (using a ramp filter) is proportional to frequency, the NPS with direct fan beam FBP reconstruction shows a high frequency roll off. Even in small regions, the fan beam NPS can show a sharp transition (discontinuity) at high frequencies. These effects are due to the variable magnification and therefore are more pronounced as the fan angle increases. For cases with nonuniform noise, the NPS can show the directional dependence and additional effects.

  9. Refinement of Treatment Setup and Target Localization Accuracy Using Three-Dimensional Cone-Beam Computed Tomography for Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhiheng; Nelson, John W.; Yoo, Sua; Wu, Q. Jackie; Kirkpatrick, John P.; Marks, Lawrence B.; Yin Fangfang

    2009-01-01

    Purposes: To quantitatively compare two-dimensional (2D) orthogonal kV with three-dimensional (3D) cone-beam CT (CBCT) for target localization; and to assess intrafraction motion with kV images in patients undergoing stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). Methods and Materials: A total of 50 patients with 58 lesions received 178 fractions of SBRT. After clinical setup using in-room lasers and skin/cradle marks placed at simulation, patients were imaged and repositioned according to orthogonal kV/MV registration of bony landmarks to digitally reconstructed radiographs from the planning CT. A subsequent CBCT was registered to the planning CT using soft tissue information, and the resultant 'residual error' was measured and corrected before treatment. Posttreatment 2D kV and/or 3D CBCT images were compared with pretreatment images to determine any intrafractional position changes. Absolute averages, statistical means, standard deviations, and root mean square (RMS) values of observed setup error were calculated. Results: After initial setup to external marks with laser guidance, 2D kV images revealed vector mean setup deviations of 0.67 cm (RMS). Cone-beam CT detected residual setup deviations of 0.41 cm (RMS). Posttreatment imaging demonstrated intrafractional variations of 0.15 cm (RMS). The individual shifts in three standard orthogonal planes showed no obvious directional biases. Conclusions: After localization based on superficial markings in patients undergoing SBRT, orthogonal kV imaging detects setup variations of approximately 3 to 4 mm in each direction. Cone-beam CT detects residual setup variations of approximately 2 to 3 mm

  10. Improved proton computed tomography by dual modality image reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hansen, David C., E-mail: dch@ki.au.dk; Bassler, Niels [Experimental Clinical Oncology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Petersen, Jørgen Breede Baltzer [Medical Physics, Aarhus University Hospital, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Sørensen, Thomas Sangild [Computer Science, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark and Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, 8200 Aarhus N (Denmark)

    2014-03-15

    Purpose: Proton computed tomography (CT) is a promising image modality for improving the stopping power estimates and dose calculations for particle therapy. However, the finite range of about 33 cm of water of most commercial proton therapy systems limits the sites that can be scanned from a full 360° rotation. In this paper the authors propose a method to overcome the problem using a dual modality reconstruction (DMR) combining the proton data with a cone-beam x-ray prior. Methods: A Catphan 600 phantom was scanned using a cone beam x-ray CT scanner. A digital replica of the phantom was created in the Monte Carlo code Geant4 and a 360° proton CT scan was simulated, storing the entrance and exit position and momentum vector of every proton. Proton CT images were reconstructed using a varying number of angles from the scan. The proton CT images were reconstructed using a constrained nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm, minimizing total variation and the x-ray CT prior while remaining consistent with the proton projection data. The proton histories were reconstructed along curved cubic-spline paths. Results: The spatial resolution of the cone beam CT prior was retained for the fully sampled case and the 90° interval case, with the MTF = 0.5 (modulation transfer function) ranging from 5.22 to 5.65 linepairs/cm. In the 45° interval case, the MTF = 0.5 dropped to 3.91 linepairs/cm For the fully sampled DMR, the maximal root mean square (RMS) error was 0.006 in units of relative stopping power. For the limited angle cases the maximal RMS error was 0.18, an almost five-fold improvement over the cone beam CT estimate. Conclusions: Dual modality reconstruction yields the high spatial resolution of cone beam x-ray CT while maintaining the improved stopping power estimation of proton CT. In the case of limited angles, the use of prior image proton CT greatly improves the resolution and stopping power estimate, but does not fully achieve the quality of a 360

  11. Improved proton computed tomography by dual modality image reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hansen, David C.; Bassler, Niels; Petersen, Jørgen Breede Baltzer; Sørensen, Thomas Sangild

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Proton computed tomography (CT) is a promising image modality for improving the stopping power estimates and dose calculations for particle therapy. However, the finite range of about 33 cm of water of most commercial proton therapy systems limits the sites that can be scanned from a full 360° rotation. In this paper the authors propose a method to overcome the problem using a dual modality reconstruction (DMR) combining the proton data with a cone-beam x-ray prior. Methods: A Catphan 600 phantom was scanned using a cone beam x-ray CT scanner. A digital replica of the phantom was created in the Monte Carlo code Geant4 and a 360° proton CT scan was simulated, storing the entrance and exit position and momentum vector of every proton. Proton CT images were reconstructed using a varying number of angles from the scan. The proton CT images were reconstructed using a constrained nonlinear conjugate gradient algorithm, minimizing total variation and the x-ray CT prior while remaining consistent with the proton projection data. The proton histories were reconstructed along curved cubic-spline paths. Results: The spatial resolution of the cone beam CT prior was retained for the fully sampled case and the 90° interval case, with the MTF = 0.5 (modulation transfer function) ranging from 5.22 to 5.65 linepairs/cm. In the 45° interval case, the MTF = 0.5 dropped to 3.91 linepairs/cm For the fully sampled DMR, the maximal root mean square (RMS) error was 0.006 in units of relative stopping power. For the limited angle cases the maximal RMS error was 0.18, an almost five-fold improvement over the cone beam CT estimate. Conclusions: Dual modality reconstruction yields the high spatial resolution of cone beam x-ray CT while maintaining the improved stopping power estimation of proton CT. In the case of limited angles, the use of prior image proton CT greatly improves the resolution and stopping power estimate, but does not fully achieve the quality of a 360

  12. A simple derivation and analysis of a helical cone beam tomographic algorithm for long object imaging via a novel definition of region of interest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Jicun; Tam, Kwok; Johnson, Roger H

    2004-01-01

    We derive and analyse a simple algorithm first proposed by Kudo et al (2001 Proc. 2001 Meeting on Fully 3D Image Reconstruction in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (Pacific Grove, CA) pp 7-10) for long object imaging from truncated helical cone beam data via a novel definition of region of interest (ROI). Our approach is based on the theory of short object imaging by Kudo et al (1998 Phys. Med. Biol. 43 2885-909). One of the key findings in their work is that filtering of the truncated projection can be divided into two parts: one, finite in the axial direction, results from ramp filtering the data within the Tam window. The other, infinite in the z direction, results from unbounded filtering of ray sums over PI lines only. We show that for an ROI defined by PI lines emanating from the initial and final source positions on a helical segment, the boundary data which would otherwise contaminate the reconstruction of the ROI can be completely excluded. This novel definition of the ROI leads to a simple algorithm for long object imaging. The overscan of the algorithm is analytically calculated and it is the same as that of the zero boundary method. The reconstructed ROI can be divided into two regions: one is minimally contaminated by the portion outside the ROI, while the other is reconstructed free of contamination. We validate the algorithm with a 3D Shepp-Logan phantom and a disc phantom

  13. Trabecular bone structure parameters from 3D image processing of clinical multi-slice and cone-beam computed tomography data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klintstroem, Eva; Smedby, Oerjan [Linkoeping University, Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), Linkoeping (Sweden); UHL County Council of Oestergoetland, Department of Radiology, Linkoeping (Sweden); Linkoeping University, Department of Medical and Health Sciences (IMH)/Radiology, Linkoeping (Sweden); Moreno, Rodrigo [Linkoeping University, Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), Linkoeping (Sweden); Linkoeping University, Department of Medical and Health Sciences (IMH)/Radiology, Linkoeping (Sweden); Brismar, Torkel B. [KUS Huddinge, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology at Karolinska Institutet and Department of Radiology, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2014-02-15

    Bone strength depends on both mineral content and bone structure. The aim of this in vitro study was to develop a method of quantitatively assessing trabecular bone structure by applying three-dimensional image processing to data acquired with multi-slice and cone-beam computed tomography using micro-computed tomography as a reference. Fifteen bone samples from the radius were examined. After segmentation, quantitative measures of bone volume, trabecular thickness, trabecular separation, trabecular number, trabecular nodes, and trabecular termini were obtained. The clinical machines overestimated bone volume and trabecular thickness and underestimated trabecular nodes and number, but cone-beam CT to a lesser extent. Parameters obtained from cone beam CT were strongly correlated with μCT, with correlation coefficients between 0.93 and 0.98 for all parameters except trabecular termini. The high correlation between cone-beam CT and micro-CT suggest the possibility of quantifying and monitoring changes of trabecular bone microarchitecture in vivo using cone beam CT. (orig.)

  14. Three-dimensional image analysis of a head of the giant panda by the cone-beam type CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, H.; Komiya, T.; Narushima, E.; Suzuki, N.

    2002-01-01

    The cone-beam type CT (Computed Tomography) enabled us to collect the three-dimensional (3D) digitalized data directly from the animal carcass. In this study, we applied the techniques of the cone-beam type CT for a carcass head of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) to obtain the 3D images easily without reconstruction process, and could morphologically examine the sections from the 3D data by means of non-destructive observations. The important results of the study represent the two following points. 1) We could show the morphological relationships between the muscles of mastication and the mandible in non-destructive status from the 3D data. The exact position of the coronoid process could be recognized in the rostro-lateral space of the temporal fossa. 2) By the serial sections from the 3D data sets, the morphological characteristics in the nasal cavity were detailed with high resolution in this rare species. The nasal concha was well-developed in the nasal cavity. The ethmoidal labyrinth was encountered immediately caudal to the nasal cavity and close to the region of the olfactory bulb. The ethmoidal labyrinth consisted of the complicated osseous structure in this area. The data will be useful to discuss the olfactory function in the reproduction behavior of this species

  15. [The reliability of dento-maxillary models created by cone-beam CT and rapid prototyping:a comparative study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lv, Yan; Yan, Bin; Wang, Lin; Lou, Dong-hua

    2012-04-01

    To analyze the reliability of the dento-maxillary models created by cone-beam CT and rapid prototyping (RP). Plaster models were obtained from 20 orthodontic patients who had been scanned by cone-beam CT and 3-D models were formed after the calculation and reconstruction of software. Then, computerized composite models (RP models) were produced by rapid prototyping technique. The crown widths, dental arch widths and dental arch lengths on each plaster model, 3-D model and RP model were measured, followed by statistical analysis with SPSS17.0 software package. For crown widths, dental arch lengths and crowding, there were significant differences(Pmodels, but the dental arch widths were on the contrary. Measurements on 3-D models were significantly smaller than those on other two models(Pmodels, RP models had more numbers which were not significantly different from those on plaster models(P>0.05). The regression coefficient among three models were significantly different(Pmodels was bigger than that between 3-D and plaster models. There is high consistency within 3 models, while some differences were accepted in clinic. Therefore, it is possible to substitute 3-D and RP models for plaster models in order to save storage space and improve efficiency.

  16. Anatomical structure of lingual foramen in cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ki, Min Woo; Hwang, Eui Hwan; Lee, Sang Rae

    2004-01-01

    To evaluate whether cone beam computed tomography can depict the distribution, position, frequency, relative vertical dimension, and the diameter of the lingual foramen and direction of lingual bone canal. Cone beam computed tomography of mandible was performed on 25 males and 25 females with no history of any orthodontic treatments or any other dental surgeries. A statistical comparison was done on the mean values of males and females. In the location and distribution of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was found in all subjects and lateral lingual foramen in 58%. In the lateral lingual foramen, bilateral type was found in 28% and unilateral type in 30%. In the number of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen had two foramina and lateral lingual foramen had one foramen, mostly. In the relative mean vertical dimension of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was 0.03 ± 0.08, and both lateral lingual foramina was 0.20 ± 0.04. The mean diameter of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was 0.9 mm ± 0.28, right lateral lingual foramen was 0.92 mm ± 0.23, and left lateral lingual foramen was 0.88 mm ± 0.27. The most frequent direction of the lingual bone canals, median lingual bone canal proceeded in anteroinferior direction and lateral lingual bone canal in anterosuperolateral direction. Cone beam computed tomography can be helpful for surgery and implantation on the mandibular area. Radiologist should be aware of this anatomical feature and its possible implications.

  17. Anatomical structure of lingual foramen in cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ki, Min Woo; Hwang, Eui Hwan; Lee, Sang Rae [Kyunghee University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-07-15

    To evaluate whether cone beam computed tomography can depict the distribution, position, frequency, relative vertical dimension, and the diameter of the lingual foramen and direction of lingual bone canal. Cone beam computed tomography of mandible was performed on 25 males and 25 females with no history of any orthodontic treatments or any other dental surgeries. A statistical comparison was done on the mean values of males and females. In the location and distribution of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was found in all subjects and lateral lingual foramen in 58%. In the lateral lingual foramen, bilateral type was found in 28% and unilateral type in 30%. In the number of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen had two foramina and lateral lingual foramen had one foramen, mostly. In the relative mean vertical dimension of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was 0.03 {+-} 0.08, and both lateral lingual foramina was 0.20 {+-} 0.04. The mean diameter of lingual foramina, median lingual foramen was 0.9 mm {+-} 0.28, right lateral lingual foramen was 0.92 mm {+-} 0.23, and left lateral lingual foramen was 0.88 mm {+-} 0.27. The most frequent direction of the lingual bone canals, median lingual bone canal proceeded in anteroinferior direction and lateral lingual bone canal in anterosuperolateral direction. Cone beam computed tomography can be helpful for surgery and implantation on the mandibular area. Radiologist should be aware of this anatomical feature and its possible implications.

  18. TH-EF-207A-04: A Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Cone Beam CT Technique for Evaluation of Renal Functions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Z; Shi, J; Yang, Y [University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To develop a simple but robust method for the early detection and evaluation of renal functions using dynamic contrast enhanced cone beam CT technique. Methods: Experiments were performed on an integrated imaging and radiation research platform developed by our lab. Animals (n=3) were anesthetized with 20uL Ketamine/Xylazine cocktail, and then received 200uL injection of iodinated contrast agent Iopamidol via tail vein. Cone beam CT was acquired following contrast injection once per minute and up to 25 minutes. The cone beam CT was reconstructed with a dimension of 300×300×800 voxels of 130×130×130um voxel resolution. The middle kidney slices in the transvers and coronal planes were selected for image analysis. A double exponential function was used to fit the contrast enhanced signal intensity versus the time after contrast injection. Both pixel-based and region of interest (ROI)-based curve fitting were performed. Four parameters obtained from the curve fitting, namely the amplitude and flow constant for both contrast wash in and wash out phases, were investigated for further analysis. Results: Robust curve fitting was demonstrated for both pixel based (with R{sup 2}>0.8 for >85% pixels within the kidney contour) and ROI based (R{sup 2}>0.9 for all regions) analysis. Three different functional regions: renal pelvis, medulla and cortex, were clearly differentiated in the functional parameter map in the pixel based analysis. ROI based analysis showed the half-life T1/2 for contrast wash in and wash out phases were 0.98±0.15 and 17.04±7.16, 0.63±0.07 and 17.88±4.51, and 1.48±0.40 and 10.79±3.88 minutes for the renal pelvis, medulla and cortex, respectively. Conclusion: A robust method based on dynamic contrast enhanced cone beam CT and double exponential curve fitting has been developed to analyze the renal functions for different functional regions. Future study will be performed to investigate the sensitivity of this technique in the detection

  19. Radiation dose in cone-beam computed tomography: myth or reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Madi, Medhini

    2013-01-01

    In the growing inventory of clinical computed tomography technologies, cone-beam X-ray computed tomography is a relatively recent instalment. It is an advancement in computed tomography imaging which is designed to provide relatively low-dose high-spatial-resolution visualization of high contrast structures in the head and neck and other anatomic areas. Comparatively low dosing requirements and relatively compact design has led to intense interest in surgical planning and intra-operative cone-beam computed tomography applications, particularly in head and neck, and also in spinal, thoracic, abdominal and orthopaedic procedures. The use of this emerging imaging technology, which has potential applications for imaging of high-contrast structures in the head and neck as well as dentomaxillofacial regions, has been the subject of criticism as well as acclaim. This paper envisages to discuss the state-of-the-art of the technique. (author)

  20. Motion-aware temporal regularization for improved 4D cone-beam computed tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mory, Cyril; Janssens, Guillaume; Rit, Simon

    2016-09-01

    Four-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) of the free-breathing thorax is a valuable tool in image-guided radiation therapy of the thorax and the upper abdomen. It allows the determination of the position of a tumor throughout the breathing cycle, while only its mean position can be extracted from three-dimensional CBCT. The classical approaches are not fully satisfactory: respiration-correlated methods allow one to accurately locate high-contrast structures in any frame, but contain strong streak artifacts unless the acquisition is significantly slowed down. Motion-compensated methods can yield streak-free, but static, reconstructions. This work proposes a 4D-CBCT method that can be seen as a trade-off between respiration-correlated and motion-compensated reconstruction. It builds upon the existing reconstruction using spatial and temporal regularization (ROOSTER) and is called motion-aware ROOSTER (MA-ROOSTER). It performs temporal regularization along curved trajectories, following the motion estimated on a prior 4D CT scan. MA-ROOSTER does not involve motion-compensated forward and back projections: the input motion is used only during temporal regularization. MA-ROOSTER is compared to ROOSTER, motion-compensated Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (MC-FDK), and two respiration-correlated methods, on CBCT acquisitions of one physical phantom and two patients. It yields streak-free reconstructions, visually similar to MC-FDK, and robust information on tumor location throughout the breathing cycle. MA-ROOSTER also allows a variation of the lung tissue density during the breathing cycle, similar to that of planning CT, which is required for quantitative post-processing.

  1. Yang-Mills theories in axial and light-cone gauges, analytic regularization and Ward identities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H.C.

    1984-12-01

    The application of the principles of generalization and analytic continuation to the regularization of divergent Feynman integrals is discussed. The technique, or analytic regularization, which is a generalization of dimensional regularization, is used to derive analytic representations for two classes of massless two-point integrals. The first class is based on the principal-value prescription and includes integrals encountered in quantum field theories in the ghost-free axial gauge (n.A=0), reducing in a special case to integrals in the light-cone gauge (n.A=0,n 2 =0). The second class is based on the Mandelstam prescription devised espcially for the light-cone gauge. For some light-cone gauge integrals the two representations are not equivalent. Both classes include as a subclass integrals in the Lorentz covariant 'zeta-gauges'. The representations are used to compute one-loop corrections to the self-energy and the three-vertex in Yang-Mills theories in the axial and light-cone gauges, showing that the two- and three-point Ward identities are satisfied; to illustrate that ultraviolet and infrared singularities, indistinguishable in dimensional regularization, can be separated analytically; and to show that certain tadpole integrals vanish because of an exact cancellation between ultraviolet and infrared singularities. In the axial gauge, the wavefunction and vertex renormalization constants, Z 3 and Z 1 , are identical, so that the β-function can be directly derived from Z 3 the result being the same as that computed in the covariant zeta-gauges. Preliminary results suggest that the light-cone gauge in the Mandelstam prescription, but not in the principal value prescription, has the same renormalization property of the axial gauge

  2. Analytic treatment of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation for diffusion in a cone model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sitnitsky, A. E.

    2011-12-01

    We consider nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate resulted from a diffusion equation for rotational wobbling in a cone. We show that the widespread point of view that there are no analytical expressions for correlation functions for wobbling in a cone model is invalid and prove that nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in this model is exactly tractable and amenable to full analytical description. The mechanism of relaxation is assumed to be due to dipole-dipole interaction of nuclear spins and is treated within the framework of the standard Bloemberger, Purcell, Pound-Solomon scheme. We consider the general case of arbitrary orientation of the cone axis relative the magnetic field. The BPP-Solomon scheme is shown to remain valid for systems with the distribution of the cone axes depending only on the tilt relative the magnetic field but otherwise being isotropic. We consider the case of random isotropic orientation of cone axes relative the magnetic field taking place in powders. Also we consider the cases of their predominant orientation along or opposite the magnetic field and that of their predominant orientation transverse to the magnetic field which may be relevant for, e.g., liquid crystals. Besides we treat in details the model case of the cone axis directed along the magnetic field. The latter provides direct comparison of the limiting case of our formulas with the textbook formulas for free isotropic rotational diffusion. The dependence of the spin-lattice relaxation rate on the cone half-width yields results similar to those predicted by the model-free approach.

  3. WE-AB-207A-09: Optimization of the Design of a Moving Blocker for Cone-Beam CT Scatter Correction: Experimental Evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, X; Ouyang, L; Jia, X; Zhang, Y; Wang, J [UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States); Yan, H [Cyber Medical Corporation, Xi’an (China)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: A moving blocker based strategy has shown promising results for scatter correction in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Different geometry designs and moving speeds of the blocker affect its performance in image reconstruction accuracy. The goal of this work is to optimize the geometric design and moving speed of the moving blocker system through experimental evaluations. Methods: An Elekta Synergy XVI system and an anthropomorphic pelvis phantom CIRS 801-P were used for our experiment. A blocker consisting of lead strips was inserted between the x-ray source and the phantom moving back and forth along rotation axis to measure the scatter signal. Accoriding to our Monte Carlo simulation results, three blockers were used, which have the same lead strip width 3.2mm and different gap between neighboring lead strips, 3.2, 6.4 and 9.6mm. For each blocker, three moving speeds were evaluated, 10, 20 and 30 pixels per projection (on the detector plane). Scatter signal in the unblocked region was estimated by cubic B-spline based interpolation from the blocked region. CBCT image was reconstructed by a total variation (TV) based algebraic iterative reconstruction (ART) algorithm from the partially blocked projection data. Reconstruction accuracy in each condition is quantified as CT number error of region of interest (ROI) by comparing to a CBCT reconstructed image from analytically simulated unblocked and scatter free projection data. Results: Highest reconstruction accuracy is achieved when the blocker width is 3.2 mm, the gap between neighboring lead strips is 9.6 mm and the moving speed is 20 pixels per projection. RMSE of the CT number of ROIs can be reduced from 436 to 27. Conclusions: Image reconstruction accuracy is greatly affected by the geometry design of the blocker. The moving speed does not have a very strong effect on reconstruction result if it is over 20 pixels per projection.

  4. Electromagnetic scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an impedance cone

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

    2013-01-01

    The electromagnetic field scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an infinite circular cone with an impedance boundary on its surface is considered. The impinging field is normal to the tip of the cone and is expanded in terms

  5. A Statistical Approach to Motion Compensated Cone Beam Reconstruction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lyksborg, Mark; Hansen, Mads Fogtmann; Larsen, Rasmus

    2010-01-01

    number of projections to be adequate. Since the patients are breathing freely during a scan, the number of projections with similar respiration may be to low. In the following we use an iterative reconstruction combined with the simultaneous estimation of the motion field, to improve reconstruction...... in these situations. Using a simulated dataset we demonstrate that this combination outperforms the FDK but due to ill possessedness of the motion estimation it is only on par with the sole iterative method....

  6. A multifocal collimator with circularly distributed focal points for SPECT imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillemaud, R.; Grangeat, P.

    1994-01-01

    The authors propose a new circular multifocal collimator which has multiple axial focal points distributed on a transverse circle. This distribution provides a strong focusing at the center of the detector like a cone-beam collimator, with a good sensitivity, and a weak transverse focusing at the periphery, to ensure acquisition of sufficient data, in order to prevent truncation artifacts. For a circular acquisition trajectory, each projection set of the multifocal geometry is equivalent to a virtual cone-beam projection set with a larger detector. Due to this equivalence, the authors derive a first solution for an analytical multifocal reconstruction algorithm: to rebin the projection set from multifocal to cone-beam geometry, then to use a 3D cone-beam reconstruction algorithm. The authors propose to use the Grangeat algorithm in order to deal with a large cone-beam aperture. Finally, the authors present results on simulated data for heart phantom, for a Defrise phantom and for a MTF study. The conclusion is that, from a multifocal projection set, objects are reconstructed without truncation artifacts, with a good precision at their center and with a loss of resolution at the periphery. In addition, the 3D cone-beam artifacts are reduced with the use of the Grangeat algorithm for the reconstruction step

  7. Comparison of cone beam SPECT with conventional SPECT by means of cardiac-thorax phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGrath, M.A.; Manglos, S.H.

    1989-01-01

    Because of poor energy characteristics of Tl-201 used for myocardial perfusion imaging, the high sensitivity of cone-beam collimation is highly desirable. Using a cardiac-thorax phantom, the authors have compared single photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) images obtained with a cone-beam collimator to those from a parallel hole collimator commonly used for thallium studies. A water-filled circular phantom with a cardiac insert was imaged. The myocardial shell was filled with Tl-201 (220 μCi). Two solid inserts within the myocardium simulated perfusion defects. The phantom ignores truncation effects in this preliminary experiment. For the authors' collimator, the resolution was designed to be similar to the authors' all-purpose, parallel-hole collimator at 10 cm. The focal length was 50 cm. The experimental protocol was chosen to be similar to their clinical protocol. A filtered back projection algorithm was used for cone-beam data. The same algorithm was used for the parallel-hole data, but with focal length set to infinity

  8. Reconstruction After Hemipelvectomy With the Ice-Cream Cone Prosthesis: What Are the Short-term Clinical Results?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrientos-Ruiz, Irene; Ortiz-Cruz, Eduardo José; Peleteiro-Pensado, Manuel

    2017-03-01

    Reconstruction after internal hemipelvectomy resection likely provides better function than hindquarter amputation. However, many reconstruction methods have been used, complications with these approaches are common, and function often is poor; because of these issues, it seems important to investigate alternative implants and surgical techniques. The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the frequency of surgical site complications and infection associated with the use of the Ice-Cream Cone prosthesis for reconstruction after hemipelvectomy for oncological indications; (2) to evaluate the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) outcomes scores in a small group of patients treated with this implant in the short term; and (3) to quantify the surgical margins and frequency of local recurrence in the short term in this group of patients. Between 2008 and 2013, one center performed a total of 27 internal hemipelvectomies for oncological indications. Of those, 23 (85%) were treated with reconstruction. Our general indications for reconstruction were patients whose pelvic stability was affected by the resection and whose general condition was sufficiently strong to tolerate the reconstructive procedure. Of those patients undergoing reconstruction, 14 (61%) were treated with an Ice-Cream Cone-style implant (Coned ® ; Stanmore Worldwide Ltd, Elstree, UK; and Socincer ® custom-made implant for the pelvis, Gijón, Spain), whereas nine others were treated with other implants or allografts. The indications during this time for using the Ice-Cream Cone implant were pelvic tumors affecting the periacetabular area without iliac wing involvement. Of those 14, 10 were available for followup at a minimum of 2 years (median, 3 years; range, 2-5 years) unless a study endpoint (wound complication, infection, or local recurrence) was observed earlier. Study endpoints were ascertained by chart review performed by one of the authors. Surgical site complications occurred in five

  9. Accuracy and reliability of stitched cone-beam computed tomography images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Egbert, Nicholas [Private Practice, Reconstructive Dental Specialists of Utah, Salt Lake (United States); Cagna, David R.; Ahuja, Swati; Wicks, Russell A. [Dept. of rosthodontics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, Memphis (United States)

    2015-03-15

    This study was performed to evaluate the linear distance accuracy and reliability of stitched small field of view (FOV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) reconstructed images for the fabrication of implant surgical guides. Three gutta percha points were fixed on the inferior border of a cadaveric mandible to serve as control reference points. Ten additional gutta percha points, representing fiduciary markers, were scattered on the buccal and lingual cortices at the level of the proposed complete denture flange. A digital caliper was used to measure the distance between the reference points and fiduciary markers, which represented the anatomic linear dimension. The mandible was scanned using small FOV CBCT, and the images were then reconstructed and stitched using the manufacturer's imaging software. The same measurements were then taken with the CBCT software. The anatomic linear dimension measurements and stitched small FOV CBCT measurements were statistically evaluated for linear accuracy. The mean difference between the anatomic linear dimension measurements and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was found to be 0.34 mm with a 95% confidence interval of +0.24 - +0.44 mm and a mean standard deviation of 0.30 mm. The difference between the control and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was insignificant within the parameters defined by this study. The proven accuracy of stitched small FOV CBCT data sets may allow image-guided fabrication of implant surgical stents from such data sets.

  10. Accuracy and reliability of stitched cone-beam computed tomography images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Egbert, Nicholas; Cagna, David R.; Ahuja, Swati; Wicks, Russell A.

    2015-01-01

    This study was performed to evaluate the linear distance accuracy and reliability of stitched small field of view (FOV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) reconstructed images for the fabrication of implant surgical guides. Three gutta percha points were fixed on the inferior border of a cadaveric mandible to serve as control reference points. Ten additional gutta percha points, representing fiduciary markers, were scattered on the buccal and lingual cortices at the level of the proposed complete denture flange. A digital caliper was used to measure the distance between the reference points and fiduciary markers, which represented the anatomic linear dimension. The mandible was scanned using small FOV CBCT, and the images were then reconstructed and stitched using the manufacturer's imaging software. The same measurements were then taken with the CBCT software. The anatomic linear dimension measurements and stitched small FOV CBCT measurements were statistically evaluated for linear accuracy. The mean difference between the anatomic linear dimension measurements and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was found to be 0.34 mm with a 95% confidence interval of +0.24 - +0.44 mm and a mean standard deviation of 0.30 mm. The difference between the control and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was insignificant within the parameters defined by this study. The proven accuracy of stitched small FOV CBCT data sets may allow image-guided fabrication of implant surgical stents from such data sets.

  11. Accuracy and reliability of stitched cone-beam computed tomography images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egbert, Nicholas; Cagna, David R; Ahuja, Swati; Wicks, Russell A

    2015-03-01

    This study was performed to evaluate the linear distance accuracy and reliability of stitched small field of view (FOV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) reconstructed images for the fabrication of implant surgical guides. Three gutta percha points were fixed on the inferior border of a cadaveric mandible to serve as control reference points. Ten additional gutta percha points, representing fiduciary markers, were scattered on the buccal and lingual cortices at the level of the proposed complete denture flange. A digital caliper was used to measure the distance between the reference points and fiduciary markers, which represented the anatomic linear dimension. The mandible was scanned using small FOV CBCT, and the images were then reconstructed and stitched using the manufacturer's imaging software. The same measurements were then taken with the CBCT software. The anatomic linear dimension measurements and stitched small FOV CBCT measurements were statistically evaluated for linear accuracy. The mean difference between the anatomic linear dimension measurements and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was found to be 0.34 mm with a 95% confidence interval of +0.24 - +0.44 mm and a mean standard deviation of 0.30 mm. The difference between the control and the stitched small FOV CBCT measurements was insignificant within the parameters defined by this study. The proven accuracy of stitched small FOV CBCT data sets may allow image-guided fabrication of implant surgical stents from such data sets.

  12. Cone beam CT imaging with limited angle of projections and prior knowledge for volumetric verification of non-coplanar beam radiation therapy: a proof of concept study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Bowen; Xing, Lei; Han, Bin; Koong, Albert; Chang, Daniel; Cheng, Jason; Li, Ruijiang

    2013-11-01

    Non-coplanar beams are important for treatment of both cranial and noncranial tumors. Treatment verification of such beams with couch rotation/kicks, however, is challenging, particularly for the application of cone beam CT (CBCT). In this situation, only limited and unconventional imaging angles are feasible to avoid collision between the gantry, couch, patient, and on-board imaging system. The purpose of this work is to develop a CBCT verification strategy for patients undergoing non-coplanar radiation therapy. We propose an image reconstruction scheme that integrates a prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) technique with image registration. Planning CT or CBCT acquired at the neutral position is rotated and translated according to the nominal couch rotation/translation to serve as the initial prior image. Here, the nominal couch movement is chosen to have a rotational error of 5° and translational error of 8 mm from the ground truth in one or more axes or directions. The proposed reconstruction scheme alternates between two major steps. First, an image is reconstructed using the PICCS technique implemented with total-variation minimization and simultaneous algebraic reconstruction. Second, the rotational/translational setup errors are corrected and the prior image is updated by applying rigid image registration between the reconstructed image and the previous prior image. The PICCS algorithm and rigid image registration are alternated iteratively until the registration results fall below a predetermined threshold. The proposed reconstruction algorithm is evaluated with an anthropomorphic digital phantom and physical head phantom. The proposed algorithm provides useful volumetric images for patient setup using projections with an angular range as small as 60°. It reduced the translational setup errors from 8 mm to generally <1 mm and the rotational setup errors from 5° to <1°. Compared with the PICCS algorithm alone, the integration of rigid

  13. Simultaneous calibration phantom commission and geometry calibration in cone beam CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yuan; Yang, Shuai; Ma, Jianhui; Li, Bin; Wu, Shuyu; Qi, Hongliang; Zhou, Linghong

    2017-09-01

    Geometry calibration is a vital step for describing the geometry of a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system and is a prerequisite for CBCT reconstruction. In current methods, calibration phantom commission and geometry calibration are divided into two independent tasks. Small errors in ball-bearing (BB) positioning in the phantom-making step will severely degrade the quality of phantom calibration. To solve this problem, we propose an integrated method to simultaneously realize geometry phantom commission and geometry calibration. Instead of assuming the accuracy of the geometry phantom, the integrated method considers BB centers in the phantom as an optimized parameter in the workflow. Specifically, an evaluation phantom and the corresponding evaluation contrast index are used to evaluate geometry artifacts for optimizing the BB coordinates in the geometry phantom. After utilizing particle swarm optimization, the CBCT geometry and BB coordinates in the geometry phantom are calibrated accurately and are then directly used for the next geometry calibration task in other CBCT systems. To evaluate the proposed method, both qualitative and quantitative studies were performed on simulated and realistic CBCT data. The spatial resolution of reconstructed images using dental CBCT can reach up to 15 line pair cm-1. The proposed method is also superior to the Wiesent method in experiments. This paper shows that the proposed method is attractive for simultaneous and accurate geometry phantom commission and geometry calibration.

  14. WE-EF-207-01: FEATURED PRESENTATION and BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Task-Driven Imaging for Cone-Beam CT in Interventional Guidance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gang, G; Stayman, J; Ouadah, S; Siewerdsen, J [Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States); Ehtiati, T [Siemens Healthcare AX Division, Erlangen, DE (Germany)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: This work introduces a task-driven imaging framework that utilizes a patient-specific anatomical model, mathematical definition of the imaging task, and a model of the imaging system to prospectively design acquisition and reconstruction techniques that maximize task-based imaging performance. Utility of the framework is demonstrated in the joint optimization of tube current modulation and view-dependent reconstruction kernel in filtered-backprojection reconstruction and non-circular orbit design in model-based reconstruction. Methods: The system model is based on a cascaded systems analysis of cone-beam CT capable of predicting the spatially varying noise and resolution characteristics as a function of the anatomical model and a wide range of imaging parameters. Detectability index for a non-prewhitening observer model is used as the objective function in a task-driven optimization. The combination of tube current and reconstruction kernel modulation profiles were identified through an alternating optimization algorithm where tube current was updated analytically followed by a gradient-based optimization of reconstruction kernel. The non-circular orbit is first parameterized as a linear combination of bases functions and the coefficients were then optimized using an evolutionary algorithm. The task-driven strategy was compared with conventional acquisitions without modulation, using automatic exposure control, and in a circular orbit. Results: The task-driven strategy outperformed conventional techniques in all tasks investigated, improving the detectability of a spherical lesion detection task by an average of 50% in the interior of a pelvis phantom. The non-circular orbit design successfully mitigated photon starvation effects arising from a dense embolization coil in a head phantom, improving the conspicuity of an intracranial hemorrhage proximal to the coil. Conclusion: The task-driven imaging framework leverages a knowledge of the imaging task within

  15. WE-EF-207-01: FEATURED PRESENTATION and BEST IN PHYSICS (IMAGING): Task-Driven Imaging for Cone-Beam CT in Interventional Guidance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gang, G; Stayman, J; Ouadah, S; Siewerdsen, J; Ehtiati, T

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This work introduces a task-driven imaging framework that utilizes a patient-specific anatomical model, mathematical definition of the imaging task, and a model of the imaging system to prospectively design acquisition and reconstruction techniques that maximize task-based imaging performance. Utility of the framework is demonstrated in the joint optimization of tube current modulation and view-dependent reconstruction kernel in filtered-backprojection reconstruction and non-circular orbit design in model-based reconstruction. Methods: The system model is based on a cascaded systems analysis of cone-beam CT capable of predicting the spatially varying noise and resolution characteristics as a function of the anatomical model and a wide range of imaging parameters. Detectability index for a non-prewhitening observer model is used as the objective function in a task-driven optimization. The combination of tube current and reconstruction kernel modulation profiles were identified through an alternating optimization algorithm where tube current was updated analytically followed by a gradient-based optimization of reconstruction kernel. The non-circular orbit is first parameterized as a linear combination of bases functions and the coefficients were then optimized using an evolutionary algorithm. The task-driven strategy was compared with conventional acquisitions without modulation, using automatic exposure control, and in a circular orbit. Results: The task-driven strategy outperformed conventional techniques in all tasks investigated, improving the detectability of a spherical lesion detection task by an average of 50% in the interior of a pelvis phantom. The non-circular orbit design successfully mitigated photon starvation effects arising from a dense embolization coil in a head phantom, improving the conspicuity of an intracranial hemorrhage proximal to the coil. Conclusion: The task-driven imaging framework leverages a knowledge of the imaging task within

  16. Morphometric analysis - Cone beam computed tomography to predict bone quality and quantity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohlweg-Majert, B; Metzger, M C; Kummer, T; Schulze, D

    2011-07-01

    Modified quantitative computed tomography is a method used to predict bone quality and quantify the bone mass of the jaw. The aim of this study was to determine whether bone quantity or quality was detected by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) combined with image analysis. MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES: Different measurements recorded on two phantoms (Siemens phantom, Comac phantom) were evaluated on images taken with the Somatom VolumeZoom (Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany) and the NewTom 9000 (NIM s.r.l., Verona, Italy) in order to calculate a calibration curve. The spatial relationships of six sample cylinders and the repositioning from four pig skull halves relative to adjacent defined anatomical structures were assessed by means of three-dimensional visualization software. The calibration curves for computer tomography (CT) and cone beam computer tomography (CBCT) using the Siemens phantom showed linear correlation in both modalities between the Hounsfield Units (HU) and bone morphology. A correction factor for CBCT was calculated. Exact information about the micromorphology of the bone cylinders was only available using of micro computer tomography. Cone-beam computer tomography is a suitable choice for analysing bone mass, but, it does not give any information about bone quality. 2010 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Comparison of Online 6 Degree-of-Freedom Image Registration of Varian TrueBeam Cone-Beam CT and BrainLab ExacTrac X-Ray for Intracranial Radiosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jun; Shi, Wenyin; Andrews, David; Werner-Wasik, Maria; Lu, Bo; Yu, Yan; Dicker, Adam; Liu, Haisong

    2017-06-01

    The study was aimed to compare online 6 degree-of-freedom image registrations of TrueBeam cone-beam computed tomography and BrainLab ExacTrac X-ray imaging systems for intracranial radiosurgery. Phantom and patient studies were performed on a Varian TrueBeam STx linear accelerator (version 2.5), which is integrated with a BrainLab ExacTrac imaging system (version 6.1.1). The phantom study was based on a Rando head phantom and was designed to evaluate isocenter location dependence of the image registrations. Ten isocenters at various locations representing clinical treatment sites were selected in the phantom. Cone-beam computed tomography and ExacTrac X-ray images were taken when the phantom was located at each isocenter. The patient study included 34 patients. Cone-beam computed tomography and ExacTrac X-ray images were taken at each patient's treatment position. The 6 degree-of-freedom image registrations were performed on cone-beam computed tomography and ExacTrac, and residual errors calculated from cone-beam computed tomography and ExacTrac were compared. In the phantom study, the average residual error differences (absolute values) between cone-beam computed tomography and ExacTrac image registrations were 0.17 ± 0.11 mm, 0.36 ± 0.20 mm, and 0.25 ± 0.11 mm in the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions, respectively. The average residual error differences in the rotation, roll, and pitch were 0.34° ± 0.08°, 0.13° ± 0.09°, and 0.12° ± 0.10°, respectively. In the patient study, the average residual error differences in the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral directions were 0.20 ± 0.16 mm, 0.30 ± 0.18 mm, 0.21 ± 0.18 mm, respectively. The average residual error differences in the rotation, roll, and pitch were 0.40°± 0.16°, 0.17° ± 0.13°, and 0.20° ± 0.14°, respectively. Overall, the average residual error differences were cone-beam computed tomography image registration in intracranial treatments.

  18. Computer simulation of electron beams. II. Low-cost beam-current reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de Wolf, D.A.

    1985-01-01

    Reconstruction of current density in electron beams is complicated by distortion of phase space which can require very fine discretization of the beam into trajectories. An efficient discretization of phase space is exploited, using conservation of charge and current in hypertriangle patches, to reconstruct the current density by fitting Gaussians through the distorted hypertriangles. Advantages and limitations are discussed

  19. A Semi-Discrete Landweber-Kaczmarz Method for Cone Beam Tomography and Laminography Exploiting Geometric Prior Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogelgesang, Jonas; Schorr, Christian

    2016-12-01

    We present a semi-discrete Landweber-Kaczmarz method for solving linear ill-posed problems and its application to Cone Beam tomography and laminography. Using a basis function-type discretization in the image domain, we derive a semi-discrete model of the underlying scanning system. Based on this model, the proposed method provides an approximate solution of the reconstruction problem, i.e. reconstructing the density function of a given object from its projections, in suitable subspaces equipped with basis function-dependent weights. This approach intuitively allows the incorporation of additional information about the inspected object leading to a more accurate model of the X-rays through the object. Also, physical conditions of the scanning geometry, like flat detectors in computerized tomography as used in non-destructive testing applications as well as non-regular scanning curves e.g. appearing in computed laminography (CL) applications, are directly taken into account during the modeling process. Finally, numerical experiments of a typical CL application in three dimensions are provided to verify the proposed method. The introduction of geometric prior information leads to a significantly increased image quality and superior reconstructions compared to standard iterative methods.

  20. Self-healing of Bessel-like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Litvin, I; Burger, L; Forbes, A

    2015-01-01

    Bessel beams have been extensively studied, but to date have been created over a finite region inside the laboratory. Recently Bessel-like beams with longitudinally dependent cone angles have been introduced allowing for a potentially infinite quasi non-diffracting propagation region. Here we show that such beams can self-heal. Moreover, in contrast to Bessel beams where the self-healing distance is constant, here the self-healing distance is dependent on where the obstruction is placed in the field, with the distance increasing as the Bessel-like beam propagates farther. We outline the theoretical concept for this self-healing and confirm it experimentally. (paper)

  1. Treatment of a Four-Rooted Maxillary Second Molar Detected with Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nahid Mohammadzade Akhlaghi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The significance of clinician’s knowledge about root canal anatomy and its possible variations cannot be overlooked. In some cases, taking advantage of complementary imaging techniques can help achieve a perfect flawless endodontic treatment. This article reports endodontic management of a second maxillary molar that had an uncommon anatomy of the chamber floor. After obtaining a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT image, the presence of a second palatal root was confirmed. All four roots were treated and patient’s symptoms were resolved.Keywords: Cone-Beam Computed Tomography; Root Canal Therapy; Tooth Root

  2. Reconstruction of brachytherapy seed positions and orientations from cone-beam CT x-ray projections via a novel iterative forward projection matching method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokhrel, Damodar; Murphy, Martin J; Todor, Dorin A; Weiss, Elisabeth; Williamson, Jeffrey F

    2011-01-01

    To generalize and experimentally validate a novel algorithm for reconstructing the 3D pose (position and orientation) of implanted brachytherapy seeds from a set of a few measured 2D cone-beam CT (CBCT) x-ray projections. The iterative forward projection matching (IFPM) algorithm was generalized to reconstruct the 3D pose, as well as the centroid, of brachytherapy seeds from three to ten measured 2D projections. The gIFPM algorithm finds the set of seed poses that minimizes the sum-of-squared-difference of the pixel-by-pixel intensities between computed and measured autosegmented radiographic projections of the implant. Numerical simulations of clinically realistic brachytherapy seed configurations were performed to demonstrate the proof of principle. An in-house machined brachytherapy phantom, which supports precise specification of seed position and orientation at known values for simulated implant geometries, was used to experimentally validate this algorithm. The phantom was scanned on an ACUITY CBCT digital simulator over a full 660 sinogram projections. Three to ten x-ray images were selected from the full set of CBCT sinogram projections and postprocessed to create binary seed-only images. In the numerical simulations, seed reconstruction position and orientation errors were approximately 0.6 mm and 5 degrees, respectively. The physical phantom measurements demonstrated an absolute positional accuracy of (0.78 +/- 0.57) mm or less. The theta and phi angle errors were found to be (5.7 +/- 4.9) degrees and (6.0 +/- 4.1) degrees, respectively, or less when using three projections; with six projections, results were slightly better. The mean registration error was better than 1 mm/6 degrees compared to the measured seed projections. Each test trial converged in 10-20 iterations with computation time of 12-18 min/iteration on a 1 GHz processor. This work describes a novel, accurate, and completely automatic method for reconstructing seed orientations, as well as

  3. Reconstruction of brachytherapy seed positions and orientations from cone-beam CT x-ray projections via a novel iterative forward projection matching method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pokhrel, Damodar; Murphy, Martin J.; Todor, Dorin A.; Weiss, Elisabeth; Williamson, Jeffrey F. [Department of Radiation Oncology, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298 (United States)

    2011-01-15

    Purpose: To generalize and experimentally validate a novel algorithm for reconstructing the 3D pose (position and orientation) of implanted brachytherapy seeds from a set of a few measured 2D cone-beam CT (CBCT) x-ray projections. Methods: The iterative forward projection matching (IFPM) algorithm was generalized to reconstruct the 3D pose, as well as the centroid, of brachytherapy seeds from three to ten measured 2D projections. The gIFPM algorithm finds the set of seed poses that minimizes the sum-of-squared-difference of the pixel-by-pixel intensities between computed and measured autosegmented radiographic projections of the implant. Numerical simulations of clinically realistic brachytherapy seed configurations were performed to demonstrate the proof of principle. An in-house machined brachytherapy phantom, which supports precise specification of seed position and orientation at known values for simulated implant geometries, was used to experimentally validate this algorithm. The phantom was scanned on an ACUITY CBCT digital simulator over a full 660 sinogram projections. Three to ten x-ray images were selected from the full set of CBCT sinogram projections and postprocessed to create binary seed-only images. Results: In the numerical simulations, seed reconstruction position and orientation errors were approximately 0.6 mm and 5 deg., respectively. The physical phantom measurements demonstrated an absolute positional accuracy of (0.78{+-}0.57) mm or less. The {theta} and {phi} angle errors were found to be (5.7{+-}4.9) deg. and (6.0{+-}4.1) deg., respectively, or less when using three projections; with six projections, results were slightly better. The mean registration error was better than 1 mm/6 deg. compared to the measured seed projections. Each test trial converged in 10-20 iterations with computation time of 12-18 min/iteration on a 1 GHz processor. Conclusions: This work describes a novel, accurate, and completely automatic method for reconstructing

  4. Respiratory correlated cone beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Zijp, Lambert; Remeijer, Peter; Herk, Marcel van

    2005-01-01

    A cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner integrated with a linear accelerator is a powerful tool for image guided radiotherapy. Respiratory motion, however, induces artifacts in CBCT, while the respiratory correlated procedures, developed to reduce motion artifacts in axial and helical CT are not suitable for such CBCT scanners. We have developed an alternative respiratory correlated procedure for CBCT and evaluated its performance. This respiratory correlated CBCT procedure consists of retrospective sorting in projection space, yielding subsets of projections that each corresponds to a certain breathing phase. Subsequently, these subsets are reconstructed into a four-dimensional (4D) CBCT dataset. The breathing signal, required for respiratory correlation, was directly extracted from the 2D projection data, removing the need for an additional respiratory monitor system. Due to the reduced number of projections per phase, the contrast-to-noise ratio in a 4D scan reduced by a factor 2.6-3.7 compared to a 3D scan based on all projections. Projection data of a spherical phantom moving with a 3 and 5 s period with and without simulated breathing irregularities were acquired and reconstructed into 3D and 4D CBCT datasets. The positional deviations of the phantoms center of gravity between 4D CBCT and fluoroscopy were small: 0.13±0.09 mm for the regular motion and 0.39±0.24 mm for the irregular motion. Motion artifacts, clearly present in the 3D CBCT datasets, were substantially reduced in the 4D datasets, even in the presence of breathing irregularities, such that the shape of the moving structures could be identified more accurately. Moreover, the 4D CBCT dataset provided information on the 3D trajectory of the moving structures, absent in the 3D data. Considerable breathing irregularities, however, substantially reduces the image quality. Data presented for three different lung cancer patients were in line with the results obtained from the phantom study. In

  5. WE-EF-207-08: Improve Cone Beam CT Using a Synchronized Moving Grid, An Inter-Projection Sensor Fusion and a Probability Total Variation Reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, H; Kong, V; Jin, J [Georgia Regents University Cancer Center, Augusta, GA (Georgia); Ren, L; Zhang, Y; Giles, W [Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To present a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system, which uses a synchronized moving grid (SMOG) to reduce and correct scatter, an inter-projection sensor fusion (IPSF) algorithm to estimate the missing information blocked by the grid, and a probability total variation (pTV) algorithm to reconstruct the CBCT image. Methods: A prototype SMOG-equipped CBCT system was developed, and was used to acquire gridded projections with complimentary grid patterns in two neighboring projections. Scatter was reduced by the grid, and the remaining scatter was corrected by measuring it under the grid. An IPSF algorithm was used to estimate the missing information in a projection from data in its 2 neighboring projections. Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm was used to reconstruct the initial CBCT image using projections after IPSF processing for pTV. A probability map was generated depending on the confidence of estimation in IPSF for the regions of missing data and penumbra. pTV was finally used to reconstruct the CBCT image for a Catphan, and was compared to conventional CBCT image without using SMOG, images without using IPSF (SMOG + FDK and SMOG + mask-TV), and image without using pTV (SMOG + IPSF + FDK). Results: The conventional CBCT without using SMOG shows apparent scatter-induced cup artifacts. The approaches with SMOG but without IPSF show severe (SMOG + FDK) or additional (SMOG + TV) artifacts, possibly due to using projections of missing data. The 2 approaches with SMOG + IPSF removes the cup artifacts, and the pTV approach is superior than the FDK by substantially reducing the noise. Using the SMOG also reduces half of the imaging dose. Conclusion: The proposed technique is promising in improving CBCT image quality while reducing imaging dose.

  6. WE-EF-207-08: Improve Cone Beam CT Using a Synchronized Moving Grid, An Inter-Projection Sensor Fusion and a Probability Total Variation Reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, H; Kong, V; Jin, J; Ren, L; Zhang, Y; Giles, W

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To present a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system, which uses a synchronized moving grid (SMOG) to reduce and correct scatter, an inter-projection sensor fusion (IPSF) algorithm to estimate the missing information blocked by the grid, and a probability total variation (pTV) algorithm to reconstruct the CBCT image. Methods: A prototype SMOG-equipped CBCT system was developed, and was used to acquire gridded projections with complimentary grid patterns in two neighboring projections. Scatter was reduced by the grid, and the remaining scatter was corrected by measuring it under the grid. An IPSF algorithm was used to estimate the missing information in a projection from data in its 2 neighboring projections. Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm was used to reconstruct the initial CBCT image using projections after IPSF processing for pTV. A probability map was generated depending on the confidence of estimation in IPSF for the regions of missing data and penumbra. pTV was finally used to reconstruct the CBCT image for a Catphan, and was compared to conventional CBCT image without using SMOG, images without using IPSF (SMOG + FDK and SMOG + mask-TV), and image without using pTV (SMOG + IPSF + FDK). Results: The conventional CBCT without using SMOG shows apparent scatter-induced cup artifacts. The approaches with SMOG but without IPSF show severe (SMOG + FDK) or additional (SMOG + TV) artifacts, possibly due to using projections of missing data. The 2 approaches with SMOG + IPSF removes the cup artifacts, and the pTV approach is superior than the FDK by substantially reducing the noise. Using the SMOG also reduces half of the imaging dose. Conclusion: The proposed technique is promising in improving CBCT image quality while reducing imaging dose

  7. Optimization-based reconstruction for reduction of CBCT artifact in IGRT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Dan; Zhang, Zheng; Paysan, Pascal; Seghers, Dieter; Brehm, Marcus; Munro, Peter; Sidky, Emil Y.; Pelizzari, Charles; Pan, Xiaochuan

    2016-04-01

    Kilo-voltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) plays an important role in image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) by providing 3D spatial information of tumor potentially useful for optimizing treatment planning. In current IGRT CBCT system, reconstructed images obtained with analytic algorithms, such as FDK algorithm and its variants, may contain artifacts. In an attempt to compensate for the artifacts, we investigate optimization-based reconstruction algorithms such as the ASD-POCS algorithm for potentially reducing arti- facts in IGRT CBCT images. In this study, using data acquired with a physical phantom and a patient subject, we demonstrate that the ASD-POCS reconstruction can significantly reduce artifacts observed in clinical re- constructions. Moreover, patient images reconstructed by use of the ASD-POCS algorithm indicate a contrast level of soft-tissue improved over that of the clinical reconstruction. We have also performed reconstructions from sparse-view data, and observe that, for current clinical imaging conditions, ASD-POCS reconstructions from data collected at one half of the current clinical projection views appear to show image quality, in terms of spatial and soft-tissue-contrast resolution, higher than that of the corresponding clinical reconstructions.

  8. A performance comparison of flat-panel imager-based MV and kV cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groh, B.A.; Siewerdsen, J.H.; Drake, D.G.; Wong, J.W.; Jaffray, D.A.

    2002-01-01

    The use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been proposed for guiding the delivery of radiation therapy, and investigators have examined the use of both kilovoltage (kV) and megavoltage (MV) x-ray beams in the development of such CBCT systems. In this paper, the inherent contrast and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance for a variety of existing and hypothetical detectors for CBCT are investigated analytically as a function of imaging dose and object size. Theoretical predictions are compared to the results of experimental investigations employing large-area flat-panel imagers (FPIs) at kV and MV energies. Measurements were performed on two different FPI-based CBCT systems: a bench-top prototype incorporating an FPI and kV x-ray source (100 kVp x rays), and a system incorporating an FPI mounted on the gantry of a medical linear accelerator (6 MV x rays). The SNR in volume reconstructions was measured as a function of dose and found to agree reasonably with theoretical predictions. These results confirm the theoretically predicted advantages of employing kV energy x rays in imaging soft-tissue structures found in the human body. While MV CBCT may provide a valuable means of correcting 3D setup errors and may offer an advantage in terms of simplicity of mechanical integration with a linear accelerator (e.g., implementation in place of a portal imager), kV CBCT offers significant performance advantages in terms of image contrast and SNR per unit dose for visualization of soft-tissue structures. The relatively poor SNR performance at MV energies is primarily a result of the low x-ray quantum efficiencies (∼a few percent or less) that are currently achieved with FPIs at high energies. Furthermore, kV CBCT with an FPI offers the potential of combined volumetric and radiographic/fluoroscopic imaging using the same device

  9. Development and clinical translation of a cone-beam CT scanner for high-quality imaging of intracranial hemorrhage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sisniega, A.; Xu, J.; Dang, H.; Zbijewski, W.; Stayman, J. W.; Mow, M.; Koliatsos, V. E.; Aygun, N.; Wang, X.; Foos, D. H.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2017-03-01

    Purpose: Prompt, reliable detection of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is essential for treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injury, and would benefit from availability of imaging directly at the point-of-care. This work reports the performance evaluation of a clinical prototype of a cone-beam CT (CBCT) system for ICH imaging and introduces novel algorithms for model-based reconstruction with compensation for data truncation and patient motion. Methods: The tradeoffs in dose and image quality were investigated as a function of analytical (FBP) and model-based iterative reconstruction (PWLS) algorithm parameters using phantoms with ICH-mimicking inserts. Image quality in clinical applications was evaluated in a human cadaver imaged with simulated ICH. Objects outside of the field of view (FOV), such as the head-holder, were found to introduce challenging truncation artifacts in PWLS that were mitigated with a novel multi-resolution reconstruction strategy. Following phantom and cadaver studies, the scanner was translated to a clinical pilot study. Initial clinical experience indicates the presence of motion in some patient scans, and an image-based motion estimation method that does not require fiducial tracking or prior patient information was implemented and evaluated. Results: The weighted CTDI for a nominal scan technique was 22.8 mGy. The high-resolution FBP reconstruction protocol achieved < 0.9 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function (PSF). The PWLS soft-tissue reconstruction showed <1.2 mm PSF FWHM and lower noise than FBP at the same resolution. Effects of truncation in PWLS were mitigated with the multi-resolution approach, resulting in 60% reduction in root mean squared error compared to conventional PWLS. Cadaver images showed clear visualization of anatomical landmarks (ventricles and sulci), and ICH was conspicuous. The motion compensation method was shown in clinical studies to restore visibility of fine bone structures

  10. Use of Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Endodontics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarfe, William C.; Levin, Martin D.; Gane, David; Farman, Allan G.

    2009-01-01

    Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is a diagnostic imaging modality that provides high-quality, accurate three-dimensional (3D) representations of the osseous elements of the maxillofacial skeleton. CBCT systems are available that provide small field of view images at low dose with sufficient spatial resolution for applications in endodontic diagnosis, treatment guidance, and posttreatment evaluation. This article provides a literature review and pictorial demonstration of CBCT as an imaging adjunct for endodontics. PMID:20379362

  11. Bone changes of mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Ji Un; Kim, Hyung Seop; Song, Ju Seop; Kim, Kyoung A; Koh, Kwang Joon [Chonbuk National Univ., Chonju (Korea, Republic of)

    2007-09-15

    To assess bone changes of mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in temporomandibualr disorder (TMD) patients. 314 temporomandibular joints (TMJs) images of 163 TMD patients were examined at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Chonbuk National University. The images were obtained by PSR9000N (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan) and reconstructed by using Asahivision software (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan). The CBCT images were examined three times with four weeks interval by three radiologists. Bone changes of mandibular condyle such as flattening, sclerosis, erosion and osteophyte formation were observed in sagittal, axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images of the mandibular condyle. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 12.0. Intra-and interobserver agreement were performed by 3 radiologists without the knowledge of clinical information. Osteopathy (2.9%) was found more frequently on anterior surface of the mandibular condyle. Erosion (31.8%) was found more frequently on anterior surface of the mandibular condyle. The intraobserver agreement was good to excellent (k=0.78{sub 0}.84), but interobserver agreement was fair (k=0.45). CBCT can provide high qualified images of bone changes of the TMJ with axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images.

  12. Bone changes of mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Ji Un; Kim, Hyung Seop; Song, Ju Seop; Kim, Kyoung A; Koh, Kwang Joon

    2007-01-01

    To assess bone changes of mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in temporomandibualr disorder (TMD) patients. 314 temporomandibular joints (TMJs) images of 163 TMD patients were examined at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Chonbuk National University. The images were obtained by PSR9000N (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan) and reconstructed by using Asahivision software (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan). The CBCT images were examined three times with four weeks interval by three radiologists. Bone changes of mandibular condyle such as flattening, sclerosis, erosion and osteophyte formation were observed in sagittal, axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images of the mandibular condyle. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 12.0. Intra-and interobserver agreement were performed by 3 radiologists without the knowledge of clinical information. Osteopathy (2.9%) was found more frequently on anterior surface of the mandibular condyle. Erosion (31.8%) was found more frequently on anterior surface of the mandibular condyle. The intraobserver agreement was good to excellent (k=0.78 0 .84), but interobserver agreement was fair (k=0.45). CBCT can provide high qualified images of bone changes of the TMJ with axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images

  13. Surgical stent for dental implant using cone beam CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Hyung Soo; Kim, Gyu Tae; Choi, Yong Suk; Hwang, Eui Hwan

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop a surgical stent for dental implant procedure that can be easily applied and affordable by using cone beam computerized tomography (CBCT). Aluminum, Teflon-PFA (perfluoroalkoxy), and acetal (polyoxymethylene plastic) were selected as materials for the surgical stent. Among these three materials, the appropriate material was chosen using the CBCT images. The surgical stent, which could be easily placed into an oral cavity, was designed with chosen material. CBCT images of the new surgical stent on mandible were obtained using Alphard-3030 dental CT system (Asahi Roentgen Co., Ltd., Kyoto, Japan). The point of insertion was prescribed on the surgical stent with the multiplanar reconstruction software of OnDemand3D (CyberMed Inc., Seoul, Korea). Guide holes were made at the point of insertion on the surgical stent using newly designed guide jig. CBCT scans was taken for the second time to verify the accuracy of the newly designed surgical stent. Teflon-PFA showed radiologically excellent image characteristics for the surgical stent. High accuracy and reproducibility of implantation were confirmed with the surgical stent. The newly designed surgical stent can lead to the accurate implantation and achieve the clinically predictable result.

  14. Image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT: A sensitivity analysis of respiratory signal, binning method, reconstruction algorithm, and projection angular spacing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shieh, Chun-Chien; Kipritidis, John; O’Brien, Ricky T.; Keall, Paul J.; Kuncic, Zdenka

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Respiratory signal, binning method, and reconstruction algorithm are three major controllable factors affecting image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT), which is widely used in image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Previous studies have investigated each of these factors individually, but no integrated sensitivity analysis has been performed. In addition, projection angular spacing is also a key factor in reconstruction, but how it affects image quality is not obvious. An investigation of the impacts of these four factors on image quality can help determine the most effective strategy in improving 4D-CBCT for IGRT. Methods: Fourteen 4D-CBCT patient projection datasets with various respiratory motion features were reconstructed with the following controllable factors: (i) respiratory signal (real-time position management, projection image intensity analysis, or fiducial marker tracking), (ii) binning method (phase, displacement, or equal-projection-density displacement binning), and (iii) reconstruction algorithm [Feldkamp–Davis–Kress (FDK), McKinnon–Bates (MKB), or adaptive-steepest-descent projection-onto-convex-sets (ASD-POCS)]. The image quality was quantified using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio, and edge-response width in order to assess noise/streaking and blur. The SNR values were also analyzed with respect to the maximum, mean, and root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) projection angular spacing to investigate how projection angular spacing affects image quality. Results: The choice of respiratory signals was found to have no significant impact on image quality. Displacement-based binning was found to be less prone to motion artifacts compared to phase binning in more than half of the cases, but was shown to suffer from large interbin image quality variation and large projection angular gaps. Both MKB and ASD-POCS resulted in noticeably improved image quality almost 100% of the time relative to FDK. In addition, SNR

  15. Image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT: A sensitivity analysis of respiratory signal, binning method, reconstruction algorithm, and projection angular spacing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shieh, Chun-Chien [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia and Institute of Medical Physics, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Kipritidis, John; O’Brien, Ricky T.; Keall, Paul J., E-mail: paul.keall@sydney.edu.au [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Kuncic, Zdenka [Institute of Medical Physics, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)

    2014-04-15

    Purpose: Respiratory signal, binning method, and reconstruction algorithm are three major controllable factors affecting image quality in thoracic 4D cone-beam CT (4D-CBCT), which is widely used in image guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Previous studies have investigated each of these factors individually, but no integrated sensitivity analysis has been performed. In addition, projection angular spacing is also a key factor in reconstruction, but how it affects image quality is not obvious. An investigation of the impacts of these four factors on image quality can help determine the most effective strategy in improving 4D-CBCT for IGRT. Methods: Fourteen 4D-CBCT patient projection datasets with various respiratory motion features were reconstructed with the following controllable factors: (i) respiratory signal (real-time position management, projection image intensity analysis, or fiducial marker tracking), (ii) binning method (phase, displacement, or equal-projection-density displacement binning), and (iii) reconstruction algorithm [Feldkamp–Davis–Kress (FDK), McKinnon–Bates (MKB), or adaptive-steepest-descent projection-onto-convex-sets (ASD-POCS)]. The image quality was quantified using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio, and edge-response width in order to assess noise/streaking and blur. The SNR values were also analyzed with respect to the maximum, mean, and root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) projection angular spacing to investigate how projection angular spacing affects image quality. Results: The choice of respiratory signals was found to have no significant impact on image quality. Displacement-based binning was found to be less prone to motion artifacts compared to phase binning in more than half of the cases, but was shown to suffer from large interbin image quality variation and large projection angular gaps. Both MKB and ASD-POCS resulted in noticeably improved image quality almost 100% of the time relative to FDK. In addition, SNR

  16. SU-F-J-205: Effect of Cone Beam Factor On Cone Beam CT Number Accuracy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yao, W; Hua, C; Farr, J; Brady, S; Merchant, T [St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To examine the suitability of a Catphan™ 700 phantom for image quality QA of a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system deployed for proton therapy. Methods: Catphan phantoms, particularly Catphan™ 504, are commonly used in image quality QA for CBCT. As a newer product, Catphan™ 700 offers more tissue equivalent inserts which may be useful for generating the electron density – CT number curve for CBCT based treatment planning. The sensitometry-and-geometry module used in Catphan™ 700 is located at the end of the phantom and after the resolution line pair module. In Catphan™ 504 the line pair module is located at the end of the phantom and after the sensitometry-and-geometry module. To investigate the effect of difference in location on CT number accuracy due to the cone beam factor, we scanned the Catphan™ 700 with the central plane of CBCT at the center of the phantom, line pair and sensitometry-andgeometry modules of the phantom, respectively. The protocol head and thorax scan modes were used. For each position, scans were repeated 4 times. Results: For the head scan mode, the standard deviation (SD) of the CT numbers of each insert under 4 repeated scans was up to 20 HU, 11 HU, and 11 HU, respectively, for the central plane of CBCT located at the center of the phantom, line pair, and sensitometry-and-geometry modules of the phantom. The mean of the SD was 9.9 HU, 5.7 HU, and 5.9 HU, respectively. For the thorax mode, the mean of the SD was 4.5 HU, 4.4 HU, and 4.4 HU, respectively. The assessment of image quality based on resolution and spatial linearity was not affected by imaging location changes. Conclusion: When the Catphan™ 700 was aligned to the center of imaging region, the CT number accuracy test may not meet expectations. We recommend reconfiguration of the modules.

  17. Evidence supporting the use of cone-beam computed tomography in orthodontics.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vlijmen, O.J.C. van; Kuijpers, M.A.R.; Berge, S.J.; Schols, J.G.J.H.; Maal, T.J.J.; Breuning, H.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.

    2012-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The authors conducted a systematic review of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) applications in orthodontics and evaluated the level of evidence to determine whether the use of CBCT is justified in orthodontics. TYPES OF STUDIES REVIEWED: The authors identified articles by searching

  18. Cone-beam x-ray luminescence computed tomography based on x-ray absorption dosage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tianshuai; Rong, Junyan; Gao, Peng; Zhang, Wenli; Liu, Wenlei; Zhang, Yuanke; Lu, Hongbing

    2018-02-01

    With the advances of x-ray excitable nanophosphors, x-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT) has become a promising hybrid imaging modality. In particular, a cone-beam XLCT (CB-XLCT) system has demonstrated its potential in in vivo imaging with the advantage of fast imaging speed over other XLCT systems. Currently, the imaging models of most XLCT systems assume that nanophosphors emit light based on the intensity distribution of x-ray within the object, not completely reflecting the nature of the x-ray excitation process. To improve the imaging quality of CB-XLCT, an imaging model that adopts an excitation model of nanophosphors based on x-ray absorption dosage is proposed in this study. To solve the ill-posed inverse problem, a reconstruction algorithm that combines the adaptive Tikhonov regularization method with the imaging model is implemented for CB-XLCT reconstruction. Numerical simulations and phantom experiments indicate that compared with the traditional forward model based on x-ray intensity, the proposed dose-based model could improve the image quality of CB-XLCT significantly in terms of target shape, localization accuracy, and image contrast. In addition, the proposed model behaves better in distinguishing closer targets, demonstrating its advantage in improving spatial resolution.

  19. Intraosseous focal venous malformation of the mandibular body: Cone beam computed tomography planning followed by piezoelectric knife resection and free bone graft reconstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolić Živorad S.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Intraosseous vascular malformation could be life-threatening due to uncontrolled hemorrhage after tooth extraction. According to biological behavior of this lesion, adequate diagnostic and treatment strategies are necessary in order to avoid possible complications. We reported cone beam computed tomography (CBCT planning of an urgent en bloc resection of an intraosseous venous malformation by piezoelectric knife. Case report. A 55-year-old man was submitted to CBCT planning followed by piezoelectric knife resection of an intraosseous focal venous malformation of the mandibular body. Immediate reconstruction of the defect using iliac bone free graft was performed. The surgical treatment was uneventful and a 2-year follow-up revealed no signs of recurrence. Conclusion. Piezoelectric knife could provide precise, safe and bloodless procedure which is especially important in this pathology. Advantages of this technique are: lower risk of damaging soft tissue structures, precise osteotomy and bloodless surgery. Moreover, using piezosurgery bone knife, blood transfusion and blood transmitted diseases could be avoided. This case highlights the importance of CBCT as planning tool for resection of the mandible, using piezoelectric knife as safe method to achieve bloodless surgery. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 175075

  20. Use of Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Endodontics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William C. Scarfe

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT is a diagnostic imaging modality that provides high-quality, accurate three-dimensional (3D representations of the osseous elements of the maxillofacial skeleton. CBCT systems are available that provide small field of view images at low dose with sufficient spatial resolution for applications in endodontic diagnosis, treatment guidance, and posttreatment evaluation. This article provides a literature review and pictorial demonstration of CBCT as an imaging adjunct for endodontics.

  1. An index of beam hardening artifact for two-dimensional cone-beam CT tomographic images: establishment and preliminary evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Fusong; Lv, Peijun; Yang, Huifang; Wang, Yong; Sun, Yuchun

    2015-07-01

    Objectives: Based on the pixel gray value measurements, establish a beam-hardening artifacts index of the cone-beam CT tomographic image, and preliminarily evaluate its applicability. Methods: The 5mm-diameter metal ball and resin ball were fixed on the light-cured resin base plate respectively, while four vitro molars were fixed above and below the ball, on the left and right respectively, which have 10mm distance with the metal ball. Then, cone beam CT was used to scan the fixed base plate twice. The same layer tomographic images were selected from the two data and imported into the Photoshop software. The circle boundary was built through the determination of the center and radius of the circle, according to the artifact-free images section. Grayscale measurement tools were used to measure the internal boundary gray value G0, gray value G1 and G2 of 1mm and 20mm artifacts outside the circular boundary, the length L1 of the arc with artifacts in the circular boundary, the circumference L2. Hardening artifacts index was set A = (G1 / G0) * 0.5 + (G2 / G1) * 0.4 + (L2 / L1) * 0.1. Then, the A values of metal and resin materials were calculated respectively. Results: The A value of cobalt-chromium alloy material is 1, and resin material is 0. Conclusion: The A value reflects comprehensively the three factors of hardening artifacts influencing normal oral tissue image sharpness of cone beam CT. The three factors include relative gray value, the decay rate and range of artifacts.

  2. A SPECT reconstruction method for extending parallel to non-parallel geometries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen Junhai; Liang Zhengrong

    2010-01-01

    Due to its simplicity, parallel-beam geometry is usually assumed for the development of image reconstruction algorithms. The established reconstruction methodologies are then extended to fan-beam, cone-beam and other non-parallel geometries for practical application. This situation occurs for quantitative SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging in inverting the attenuated Radon transform. Novikov reported an explicit parallel-beam formula for the inversion of the attenuated Radon transform in 2000. Thereafter, a formula for fan-beam geometry was reported by Bukhgeim and Kazantsev (2002 Preprint N. 99 Sobolev Institute of Mathematics). At the same time, we presented a formula for varying focal-length fan-beam geometry. Sometimes, the reconstruction formula is so implicit that we cannot obtain the explicit reconstruction formula in the non-parallel geometries. In this work, we propose a unified reconstruction framework for extending parallel-beam geometry to any non-parallel geometry using ray-driven techniques. Studies by computer simulations demonstrated the accuracy of the presented unified reconstruction framework for extending parallel-beam to non-parallel geometries in inverting the attenuated Radon transform.

  3. A study of incisive canal using a cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Gyu Tae; Hwang, Eui Hwan; Lee, Sang Rae

    2004-01-01

    To investigate the anatomical structure of the incisive canal radiographically by a cone beam computed tomography. 38 persons (male 26, female 12) were chosen to take images of maxillary anterior region in dental CT mode using a cone beam computed tomography. The tube voltage were 65, 67, and 70 kVp, the tube current was 7 mA, and the exposure time was 13.3 seconds. The FH plane of each person was parallel to the floor. The images were analysed on the CRT display. The mean length of incisive canal was 15.87 mm ± 2.92. The mean diameter at the side of palate and nasal fossa were 3.49 mm ± 0.76 and 3.89 mm ± 1.06, respectively. In the cross-sectional shape of incisive canal, 50% were round, 34.2% were ovoid, and 15.8% were lobulated. 87% of incisive canal at the side of nasal fossa have one canal, 10.4% have two canals, and 2.6% have three canals, but these canals were merged into one canal in the middle portion of palate. The mean angles of the long axis of incisive canal and central incisor to the FH plane were 110.3 ± 6.96 and 117.45 ± 7.41, respectively. The angles of the long axis of incisive canal and central incisor to the FH plane were least correlated (r 0.258). This experiment suggests that a cone beam computed radiography will be helpful in surgery or implantation on the maxillary incisive area.

  4. A study of incisive canal using a cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Gyu Tae; Hwang, Eui Hwan; Lee, Sang Rae [Kyunghee University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2004-03-15

    To investigate the anatomical structure of the incisive canal radiographically by a cone beam computed tomography. 38 persons (male 26, female 12) were chosen to take images of maxillary anterior region in dental CT mode using a cone beam computed tomography. The tube voltage were 65, 67, and 70 kVp, the tube current was 7 mA, and the exposure time was 13.3 seconds. The FH plane of each person was parallel to the floor. The images were analysed on the CRT display. The mean length of incisive canal was 15.87 mm {+-} 2.92. The mean diameter at the side of palate and nasal fossa were 3.49 mm {+-} 0.76 and 3.89 mm {+-} 1.06, respectively. In the cross-sectional shape of incisive canal, 50% were round, 34.2% were ovoid, and 15.8% were lobulated. 87% of incisive canal at the side of nasal fossa have one canal, 10.4% have two canals, and 2.6% have three canals, but these canals were merged into one canal in the middle portion of palate. The mean angles of the long axis of incisive canal and central incisor to the FH plane were 110.3 {+-} 6.96 and 117.45 {+-} 7.41, respectively. The angles of the long axis of incisive canal and central incisor to the FH plane were least correlated (r 0.258). This experiment suggests that a cone beam computed radiography will be helpful in surgery or implantation on the maxillary incisive area.

  5. An improved exact inversion formula for solenoidal fields in cone beam vector tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katsevich, Alexander; Rothermel, Dimitri; Schuster, Thomas

    2017-06-01

    In this paper we present an improved inversion formula for the 3D cone beam transform of vector fields supported in the unit ball which is exact for solenoidal fields. It is well known that only the solenoidal part of a vector field can be determined from the longitudinal ray transform of a vector field in cone beam geometry. The inversion formula, as it was developed in Katsevich and Schuster (2013 An exact inversion formula for cone beam vector tomography Inverse Problems 29 065013), consists of two parts. The first part is of the filtered backprojection type, whereas the second part is a costly 4D integration and very inefficient. In this article we tackle this second term and obtain an improved formula, which is easy to implement and saves one order of integration. We also show that the first part contains all information about the curl of the field, whereas the second part has information about the boundary values. More precisely, the second part vanishes if the solenoidal part of the original field is tangential at the boundary. A number of numerical tests presented in the paper confirm the theoretical results and the exactness of the formula. Also, we obtain an inversion algorithm that works for general convex domains.

  6. Peri-implant assessment via cone beam computed tomography and digital periapical radiography: an ex vivo study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolau Silveira-Neto

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: This research evaluated detail registration in peri-implant bone using two different cone beam computer tomography systems and a digital periapical radiograph. METHODS: Three different image acquisition protocols were established for each cone beam computer tomography apparatus, and three clinical situations were simulated in an ex vivo fresh pig mandible: buccal bone defect, peri-implant bone defect, and bone contact. Data were subjected to two analyses: quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative analyses involved a comparison of real specimen measures using a digital caliper in three regions of the preserved buccal bone – A, B and E (control group – to cone beam computer tomography images obtained with different protocols (kp1, kp2, kp3, ip1, ip2, and ip3. In the qualitative analyses, the ability to register peri-implant details via tomography and digital periapical radiography was verified, as indicated by twelve evaluators. Data were analyzed with ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α=0.05. RESULTS: The quantitative assessment showed means statistically equal to those of the control group under the following conditions: buccal bone defect B and E with kp1 and ip1, peri-implant bone defect E with kp2 and kp3, and bone contact A with kp1, kp2, kp3, and ip2. Qualitatively, only bone contacts were significantly different among the assessments, and the p3 results differed from the p1 and p2 results. The other results were statistically equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: The registration of peri-implant details was influenced by the image acquisition protocol, although metal artifacts were produced in all situations. The evaluators preferred the Kodak 9000 3D cone beam computer tomography in most cases. The evaluators identified buccal bone defects better with cone beam computer tomography and identified peri-implant bone defects better with digital periapical radiography.

  7. Diagnostic accuracy of cone-beam CT in the assessment of mandibular invasion of lower gingival carcinoma: Comparison with conventional panoramic radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Momin, Mohammad A.; Okochi, Kiyoshi; Watanabe, Hiroshi; Imaizumi, Akiko; Omura, Ken; Amagasa, Teruo; Okada, Norihiko; Ohbayashi, Naoto; Kurabayashi, Tohru

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of cone-beam CT in assessing mandibular invasion by lower gingival carcinoma and compare it with that of panoramic radiography. Patients and methods: Fifty patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower gingiva who were examined by both panoramic radiography and cone-beam CT before surgery were included in this study. Five radiologists used a 6-point rating scale to independently evaluate cone-beam CT and panoramic images for the presence or absence of alveolar bone and mandibular canal involvement by tumor. Using the histopathogical findings as the gold standard, we calculated and compared the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az value) and the sensitivity and specificity of the two imaging modalities. Results: In evaluations of both alveolar bone and mandibular canal involvement, the mean Az value for cone-beam CT (0.918 and 0.977, respectively) was significantly higher than that for panoramic radiography (0.793 and 0.872, respectively). The mean sensitivity for cone-beam CT (89% and 99%, respectively) was significantly higher than that for panoramic radiography (73% and 56%, respectively). There was no significant difference in the mean specificity. While cone-beam CT could provide high-resolution three-dimensional images, the image quality around the alveolar crest was often hampered by severe dental artifacts and image noise, resulting in difficulties in detecting subtle alveolar invasion. Conclusion: Cone-beam CT was significantly superior to panoramic radiography in evaluating mandibular invasion by lower gingival carcinoma. Its diagnostic value in detecting subtle alveolar invasion, however, may be limited by severe dental artifacts and image noise.

  8. Three-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography: A new approach to the diagnosis and treatment planning of impacted mandibular third molars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanazirska, P.; Yordanov, G.; Angelova, I.; Kanazirski, N.

    2017-01-01

    Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is a relatively new method in dental practice which raises a more precise diagnosis and correct treatment plan. The image of the impacted teeth and surrounding structures with CBCT are with better quality and informativity than the conventional imaging-diagnostic methods . The use of CBCT to determine the ratio of the impacted teeth to the mandibular canal is necessary for the prevention of complications associated with iatrogenic trauma to the vascular- nerve bundle. The aim of this study was to determine the anatomic relationship between the roots of impacted third molars and mandibular canal using CBCT imaging. The studied patients with impacted third molars of the mandible are 127, aged 17 through 60.They were examined with Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). From the 195 impacted third molar with the - higher frequency are those in which the channel is below their roots-107 teeth (54.9%). The second frequency are the teeth where the channel is located lingually-57 (29.2%). Follow the teeth, in which the channel has a buccal location-25 (12.8%). With the lowest frequency are cases in which the mandibular canal is between the roots of impacted teeth-6 teeth (3.1%).At 132 teeth (67.7%) mandibular canal is at a distance of 1 mm. At 63 teeth (32.3%) the channel is at a distance of over 1 mm. The high resolution cuts in different planes and three-dimensional reconstructions made substantially as set forth preferred for different specialists in dentistry. Precise measurements of the bone around the mandibular canal prevent damage to neurovascular bundle. This makes the method preferred for planning appropriate treatment. Key words: Cone Beam Computed Tomography. Impacted Third Molars. Mandibular Canal [bg

  9. Use of cone beam computed tomography in implant dentistry: current concepts, indications and limitations for clinical practice and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornstein, Michael M; Horner, Keith; Jacobs, Reinhilde

    2017-02-01

    Diagnostic radiology is an essential component of treatment planning in the field of implant dentistry. This narrative review will present current concepts for the use of cone beam computed tomography imaging, before and after implant placement, in daily clinical practice and research. Guidelines for the selection of three-dimensional imaging will be discussed, and limitations will be highlighted. Current concepts of radiation dose optimization, including novel imaging modalities using low-dose protocols, will be presented. For preoperative cross-sectional imaging, data are still not available which demonstrate that cone beam computed tomography results in fewer intraoperative complications such as nerve damage or bleeding incidents, or that implants inserted using preoperative cone beam computed tomography data sets for planning purposes will exhibit higher survival or success rates. The use of cone beam computed tomography following the insertion of dental implants should be restricted to specific postoperative complications, such as damage of neurovascular structures or postoperative infections in relation to the maxillary sinus. Regarding peri-implantitis, the diagnosis and severity of the disease should be evaluated primarily based on clinical parameters and on radiological findings based on periapical radiographs (two dimensional). The use of cone beam computed tomography scans in clinical research might not yield any evident beneficial effect for the patient included. As many of the cone beam computed tomography scans performed for research have no direct therapeutic consequence, dose optimization measures should be implemented by using appropriate exposure parameters and by reducing the field of view to the actual region of interest. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Comparative diagnostic yield of cone beam CT reconstruction using various software programs on the detection of vertical root fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melo, S L S; Haiter-Neto, F; Correa, L R; Scarfe, W C; Farman, A G

    2013-01-01

    To evaluate the effect on diagnostic yield in the detection of experimentally induced vertical root fractures on cone beam CT images using four dental software program. 190 single-rooted extracted human teeth were divided into three groups according to the pulp canal status: unrestored (UR), filled with gutta-percha (GP) and restored with a metallic custom post (Post). One-half of the sample of each group was artificially fractured and the segments repositioned. All teeth were scanned on a cone beam CT device at 0.2 mm nominal voxel resolution (i-CAT Platinum; Imaging Sciences International, Hatfield, PA). The data were exported as digital imaging and communications in medicine files and imported into Dolphin Imaging & Management Solutions, v. 11.5 (Patterson Dental Supply Inc., St Paul, MN), InVivoDental, v. 5.0 (Anatomage Inc., San Jose, CA) and Kodak Dental Imaging Software 3D module, v. 2.1.11 (Carestream Health Inc., Rochester, NY) software. Cross-sectional images in the acquisition (using Xoran CAT™, v. 3.0.34 software; Xoran Technologies, Ann Arbor, MI) and additional software were presented to three calibrated oral radiologists who rated the presence or absence of root fracture on a five-point scale. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed, and treatment comparisons compared by analysis of variance and pairwise comparisons were performed using Tukey's test at an a priori value of α < 0.05%. All dental software performed equally at detecting fractures. Fractures were significantly more difficult to detect when posts were present. The diagnosis of root fracture is software-independent. The presence of an intracanal metallic post significantly decreases the detection of artificially created root fractures.

  11. WE-G-18A-08: Axial Cone Beam DBPF Reconstruction with Three-Dimensional Weighting and Butterfly Filtering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tang, S; Wang, W [School of Automation, Xi' an University of Post and Telecommunication, Xi' an, Shaanxi (China); Tang, X [Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (United States)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: With the major benefit in dealing with data truncation for ROI reconstruction, the algorithm of differentiated backprojection followed by Hilbert filtering (DBPF) is originally derived for image reconstruction from parallel- or fan-beam data. To extend its application for axial CB scan, we proposed the integration of the DBPF algorithm with 3-D weighting. In this work, we further propose the incorporation of Butterfly filtering into the 3-D weighted axial CB-DBPF algorithm and conduct an evaluation to verify its performance. Methods: Given an axial scan, tomographic images are reconstructed by the DBPF algorithm with 3-D weighting, in which streak artifacts exist along the direction of Hilbert filtering. Recognizing this orientation-specific behavior, a pair of orthogonal Butterfly filtering is applied on the reconstructed images with the horizontal and vertical Hilbert filtering correspondingly. In addition, the Butterfly filtering can also be utilized for streak artifact suppression in the scenarios wherein only partial scan data with an angular range as small as 270° are available. Results: Preliminary data show that, with the correspondingly applied Butterfly filtering, the streak artifacts existing in the images reconstructed by the 3-D weighted DBPF algorithm can be suppressed to an unnoticeable level. Moreover, the Butterfly filtering also works at the scenarios of partial scan, though the 3-D weighting scheme may have to be dropped because of no sufficient projection data are available. Conclusion: As an algorithmic step, the incorporation of Butterfly filtering enables the DBPF algorithm for CB image reconstruction from data acquired along either a full or partial axial scan.

  12. WE-G-18A-08: Axial Cone Beam DBPF Reconstruction with Three-Dimensional Weighting and Butterfly Filtering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, S; Wang, W; Tang, X

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: With the major benefit in dealing with data truncation for ROI reconstruction, the algorithm of differentiated backprojection followed by Hilbert filtering (DBPF) is originally derived for image reconstruction from parallel- or fan-beam data. To extend its application for axial CB scan, we proposed the integration of the DBPF algorithm with 3-D weighting. In this work, we further propose the incorporation of Butterfly filtering into the 3-D weighted axial CB-DBPF algorithm and conduct an evaluation to verify its performance. Methods: Given an axial scan, tomographic images are reconstructed by the DBPF algorithm with 3-D weighting, in which streak artifacts exist along the direction of Hilbert filtering. Recognizing this orientation-specific behavior, a pair of orthogonal Butterfly filtering is applied on the reconstructed images with the horizontal and vertical Hilbert filtering correspondingly. In addition, the Butterfly filtering can also be utilized for streak artifact suppression in the scenarios wherein only partial scan data with an angular range as small as 270° are available. Results: Preliminary data show that, with the correspondingly applied Butterfly filtering, the streak artifacts existing in the images reconstructed by the 3-D weighted DBPF algorithm can be suppressed to an unnoticeable level. Moreover, the Butterfly filtering also works at the scenarios of partial scan, though the 3-D weighting scheme may have to be dropped because of no sufficient projection data are available. Conclusion: As an algorithmic step, the incorporation of Butterfly filtering enables the DBPF algorithm for CB image reconstruction from data acquired along either a full or partial axial scan

  13. Predicting factors for conversion from fluoroscopy guided Percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy to cone-beam CT guided Percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Kang Ji; Han, Young Min; Jin, Gong Yong; Song, Ji Soo

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the predicting factors for conversion from fluoroscopy guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB) to cone-beam CT guided PTNB. From January 2011 to December 2012, we retrospectively identified 38 patients who underwent cone-beam CT guided PTNB with solid pulmonary lesions, and 76 patients who underwent fluoroscopy guided PTNB were matched to the patients who underwent cone-beam CT guided PTNB for age, sex, and lesion location. We evaluated predicting factors such as, long-axis diameter, short-axis diameter, anterior-posterior diameter, and CT attenuation value of the solid pulmonary lesion affecting conversion from fluoroscopy guided PTNB to cone-beam CT guided PTNB. Pearson χ 2 test, Fisher exact test, and independent t test were used in statistical analyses; in addition, we also used receiver operating characteristics curve to find the proper cut-off values affecting the conversion to cone-beam CT guided PTNB. Short-axis, long-axis, anterior-posterior diameter and CT attenuation value of the solid pulmonary lesion in patients who underwent fluoroscopy guided PTNB were 2.70 ± 1.57 cm, 3.40 ± 1.92 cm, 3.06 ± 1.81 cm, and 35.67 ± 15.70 Hounsfield unit (HU), respectively. Short-axis, long-axis, anterior-posterior diameter and CT attenuation value of the solid pulmonary lesion in patients who underwent cone-beam CT guided PTNB were 1.60 ± 1.30 cm, 2.20 ± 1.45 cm, 1.91 ± 1.99 cm, and 18.32 ± 23.11 HU, respectively. Short-axis, long-axis, anterior-posterior diameter, and CT attenuation value showed a significantly different mean value between the 2 groups (p = 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.003, p < 0.001, respectively). Odd ratios of CT attenuation value and short-axis diameter of the solid pulmonary lesion were 0.952 and 0.618, respectively. Proper cut-off values affecting the conversion to cone-beam CT guided PTNB were 1.65 cm (sensitivity 68.4%, specificity 71.1%) in short-axis diameter and 29.50 HU (sensitivity 65.8%, specificity 65.8%) in

  14. Utilization of cone-beam CT for offline evaluation of target volume coverage during prostate image-guided radiotherapy based on bony anatomy alignment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paluska, Petr; Hanus, Josef; Sefrova, Jana; Rouskova, Lucie; Grepl, Jakub; Jansa, Jan; Kasaova, Linda; Hodek, Miroslav; Zouhar, Milan; Vosmik, Milan; Petera, Jiri

    2012-01-01

    To assess target volume coverage during prostate image-guided radiotherapy based on bony anatomy alignment and to assess possibility of safety margin reduction. Implementation of IGRT should influence safety margins. Utilization of cone-beam CT provides current 3D anatomic information directly in irradiation position. Such information enables reconstruction of the actual dose distribution. Seventeen prostate patients were treated with daily bony anatomy image-guidance. Cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans were acquired once a week immediately after bony anatomy alignment. After the prostate, seminal vesicles, rectum and bladder were contoured, the delivered dose distribution was reconstructed. Target dose coverage was evaluated by the proportion of the CTV encompassed by the 95% isodose. Original plans employed a 1 cm safety margin. Alternative plans assuming a smaller 7 mm margin between CTV and PTV were evaluated in the same way. Rectal and bladder volumes were compared with the initial ones. Rectal and bladder volumes irradiated with doses higher than 75 Gy, 70 Gy, 60 Gy, 50 Gy and 40 Gy were analyzed. In 12% of reconstructed plans the prostate coverage was not sufficient. The prostate underdosage was observed in 5 patients. Coverage of seminal vesicles was not satisfactory in 3% of plans. Most of the target underdosage corresponded to excessive rectal or bladder filling. Evaluation of alternative plans assuming a smaller 7 mm margin revealed 22% and 11% of plans where prostate and seminal vesicles coverage, respectively, was compromised. These were distributed over 8 and 7 patients, respectively. Sufficient dose coverage of target volumes was not achieved for all patients. Reducing of safety margin is not acceptable. Initial rectal and bladder volumes cannot be considered representative for subsequent treatment.

  15. Cone beam CT in orthodontics: the current picture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makdissi, Jimmy

    2013-03-01

    The introduction of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) technology to dentistry and orthodontics revolutionized the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of orthodontic patients. This review article discusses the use of CBCT in diagnosis and treatment planning in orthodontics. The steps required to install and operate a CBCT facility within the orthodontic practice as well as the challenges are highlighted. The available guidelines in relation to the clinical applications of CBCT in orthodontics are explored. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

  16. Cone beam computed tomography in Endodontics - a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, S; Durack, C; Abella, F; Shemesh, H; Roig, M; Lemberg, K

    2015-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) produces undistorted three-dimensional information of the maxillofacial skeleton, including the teeth and their surrounding tissues with a lower effective radiation dose than computed tomography. The aim of this paper is to: (i) review the current literature on the applications and limitations of CBCT; (ii) make recommendations for the use of CBCT in Endodontics; (iii) highlight areas of further research of CBCT in Endodontics. © 2014 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Cone-Beam CT with Flat-Panel-Detector Digital Angiography System: Early Experience in Abdominal Interventional Procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirota, Shozo; Nakao, Norio; Yamamoto, Satoshi; Kobayashi, Kaoru; Maeda, Hiroaki; Ishikura, Reiichi; Miura, Koui; Sakamoto, Kiyoshi; Ueda, Ken; Baba, Rika

    2006-01-01

    We developed a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system equipped with a large flat-panel detector. Data obtained by 200 o rotation imaging are reconstructed by means of CBCT to generate three-dimensional images. We report the use of CBCT angiography using CBCT in 10 patients with 8 liver malignancies and 2 hypersplenisms during abdominal interventional procedures. CBCT was very useful for interventional radiologists to confirm a perfusion area of the artery catheter wedged on CT by injection of contrast media through the catheter tip, although the image quality was slightly degraded, scoring as 2.60 on average by streak artifacts. CBCT is space-saving because it does not require a CT system with a gantry, and it is also time-saving because it does not require the transfer of patients

  18. Integration of digital dental casts in cone-beam computed tomography scans

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rangel, F.A.; Maal, T.J.J.; Berge, S.J.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.

    2012-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is widely used in maxillofacial surgery. The CBCT image of the dental arches, however, is of insufficient quality to use in digital planning of orthognathic surgery. Several authors have described methods to integrate digital dental casts into CBCT scans, but all

  19. Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Evaluation of Mental Foramen Variations: A Preliminary Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sheikhi, Mahnaz; Karbasi Kheir, Mitra; Hekmatian, Ehsan

    2015-01-01

    Background. Mental foramen is important in surgical operations of premolars because it transfers the mental nerves and vessels. This study evaluated the variations of mental foramen by cone-beam computed tomography among a selected Iranian population. Materials and Methods. A total number of 180 cone-beam computed tomography projections were analyzed in terms of shape, size, direction, and horizontal and vertical positions of mental foramen in the right and left sides. Results. The most common shape was oval, opening direction was posterior-superior, horizontal position was in line with second premolar, and vertical position was apical to the adjacent dental root. The mean of foremen diameter was 3.59 mm. Conclusion. In addition to the most common types of mental foramen, other variations exist, too. Hence, it reflects the significance of preoperative radiographic examinations, especially 3-dimensional images to prevent nerve damage

  20. Fast kilovoltage/megavoltage (kVMV) breathhold cone-beam CT for image-guided radiotherapy of lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wertz, Hansjoerg; Stsepankou, Dzmitry; Blessing, Manuel; Boda-Heggemann, Judit; Hesser, Juergen; Lohr, Frank; Wenz, Frederik; Rossi, Michael; Gros, Uwe; Knox, Chris; Brown, Kevin; Walter, Cornelia

    2010-01-01

    Long image acquisition times of 60-120 s for cone-beam CT (CBCT) limit the number of patients with lung cancer who can undergo volume image guidance under breathhold. We developed a low-dose dual-energy kilovoltage-megavoltage-cone-beam CT (kVMV-CBCT) based on a clinical treatment unit reducing imaging time to ≤15 s. Simultaneous kVMV-imaging was achieved by dedicated synchronization hardware controlling the output of the linear accelerator (linac) based on detector panel readout signals, preventing imaging artifacts from interference of the linac's MV-irradiation and panel readouts. Optimization was performed to minimize the imaging dose. Single MV-projections, reconstructed MV-CBCT images and images of simultaneous 90 0 kV- and 90 0 MV-CBCT (180 0 kVMV-CBCT) were acquired with different parameters. Image quality and imaging dose were evaluated and compared to kV-imaging. Hardware-based kVMV synchronization resulted in artifact-free projections. A combined 180 0 kVMV-CBCT scan with a total MV-dose of 5 monitor units was acquired in 15 s and with sufficient image quality. The resolution was 5-6 line pairs cm -1 (Catphan phantom). The combined kVMV-scan dose was equivalent to a kV-radiation scan dose of ∼33 mGy. kVMV-CBCT based on a standard linac is promising and can provide ultra-fast online volume image guidance with low imaging dose and sufficient image quality for fast and accurate patient positioning for patients with lung cancer under breathhold.

  1. Measurement of breast tissue composition with dual energy cone-beam computed tomography: A postmortem study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding Huanjun; Ducote, Justin L.; Molloi, Sabee [Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, California 92697 (United States)

    2013-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate the feasibility of a three-material compositional measurement of water, lipid, and protein content of breast tissue with dual kVp cone-beam computed tomography (CT) for diagnostic purposes. Methods: Simulations were performed on a flat panel-based computed tomography system with a dual kVp technique in order to guide the selection of experimental acquisition parameters. The expected errors induced by using the proposed calibration materials were also estimated by simulation. Twenty pairs of postmortem breast samples were imaged with a flat-panel based dual kVp cone-beam CT system, followed by image-based material decomposition using calibration data obtained from a three-material phantom consisting of water, vegetable oil, and polyoxymethylene plastic. The tissue samples were then chemically decomposed into their respective water, lipid, and protein contents after imaging to allow direct comparison with data from dual energy decomposition. Results: Guided by results from simulation, the beam energies for the dual kVp cone-beam CT system were selected to be 50 and 120 kVp with the mean glandular dose divided equally between each exposure. The simulation also suggested that the use of polyoxymethylene as the calibration material for the measurement of pure protein may introduce an error of -11.0%. However, the tissue decomposition experiments, which employed a calibration phantom made out of water, oil, and polyoxymethylene, exhibited strong correlation with data from the chemical analysis. The average root-mean-square percentage error for water, lipid, and protein contents was 3.58% as compared with chemical analysis. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the water, lipid, and protein contents can be accurately measured using dual kVp cone-beam CT. The tissue compositional information may improve the sensitivity and specificity for breast cancer diagnosis.

  2. Calibration of megavoltage cone-beam CT for radiotherapy dose calculations: Correction of cupping artifacts and conversion of CT numbers to electron density

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petit, Steven F.; Elmpt, Wouter J. C. van; Nijsten, Sebastiaan M. J. J. G.; Lambin, Philippe; Dekker, Andre L. A. J.

    2008-01-01

    Megavoltage cone-beam CT (MV CBCT) is used for three-dimensional imaging of the patient anatomy on the treatment table prior to or just after radiotherapy treatment. To use MV CBCT images for radiotherapy dose calculation purposes, reliable electron density (ED) distributions are needed. Patient scatter, beam hardening and softening effects result in cupping artifacts in MV CBCT images and distort the CT number to ED conversion. A method based on transmission images is presented to correct for these effects without using prior knowledge of the object's geometry. The scatter distribution originating from the patient is calculated with pencil beam scatter kernels that are fitted based on transmission measurements. The radiological thickness is extracted from the scatter subtracted transmission images and is then converted to the primary transmission used in the cone-beam reconstruction. These corrections are performed in an iterative manner, without using prior knowledge regarding the geometry and composition of the object. The method was tested using various homogeneous and inhomogeneous phantoms with varying shapes and compositions, including a phantom with different electron density inserts, phantoms with large density variations, and an anthropomorphic head phantom. For all phantoms, the cupping artifact was substantially removed from the images and a linear relation between the CT number and electron density was found. After correction the deviations in reconstructed ED from the true values were reduced from up to 0.30 ED units to 0.03 for the majority of the phantoms; the residual difference is equal to the amount of noise in the images. The ED distributions were evaluated in terms of absolute dose calculation accuracy for homogeneous cylinders of different size; errors decreased from 7% to below 1% in the center of the objects for the uncorrected and corrected images, respectively, and maximum differences were reduced from 17% to 2%, respectively. The

  3. Dosimetric evaluation of cone beam computed tomography scanning protocols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soares, Maria Rosangela

    2015-01-01

    It was evaluated the cone beam computed tomography, CBCT scanning protocols, that was introduced in dental radiology at the end of the 1990's, and quickly became a fundamental examination for various procedures. Its main characteristic, the difference of medical CT is the beam shape. This study aimed to calculate the absorbed dose in eight tissues / organs of the head and neck, and to estimate the effective dose in 13 protocols and two techniques (stitched FOV e single FOV) of 5 equipment of different manufacturers of cone beam CT. For that purpose, a female anthropomorphic phantom was used, representing a default woman, in which were inserted thermoluminescent dosimeters at several points, representing organs / tissues with weighting values presented in the standard ICRP 103. The results were evaluated by comparing the dose according to the purpose of the tomographic image. Among the results, there is a difference up to 325% in the effective dose in relation to protocols with the same image goal. In relation to the image acquisition technique, the stitched FOV technique resulted in an effective dose of 5.3 times greater than the single FOV technique for protocols with the same image goal. In the individual contribution, the salivary glands are responsible for 31% of the effective dose in CT exams. The remaining tissues have also a significant contribution, 36%. The results drew attention to the need of estimating the effective dose in different equipment and protocols of the market, besides the knowledge of the radiation parameters and equipment manufacturing engineering to obtain the image. (author)

  4. Cone-beam computed tomography: An inevitable investigation in cleidocranial dysplasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nandita S Gupta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cleidocranial dysplasia is a heritable skeletal dysplasia and one of the most common features of this syndrome is multiple impacted supernumerary teeth. Cone-beam computed tomography, the most recent advancement in maxillofacial imaging, provides the clinician to view the morphology of the skull and the dentition in all three dimensions and help in treatment planning for the patient.

  5. Cone beam computed tomography in endodontic

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durack, Conor; Patel, Shanon [Unit of Endodontology, Department of Conservative Dentistry, King' s College London, London (United Kingdom)

    2012-07-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a contemporary, radiological imaging system designed specifically for use on the maxillofacial skeleton. The system overcomes many of the limitations of conventional radiography by producing undistorted, three-dimensional images of the area under examination. These properties make this form of imaging particularly suitable for use in endodontic. The clinician can obtain an enhanced appreciation of the anatomy being assessed, leading to an improvement in the detection of endodontic disease and resulting in more effective treatment planning. In addition, CBCT operates with a significantly lower effective radiation dose when compared with conventional computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature relating to the limitations and potential applications of CBCT in endodontic practice. (author)

  6. Cone beam computed tomography in endodontic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durack, Conor; Patel, Shanon

    2012-01-01

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a contemporary, radiological imaging system designed specifically for use on the maxillofacial skeleton. The system overcomes many of the limitations of conventional radiography by producing undistorted, three-dimensional images of the area under examination. These properties make this form of imaging particularly suitable for use in endodontic. The clinician can obtain an enhanced appreciation of the anatomy being assessed, leading to an improvement in the detection of endodontic disease and resulting in more effective treatment planning. In addition, CBCT operates with a significantly lower effective radiation dose when compared with conventional computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this paper is to review the current literature relating to the limitations and potential applications of CBCT in endodontic practice. (author)

  7. Evaluation of robustness of maximum likelihood cone-beam CT reconstruction with total variation regularization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stsepankou, D; Arns, A; Hesser, J; Ng, S K; Zygmanski, P

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to evaluate an iterative maximum likelihood (ML) cone–beam computed tomography (CBCT) reconstruction with total variation (TV) regularization with respect to the robustness of the algorithm due to data inconsistencies. Three different and (for clinical application) typical classes of errors are considered for simulated phantom and measured projection data: quantum noise, defect detector pixels and projection matrix errors. To quantify those errors we apply error measures like mean square error, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and streak indicator. These measures are derived from linear signal theory and generalized and applied for nonlinear signal reconstruction. For quality check, we focus on resolution and CT-number linearity based on a Catphan phantom. All comparisons are made versus the clinical standard, the filtered backprojection algorithm (FBP). In our results, we confirm and substantially extend previous results on iterative reconstruction such as massive undersampling of the number of projections. Errors of projection matrix parameters of up to 1° projection angle deviations are still in the tolerance level. Single defect pixels exhibit ring artifacts for each method. However using defect pixel compensation, allows up to 40% of defect pixels for passing the standard clinical quality check. Further, the iterative algorithm is extraordinarily robust in the low photon regime (down to 0.05 mAs) when compared to FPB, allowing for extremely low-dose image acquisitions, a substantial issue when considering daily CBCT imaging for position correction in radiotherapy. We conclude that the ML method studied herein is robust under clinical quality assurance conditions. Consequently, low-dose regime imaging, especially for daily patient localization in radiation therapy is possible without change of the current hardware of the imaging system. (paper)

  8. Cone beam computed tomography image guidance system for a dedicated intracranial radiosurgery treatment unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruschin, Mark; Komljenovic, Philip T; Ansell, Steve; Ménard, Cynthia; Bootsma, Gregory; Cho, Young-Bin; Chung, Caroline; Jaffray, David

    2013-01-01

    Image guidance has improved the precision of fractionated radiation treatment delivery on linear accelerators. Precise radiation delivery is particularly critical when high doses are delivered to complex shapes with steep dose gradients near critical structures, as is the case for intracranial radiosurgery. To reduce potential geometric uncertainties, a cone beam computed tomography (CT) image guidance system was developed in-house to generate high-resolution images of the head at the time of treatment, using a dedicated radiosurgery unit. The performance and initial clinical use of this imaging system are described. A kilovoltage cone beam CT system was integrated with a Leksell Gamma Knife Perfexion radiosurgery unit. The X-ray tube and flat-panel detector are mounted on a translational arm, which is parked above the treatment unit when not in use. Upon descent, a rotational axis provides 210° of rotation for cone beam CT scans. Mechanical integrity of the system was evaluated over a 6-month period. Subsequent clinical commissioning included end-to-end testing of targeting performance and subjective image quality performance in phantoms. The system has been used to image 2 patients, 1 of whom received single-fraction radiosurgery and 1 who received 3 fractions, using a relocatable head frame. Images of phantoms demonstrated soft tissue contrast visibility and submillimeter spatial resolution. A contrast difference of 35 HU was easily detected at a calibration dose of 1.2 cGy (center of head phantom). The shape of the mechanical flex vs scan angle was highly reproducible and exhibited cone beam CT image guidance system was successfully adapted to a radiosurgery unit. The system is capable of producing high-resolution images of bone and soft tissue. The system is in clinical use and provides excellent image guidance without invasive frames. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Intravenous contrast media application using cone-beam computed tomography in a rabbit model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Min Sung; Kim, Bok Yeol; Choi, Hwa Young [Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, School of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); and others

    2015-03-15

    This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of visualizing soft tissue lesions and vascular structures using contrast-enhanced cone-beam computed tomography (CE-CBCT) after the intravenous administration of a contrast medium in an animal model. CBCT was performed on six rabbits after a contrast medium was administered using an injection dose of 2 mL/kg body weight and an injection rate of 1 mL/s via the ear vein or femoral vein under general anesthesia. Artificial soft tissue lesions were created through the transplantation of autologous fatty tissue into the salivary gland. Volume rendering reconstruction, maximum intensity projection, and multiplanar reconstruction images were reconstructed and evaluated in order to visualize soft tissue contrast and vascular structures. The contrast enhancement of soft tissue was possible using all contrast medium injection parameters. An adequate contrast medium injection parameter for facilitating effective CE-CBCT was a 5-mL injection before exposure combined with a continuous 5-mL injection during scanning. Artificial soft tissue lesions were successfully created in the animals. The CE-CBCT images demonstrated adequate opacification of the soft tissues and vascular structures. Despite limited soft tissue resolution, the opacification of vascular structures was observed and artificial soft tissue lesions were visualized with sufficient contrast to the surrounding structures. The vascular structures and soft tissue lesions appeared well delineated in the CE-CBCT images, which was probably due to the superior spatial resolution of CE-CBCT compared to other techniques, such as multislice computed tomography.

  10. Intravenous contrast media application using cone-beam computed tomography in a rabbit model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Min Sung; Kim, Bok Yeol; Choi, Hwa Young

    2015-01-01

    This study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of visualizing soft tissue lesions and vascular structures using contrast-enhanced cone-beam computed tomography (CE-CBCT) after the intravenous administration of a contrast medium in an animal model. CBCT was performed on six rabbits after a contrast medium was administered using an injection dose of 2 mL/kg body weight and an injection rate of 1 mL/s via the ear vein or femoral vein under general anesthesia. Artificial soft tissue lesions were created through the transplantation of autologous fatty tissue into the salivary gland. Volume rendering reconstruction, maximum intensity projection, and multiplanar reconstruction images were reconstructed and evaluated in order to visualize soft tissue contrast and vascular structures. The contrast enhancement of soft tissue was possible using all contrast medium injection parameters. An adequate contrast medium injection parameter for facilitating effective CE-CBCT was a 5-mL injection before exposure combined with a continuous 5-mL injection during scanning. Artificial soft tissue lesions were successfully created in the animals. The CE-CBCT images demonstrated adequate opacification of the soft tissues and vascular structures. Despite limited soft tissue resolution, the opacification of vascular structures was observed and artificial soft tissue lesions were visualized with sufficient contrast to the surrounding structures. The vascular structures and soft tissue lesions appeared well delineated in the CE-CBCT images, which was probably due to the superior spatial resolution of CE-CBCT compared to other techniques, such as multislice computed tomography.

  11. Use of cone-beam CT and live 3-D needle guidance to facilitate percutaneous nephrostomy and nephrolithotripsy access in children and adolescents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawkins, C.M. [Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Atlanta, GA (United States); Kukreja, Kamlesh [Texas Children' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Houston, TX (United States); Singewald, Timothy; Johnson, Neil D.; Racadio, John M. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Minevich, Eugene; Reddy, Pramod [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Urology, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

    2016-04-15

    Gaining access into non-dilated renal collecting systems for percutaneous nephrolithotripsy, particularly in patients with prohibitive body habitus and/or scoliosis, is often challenging using conventional techniques. To evaluate the feasibility of cone-beam CT for percutaneous nephrostomy placement for subsequent percutaneous nephrolithotripsy in children and adolescents. A retrospective review of percutaneous nephrostomy revealed use of cone-beam CT and 3-D guidance in 12 percutaneous nephrostomy procedures for 9 patients between 2006 and 2015. All cone-beam CT-guided percutaneous nephrostomies were for pre-lithotripsy access and all 12 were placed in non-dilated collecting systems. Technical success was 100%. There were no complications. Cone-beam CT with 3-D guidance is a technically feasible technique for percutaneous nephrostomy in children and adolescents, specifically for nephrolithotripsy access in non-dilated collecting systems. (orig.)

  12. Influence of rebinning on the reconstructed resolution of fan-beam SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koole, M.; D'Asseler, Y.; Staelens, S.; Vandenberghe, S.; Eede, I. van den; Walle, R. van de; Lemahieu, I.

    2002-01-01

    Aim: Fan-beam projection data can be rebinned to a parallel-beam geometry. This rebinning operation allows these data to be reconstructed with algorithms for parallel-beam projection data. The advantage of such an operation is that a dedicated projection/backprojection step for fan-beam geometry doesn't need to be developed. In clinical practice bilinear interpolation is often used for this rebinning operation. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the rebinning operation on the resolution properties of the reconstructed SPECT-image. Materials and methods: We have simulated the resolution properties of a fan-beam collimator, used in clinical routine, by means of a dedicated projector operation which models the distance dependent sensitivity and resolution of the collimator. With this projector, we generated noise-free sinograms for a point source located at various distances from the center of rotation. The number of angles of these sinograms varied from 60 to 180, corresponding to a step angle of 6 to 2 degrees. These generated fan-beam projection data were reconstructed directly with a filtered backprojection algorithm for fan-beam projection data, which consists of weighting and filtering the projection data with a ramp filter and of a weighted backprojection. Next, the generated fan-beam projection data were rebinned by means of bilinear interpolation and reconstructed with standard filtered backprojection for parallel-beam data. A two-dimensional Gaussian was fitted to the two point sources, one reconstructed with FBP for fan-beam and one reconstructed with FBP for parallel-beam after rebinning, yielding an estimate for the reconstructed Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) in the radial and tangential direction, for different locations in the field of view. Results: Results show little difference in resolution degradation in the radial direction between direct reconstruction and reconstruction after rebinning. However, significant loss in

  13. Optical force exerted on a Rayleigh particle by a vector arbitrary-order Bessel beam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Ruiping; Li, Renxian

    2016-01-01

    An analytical description of optical force on a Rayleigh particle by a vector Bessel beam is investigated. Linearly, radially, azimuthally, and circularly polarized Bessel beams are considered. The radial, azimuthal, and axial forces by a vector Bessel beam are numerically simulated. The effect of polarization, order of beams, and half-cone angle to the optical force are mainly discussed. For Bessel beams of larger half-cone angle, the non-paraxiality of beams plays an important role in optical forces. Numerical calculations show that optical forces, especially azimuthal forces, are very sensitive to the polarization of beams. - Highlights: • Optical force exerted on a Rayleigh particle by a vector Bessel beam is analytically derived. • Radial, azimuthal, and axial forces are numerically analyzed. • The effect of polarization, order of beam, and non-paraxiality is analyzed.

  14. Fan-beam filtered-backprojection reconstruction without backprojection weight

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dennerlein, Frank; Noo, Frederic; Hornegger, Joachim; Lauritsch, Guenter

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, we address the problem of two-dimensional image reconstruction from fan-beam data acquired along a full 2π scan. Conventional approaches that follow the filtered-backprojection (FBP) structure require a weighted backprojection with the weight depending on the point to be reconstructed and also on the source position; this weight appears only in the case of divergent beam geometries. Compared to reconstruction from parallel-beam data, the backprojection weight implies an increase in computational effort and is also thought to have some negative impacts on noise properties of the reconstructed images. We demonstrate here that direct FBP reconstruction from full-scan fan-beam data is possible with no backprojection weight. Using computer-simulated, realistic fan-beam data, we compared our novel FBP formula with no backprojection weight to the use of an FBP formula based on equal weighting of all data. Comparisons in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, spatial resolution and computational efficiency are presented. These studies show that the formula we suggest yields images with a reduced noise level, at almost identical spatial resolution. This effect increases quickly with the distance from the center of the field of view, from 0% at the center to 20% less noise at 20 cm, and to 40% less noise at 25 cm. Furthermore, the suggested method is computationally less demanding and reduces computation time with a gain that was found to vary between 12% and 43% on the computers used for evaluation

  15. Evaluation of positioning errors of the patient using cone beam CT megavoltage; Evaluacion de errores de posicionamiento del paciente mediante Cone Beam CT de megavoltaje

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Ruiz-Zorrilla, J.; Fernandez Leton, J. P.; Zucca Aparicio, D.; Perez Moreno, J. M.; Minambres Moro, A.

    2013-07-01

    Image-guided radiation therapy allows you to assess and fix the positioning of the patient in the treatment unit, thus reducing the uncertainties due to the positioning of the patient. This work assesses errors systematic and errors of randomness from the corrections made to a series of patients of different diseases through a protocol off line of cone beam CT (CBCT) megavoltage. (Author)

  16. Comparative study of a low-Z cone-beam computed tomography system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, D A; Hansen, V N; Poludniowski, G; Evans, P M; Thompson, M G; Niven, A; Seco, J

    2011-01-01

    Computed tomography images have been acquired using an experimental (low atomic number (Z) insert) megavoltage cone-beam imaging system. These images have been compared with standard megavoltage and kilovoltage imaging systems. The experimental system requires a simple modification to the 4 MeV electron beam from an Elekta Precise linac. Low-energy photons are produced in the standard medium-Z electron window and a low-Z carbon electron absorber located after the window. The carbon electron absorber produces photons as well as ensuring that all remaining electrons from the source are removed. A detector sensitive to diagnostic x-ray energies is also employed. Quantitative assessment of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) contrast shows that the low-Z imaging system is an order of magnitude or more superior to a standard 6 MV imaging system. CBCT data with the same contrast-to-noise ratio as a kilovoltage imaging system (0.15 cGy) can be obtained in doses of 11 and 244 cGy for the experimental and standard 6 MV systems, respectively. Whilst these doses are high for everyday imaging, qualitative images indicate that kilovoltage like images suitable for patient positioning can be acquired in radiation doses of 1-8 cGy with the experimental low-Z system.

  17. Basic principles of cone beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abramovitch, Kenneth; Rice, Dwight D

    2014-07-01

    At the end of the millennium, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) heralded a new dental technology for the next century. Owing to the dramatic and positive impact of CBCT on implant dentistry and orthognathic/orthodontic patient care, additional applications for this technology soon evolved. New software programs were developed to improve the applicability of, and access to, CBCT for dental patients. Improved, rapid, and cost-effective computer technology, combined with the ability of software engineers to develop multiple dental imaging applications for CBCT with broad diagnostic capability, have played a large part in the rapid incorporation of CBCT technology into dentistry. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Simultaneous misalignment correction for approximate circular cone-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kyriakou, Y; Hillebrand, L; Ertel, D; Kalender, W A; Lapp, R M

    2008-01-01

    Currently, CT scanning is often performed using flat detectors which are mounted on C-arm units or dedicated gantries as in radiation therapy or micro CT. For perspective cone-beam backprojection of the Feldkamp type (FDK) the geometry of an approximately circular scan trajectory has to be available for reconstruction. If the system or the scan geometry is afflicted with geometrical instabilities, referred to as misalignment, a non-perfect approximate circular scan is the case. Reconstructing a misaligned scan without knowledge of the true trajectory results in severe artefacts in the CT images. Unlike current methods which use a pre-scan calibration of the geometry for defined scan protocols and calibration phantoms, we propose a real-time iterative restoration of reconstruction geometry by means of entropy minimization. Entropy minimization is performed combining a simplex algorithm for multi-parameter optimization and iterative graphics card (GPU)-based FDK-reconstructions. Images reconstructed with the misaligned geometry were used as an input for the entropy minimization algorithm. A simplex algorithm changes the geometrical parameters of the source and detector with respect to the reduction of entropy. In order to reduce the size of the high-dimensional space required for minimization, the trajectory was described by only eight fix points. A virtual trajectory is generated for each iteration using a least-mean-squares algorithm to calculate an approximately circular path including these points. Entropy was minimal for the ideal dataset, whereas strong misalignment resulted in a higher entropy value. For the datasets used in this study, the simplex algorithm required 64-200 iterations to achieve an entropy value equivalent to the ideal dataset, depending on the grade of misalignment using random initialization conditions. The use of the GPU reduced the time per iteration as compared to a quad core CPU-based backprojection by a factor of 10 resulting in a total

  19. Beam Hardening Artifacts: Comparison between Two Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scanners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farzad Esmaeili

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Background and aims. At present, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT has become a substitute for computed tomography (CT in dental procedures. The metallic materials used in dentistry can produce artifacts due to the beam hardening phenomenon. These artifacts decrease the quality of images. In the present study, the number of artifacts as a result of beam hardening in the images of dental implants was compared between two NewTom VG and Planmeca Promax 3D Max CBCT machines. Materials and methods. An implant drilling model was used in the present study. The implants (Dentis were placed in the canine, premolar and molar areas. Scanning procedures were carried out by two CBCT machines. The corresponding sections (coronal and axial of the implants were evaluated by two radiologists. The number of artifacts in each image was determined using the scale provided. Mann-Whitney U test was used for two-by-two comparisons at a significance level of P<0.05. Results. There were statistically significant differences in beam hardening artifacts in axial and coronal sections between the two x-ray machines (P<0.001, with a higher quality in the images produced by the NewTom VG. Conclusion. Given the higher quality of the images produced by the NewTom VG x-ray machine, it is recommended for imaging of patients with extensive restorations, multiple prostheses or previous implant treatments.

  20. An analytical statistical approach to the 3D reconstruction problem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cierniak, Robert [Czestochowa Univ. of Technology (Poland). Inst. of Computer Engineering

    2011-07-01

    The presented here approach is concerned with the reconstruction problem for 3D spiral X-ray tomography. The reconstruction problem is formulated taking into considerations the statistical properties of signals obtained in X-ray CT. Additinally, image processing performed in our approach is involved in analytical methodology. This conception significantly improves quality of the obtained after reconstruction images and decreases the complexity of the reconstruction problem in comparison with other approaches. Computer simulations proved that schematically described here reconstruction algorithm outperforms conventional analytical methods in obtained image quality. (orig.)

  1. Orthodontic decompensation in skeletal Class III malocclusion: redefining the amount of movement assessed by Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Antonio Zuega Cappellozza

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT is essential for tridimensional planning of orthognathic surgery, as it allows visualization and evaluation of bone structures and mineralized tissues. Tomographic slices allow evaluation of tooth inclination and individualization of movement performed during preoperative decompensation. The aim of this paper was to assess maxillary and mandibular incisors inclination pre and post orthodontic decompensation in skeletal Class III malocclusion.Methods:The study was conducted on six individuals with skeletal Class III malocclusion, surgically treated, who had Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic scans obtained before and after orthodontic decompensation. On multiplanar reconstruction view, tomographic slices (axial, coronal and sagittal were obtained on the long axis of each incisor. The sagittal slice was used for measurement taking, whereas the references used to assess tooth inclination were the long axis of maxillary teeth in relation to the palatal plane and the long axis of mandibular teeth in relation to the mandibular plane.Results:There was significant variation in the inclination of incisors before and after orthodontic decompensation. This change was of greater magnitude in the mandibular arch, evidencing that natural compensation is more effective in this arch, thereby requiring more intensive decompensation.Conclusion:When routinely performed, the protocols of decompensation treatment in surgical individuals often result in intensive movements, which should be reevaluated, since the extent of movement predisposes to reduction in bone attachment levels and root length.

  2. A simple, direct method for x-ray scatter estimation and correction in digital radiography and cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siewerdsen, J.H.; Daly, M.J.; Bakhtiar, B.

    2006-01-01

    X-ray scatter poses a significant limitation to image quality in cone-beam CT (CBCT), resulting in contrast reduction, image artifacts, and lack of CT number accuracy. We report the performance of a simple scatter correction method in which scatter fluence is estimated directly in each projection from pixel values near the edge of the detector behind the collimator leaves. The algorithm operates on the simple assumption that signal in the collimator shadow is attributable to x-ray scatter, and the 2D scatter fluence is estimated by interpolating between pixel values measured along the top and bottom edges of the detector behind the collimator leaves. The resulting scatter fluence estimate is subtracted from each projection to yield an estimate of the primary-only images for CBCT reconstruction. Performance was investigated in phantom experiments on an experimental CBCT benchtop, and the effect on image quality was demonstrated in patient images (head, abdomen, and pelvis sites) obtained on a preclinical system for CBCT-guided radiation therapy. The algorithm provides significant reduction in scatter artifacts without compromise in contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). For example, in a head phantom, cupping artifact was essentially eliminated, CT number accuracy was restored to within 3%, and CNR (breast-to-water) was improved by up to 50%. Similarly in a body phantom, cupping artifact was reduced by at least a factor of 2 without loss in CNR. Patient images demonstrate significantly increased uniformity, accuracy, and contrast, with an overall improvement in image quality in all sites investigated. Qualitative evaluation illustrates that soft-tissue structures that are otherwise undetectable are clearly delineated in scatter-corrected reconstructions. Since scatter is estimated directly in each projection, the algorithm is robust with respect to system geometry, patient size and heterogeneity, patient motion, etc. Operating without prior information, analytical modeling

  3. TU-EF-207-05: Dedicated Cone-beam Breast CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vedantham, S.

    2015-01-01

    mode due to lower photon fluence per projection. This may require fast-frame acquisition and symmetric or asymmetric pixel binning in some systems. Recent studies investigated the performance of increased conversion layer thickness for contrast-enhanced imaging of the breast in dual-energy acquisition mode. In other direct conversion detectors operating in the avalanche mode, sensitivities close to the single photon response are also explored for mammography and breast tomosynthesis. The potential advantages and challenges of this approach are described. Dedicated breast CT brings x-ray imaging of the breast to true tomographic 3D imaging. It can eliminate the tissue superposition problem and does not require physical compression of the breast. Using cone beam geometry and a flat-panel detector, several hundred projections are acquired and reconstructed to near isotropic voxels. Multiplanar reconstruction facilitates viewing the breast volume in any desired orientation. Ongoing clinical studies, the current state-of-the art, and research to advance the technology are described. Learning Objectives: To understand the ongoing developments in x-ray imaging of the breast To understand the approaches and applications of spectral mammography To understand the potential advantages of distributed x-ray source arrays for digital breast tomosynthesis To understand the ongoing developments in detector technology for digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis To understand the current state-of-the-art for dedicated cone-beam breast CT and research to advance the technology. Research collaboration with Koning Corporation

  4. TU-EF-207-05: Dedicated Cone-beam Breast CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vedantham, S. [Univ. of Massachusetts Medical School (United States)

    2015-06-15

    mode due to lower photon fluence per projection. This may require fast-frame acquisition and symmetric or asymmetric pixel binning in some systems. Recent studies investigated the performance of increased conversion layer thickness for contrast-enhanced imaging of the breast in dual-energy acquisition mode. In other direct conversion detectors operating in the avalanche mode, sensitivities close to the single photon response are also explored for mammography and breast tomosynthesis. The potential advantages and challenges of this approach are described. Dedicated breast CT brings x-ray imaging of the breast to true tomographic 3D imaging. It can eliminate the tissue superposition problem and does not require physical compression of the breast. Using cone beam geometry and a flat-panel detector, several hundred projections are acquired and reconstructed to near isotropic voxels. Multiplanar reconstruction facilitates viewing the breast volume in any desired orientation. Ongoing clinical studies, the current state-of-the art, and research to advance the technology are described. Learning Objectives: To understand the ongoing developments in x-ray imaging of the breast To understand the approaches and applications of spectral mammography To understand the potential advantages of distributed x-ray source arrays for digital breast tomosynthesis To understand the ongoing developments in detector technology for digital mammography and breast tomosynthesis To understand the current state-of-the-art for dedicated cone-beam breast CT and research to advance the technology. Research collaboration with Koning Corporation.

  5. Accuracy and repeatability of anthropometric facial measurements using cone beam computed tomography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fourie, Zacharias; Damstra, Janalt; Gerrits, Peter O.; Ren, Yijin

    Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy and repeatability of linear anthropometric measurements on the soft tissue surface model generated from cone beam computed tomography scans. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of seven cadaver heads. The accuracy and

  6. Characteristics of kilovoltage x-ray beams used for cone-beam computed tomography in radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, George X; Duggan, Dennis M; Coffey, Charles W

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation is to characterize the beams produced by a kilovoltage (kV) imager integrated into a linear accelerator (Varian on-board imager integrated into the Trilogy accelerator) for acquiring high resolution volumetric cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of the patient on the treatment table. The x-ray tube is capable of generating photon spectra with kVp values between 40 and 125 kV. The Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the characteristics of kV beams and the properties of imaged target scatters. The Monte Carlo results were benchmarked against measurements, and excellent agreements were obtained. We also studied the effect of including the electron impact ionization (EII), and the simulation showed that the characteristic radiation is increased significantly in the energy spectra when EII is included. Although only slight beam hardening is observed in the spectra of all photons after passing through the phantom target, there is a significant difference in the spectra and angular distributions between scattered and primary photons. The results also show that the photon fluence distributions are significantly altered by adding bow tie filters. The results indicate that a combination of large cone-beam field size and large imaged target significantly increases scatter-to-primary ratios for photons that reach the detector panel. For phantoms 10 cm, 20 cm and 30 cm thick of water placed at the isocentre, the scatter-to-primary ratios are 0.94, 3.0 and 7.6 respectively for an open 125 kVp CBCT beam. The Monte Carlo simulations show that the increase of the scatter is proportional to the increase of the imaged volume, and this also applies to scatter-to-primary ratios. This study shows both the magnitude and the characteristics of scattered x-rays. The knowledge obtained from this investigation may be useful in the future design of the image detector to improve the image quality

  7. Cone-beam ROI reconstruction using the laplace operator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dennerlein, Frank [Siemens AG, Nuernberg (Germany). Healthcare Sector

    2011-07-01

    A novel filtered-backprojection (FBP) algorithm for 3D reconstruction in the circular geometry is presented. This algorithm achieves data filtering in two steps. The first step is a 2D Laplace filtering of the projections, which acts locally on the data and can thus be carried out accurately even in presence of (transaxial) data truncation. In a second step, a nonlocal 2D filtering operation is applied on the outcome of step 1. First simulation studies show that our algorithm is implicitly more resistant to truncated projections than many standard FBP methods without the need to involve an explicit data extrapolation scheme. (orig.)

  8. Actively triggered 4d cone-beam CT acquisition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fast, Martin F.; Wisotzky, Eric [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany); Oelfke, Uwe; Nill, Simeon [Joint Department of Physics, The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Downs Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PT (United Kingdom)

    2013-09-15

    Purpose: 4d cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans are usually reconstructed by extracting the motion information from the 2d projections or an external surrogate signal, and binning the individual projections into multiple respiratory phases. In this “after-the-fact” binning approach, however, projections are unevenly distributed over respiratory phases resulting in inefficient utilization of imaging dose. To avoid excess dose in certain respiratory phases, and poor image quality due to a lack of projections in others, the authors have developed a novel 4d CBCT acquisition framework which actively triggers 2d projections based on the forward-predicted position of the tumor.Methods: The forward-prediction of the tumor position was independently established using either (i) an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system based on implanted EM-transponders which act as a surrogate for the tumor position, or (ii) an external motion sensor measuring the chest-wall displacement and correlating this external motion to the phase-shifted diaphragm motion derived from the acquired images. In order to avoid EM-induced artifacts in the imaging detector, the authors devised a simple but effective “Faraday” shielding cage. The authors demonstrated the feasibility of their acquisition strategy by scanning an anthropomorphic lung phantom moving on 1d or 2d sinusoidal trajectories.Results: With both tumor position devices, the authors were able to acquire 4d CBCTs free of motion blurring. For scans based on the EM tracking system, reconstruction artifacts stemming from the presence of the EM-array and the EM-transponders were greatly reduced using newly developed correction algorithms. By tuning the imaging frequency independently for each respiratory phase prior to acquisition, it was possible to harmonize the number of projections over respiratory phases. Depending on the breathing period (3.5 or 5 s) and the gantry rotation time (4 or 5 min), between ∼90 and 145

  9. Actively triggered 4d cone-beam CT acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fast, Martin F; Wisotzky, Eric; Oelfke, Uwe; Nill, Simeon

    2013-09-01

    4d cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans are usually reconstructed by extracting the motion information from the 2d projections or an external surrogate signal, and binning the individual projections into multiple respiratory phases. In this "after-the-fact" binning approach, however, projections are unevenly distributed over respiratory phases resulting in inefficient utilization of imaging dose. To avoid excess dose in certain respiratory phases, and poor image quality due to a lack of projections in others, the authors have developed a novel 4d CBCT acquisition framework which actively triggers 2d projections based on the forward-predicted position of the tumor. The forward-prediction of the tumor position was independently established using either (i) an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system based on implanted EM-transponders which act as a surrogate for the tumor position, or (ii) an external motion sensor measuring the chest-wall displacement and correlating this external motion to the phase-shifted diaphragm motion derived from the acquired images. In order to avoid EM-induced artifacts in the imaging detector, the authors devised a simple but effective "Faraday" shielding cage. The authors demonstrated the feasibility of their acquisition strategy by scanning an anthropomorphic lung phantom moving on 1d or 2d sinusoidal trajectories. With both tumor position devices, the authors were able to acquire 4d CBCTs free of motion blurring. For scans based on the EM tracking system, reconstruction artifacts stemming from the presence of the EM-array and the EM-transponders were greatly reduced using newly developed correction algorithms. By tuning the imaging frequency independently for each respiratory phase prior to acquisition, it was possible to harmonize the number of projections over respiratory phases. Depending on the breathing period (3.5 or 5 s) and the gantry rotation time (4 or 5 min), between ∼90 and 145 projections were acquired per respiratory

  10. Actively triggered 4d cone-beam CT acquisition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fast, Martin F.; Wisotzky, Eric; Oelfke, Uwe; Nill, Simeon

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: 4d cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans are usually reconstructed by extracting the motion information from the 2d projections or an external surrogate signal, and binning the individual projections into multiple respiratory phases. In this “after-the-fact” binning approach, however, projections are unevenly distributed over respiratory phases resulting in inefficient utilization of imaging dose. To avoid excess dose in certain respiratory phases, and poor image quality due to a lack of projections in others, the authors have developed a novel 4d CBCT acquisition framework which actively triggers 2d projections based on the forward-predicted position of the tumor.Methods: The forward-prediction of the tumor position was independently established using either (i) an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system based on implanted EM-transponders which act as a surrogate for the tumor position, or (ii) an external motion sensor measuring the chest-wall displacement and correlating this external motion to the phase-shifted diaphragm motion derived from the acquired images. In order to avoid EM-induced artifacts in the imaging detector, the authors devised a simple but effective “Faraday” shielding cage. The authors demonstrated the feasibility of their acquisition strategy by scanning an anthropomorphic lung phantom moving on 1d or 2d sinusoidal trajectories.Results: With both tumor position devices, the authors were able to acquire 4d CBCTs free of motion blurring. For scans based on the EM tracking system, reconstruction artifacts stemming from the presence of the EM-array and the EM-transponders were greatly reduced using newly developed correction algorithms. By tuning the imaging frequency independently for each respiratory phase prior to acquisition, it was possible to harmonize the number of projections over respiratory phases. Depending on the breathing period (3.5 or 5 s) and the gantry rotation time (4 or 5 min), between ∼90 and 145

  11. Angular self-reconstruction of petal-like beams

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Litvin, IA

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available equation for predicting the self-reconstruction distance of superpositions of LG beams, which we confirm by numerical propagation as well as by experiment. We explain that the self-reconstruction process is not guaranteed and predict its dependence...

  12. Endodontic applications of cone beam computed tomography: case series and literature review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesc Abella

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT is a relatively new method that produces three-dimensional (3D information of the maxillofacial skeleton, including the teeth and their surrounding tissue, with a lower effective radiation dose than traditional CT scans. Specific endodontic applications for CBCT are being identified as the use of this technology becomes more common. CBCT has great potential to become a valuable tool for diagnosing and managing endodontic problems, as well as for assessing root fractures, apical periodontitis, resorptions, perforations, root canal anatomy and the nature of the alveolar bone topography around teeth. This article aims to review cone beam technology and its advantages over CT scans and conventional radiography, to illustrate current and future clinical applications in endodontic practice, and to highlight areas of further research of CBCT in endodontics. Specific case examples illustrate how treatment planning has changed with the images obtained with CBCT technology compared with only periapical radiography.

  13. Cone-Beam Computed Tomography-Guided Percutaneous Radiologic Gastrostomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moehlenbruch, Markus; Nelles, Michael; Thomas, Daniel; Willinek, Winfried; Gerstner, Andreas; Schild, Hans H.; Wilhelm, Kai

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a flat-detector C-arm-guided radiographic technique (cone-beam computed tomography [CBCT]) for percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy (PRG) insertion. Eighteen patients (13 men and 5 women; mean age 62 years) in whom percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) had failed underwent CBCT-guided PRG insertion. PEG failure or unsuitability was caused by upper gastrointestinal tract obstruction in all cases. Indications for gastrostomy were esophageal and head and neck malignancies, respectively. Before the PRG procedure, initial C-arm CBCT scans were acquired. Three- and 2-dimensional soft-tissue reconstructions of the epigastrium region were generated on a dedicated workstation. Subsequently, gastropexy was performed with T-fasteners after CBCT-guided puncture of the stomach bubble, followed by insertion of an 14F balloon-retained catheter through a peel-away introducer. Puncture of the stomach bubble and PRG insertion was technically successful in all patients without alteration of the epigastric region. There was no malpositioning of the tube or other major periprocedural complications. In 2 patients, minor complications occurred during the first 30 days of follow-up (PRG malfunction: n = 1; slight infection: n = 1). Late complications, which were mainly tube disturbances, were observed in 2 patients. The mean follow-up time was 212 days. CBCT-guided PRG is a safe, well-tolerated, and successful method of gastrostomy insertion in patients in whom endoscopic gastrostomy is not feasible. CBCT provides detailed imaging of the soft tissue and surrounding structures of the epigastric region in one diagnostic tour and thus significantly improves the planning of PRG procedures.

  14. Cone beam computed tomography in veterinary dentistry: description and standardization of the technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roza, Marcello R.; Silva, Luiz A.F.; Fioravanti, Maria C. S.; Barriviera, Mauricio

    2009-01-01

    Eleven dogs and four cats with buccodental alterations, treated in the Centro Veterinario do Gama, in Brasilia, DF, Brazil, were submitted to cone beam computed tomography. The exams were carried out in a i-CAT tomograph, using for image acquisition six centimeters height, 40 seconds time, 0.2 voxel, 120 kilovolts and 46.72 milli amperes per second. The ideal positioning of the animal for the exam was also determined in this study and it proved to be fundamental for successful examination, which required a simple and safe anesthetic protocol due to the relatively short period of time necessary to obtain the images. Several alterations and diseases were identified with accurate imaging, demonstrating that cone beam computed tomography is a safe, accessible and feasible imaging method which could be included in the small animal dentistry routine diagnosis. (author)

  15. Estimating the effective radiation dose imparted to patients by intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography in thoracolumbar spinal surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Jeffrey; Karellas, Andrew; Street, John; Eck, Jason C; Lapinsky, Anthony; Connolly, Patrick J; Dipaola, Christian P

    2013-03-01

    Observational. To estimate the radiation dose imparted to patients during typical thoracolumbar spinal surgical scenarios. Minimally invasive techniques continue to become more common in spine surgery. Computer-assisted navigation systems coupled with intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography (CT) represent one such method used to aid in instrumented spinal procedures. Some studies indicate that cone-beam CT technology delivers a relatively low dose of radiation to patients compared with other x-ray-based imaging modalities. The goal of this study was to estimate the radiation exposure to the patient imparted during typical posterior thoracolumbar instrumented spinal procedures, using intraoperative cone-beam CT and to place these values in the context of standard CT doses. Cone-beam CT scans were obtained using Medtronic O-arm (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN). Thermoluminescence dosimeters were placed in a linear array on a foam-plastic thoracolumbar spine model centered above the radiation source for O-arm presets of lumbar scans for small or large patients. In-air dosimeter measurements were converted to skin surface measurements, using published conversion factors. Dose-length product was calculated from these values. Effective dose was estimated using published effective dose to dose-length product conversion factors. Calculated dosages for many full-length procedures using the small-patient setting fell within the range of published effective doses of abdominal CT scans (1-31 mSv). Calculated dosages for many full-length procedures using the large-patient setting fell within the range of published effective doses of abdominal CT scans when the number of scans did not exceed 3. We have demonstrated that single cone-beam CT scans and most full-length posterior instrumented spinal procedures using O-arm in standard mode would likely impart a radiation dose within the range of those imparted by a single standard CT scan of the abdomen. Radiation dose increases

  16. [Three-dimensional evaluation of condylar morphology remodeling after orthognathic surgery in mandibular retrognathism by cone-beam computed tomography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shuo; Liu, Xiao-jing; Li, Zi-li; Liang, Cheng; Wang, Xiao-xia; Fu, Kai-yuan; Yi, Biao

    2015-08-18

    To evaluate the effect of orthognathic surgery on condylar morphology changes by comparing three-dimension surface reconstructions of condyles using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data. In the study, 18 patients with mandible retrognathism deformities were included and CBCT data of 36 temporomandibular joints were collected before surgery and 12 months after surgery. Condyles were reconstructed and superimposed pre- and post-operatively to compare the changes of condylar surfaces. One-sample t test and χ2 test were performed for the analysis of three-dimension metric measurement and condylar head remodeling signs. P<0.05 was considered significant. The root-mean-square (RMS) of condylar surface changes before and after the surgery was (0.37±0.11) mm, which was significant statistically (P<0.05). The distribution of condylar remodeling signs showed significant difference (P<0.05). Bone resorption occurred predominantly in the posterior area of condylar head and bone formation occurred mainly in the anterior area. Three-dimension superimposition method based on CBCT data showed that condylar morphology had undergone remodeling after mandibular advancement.

  17. Low-dose 4D cone-beam CT via joint spatiotemporal regularization of tensor framelet and nonlocal total variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Hao; Gao, Hao; Xing, Lei

    2017-08-01

    Excessive radiation exposure is still a major concern in 4D cone-beam computed tomography (4D-CBCT) due to its prolonged scanning duration. Radiation dose can be effectively reduced by either under-sampling the x-ray projections or reducing the x-ray flux. However, 4D-CBCT reconstruction under such low-dose protocols is prone to image artifacts and noise. In this work, we propose a novel joint regularization-based iterative reconstruction method for low-dose 4D-CBCT. To tackle the under-sampling problem, we employ spatiotemporal tensor framelet (STF) regularization to take advantage of the spatiotemporal coherence of the patient anatomy in 4D images. To simultaneously suppress the image noise caused by photon starvation, we also incorporate spatiotemporal nonlocal total variation (SNTV) regularization to make use of the nonlocal self-recursiveness of anatomical structures in the spatial and temporal domains. Under the joint STF-SNTV regularization, the proposed iterative reconstruction approach is evaluated first using two digital phantoms and then using physical experiment data in the low-dose context of both under-sampled and noisy projections. Compared with existing approaches via either STF or SNTV regularization alone, the presented hybrid approach achieves improved image quality, and is particularly effective for the reconstruction of low-dose 4D-CBCT data that are not only sparse but noisy.

  18. Clinical introduction of image lag correction for a cone beam CT system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stankovic, Uros; Ploeger, Lennert S.; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; van Herk, Marcel

    2016-01-01

    Image lag in the flat-panel detector used for Linac integrated cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has a degrading effect on CBCT image quality. The most prominent visible artifact is the presence of bright semicircular structure in the transverse view of the scans, known also as radar artifact.

  19. The outcome of root-canal treatments assessed by cone-beam computed tomography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liang, Y.H.

    2013-01-01

    In this thesis, in-vivo and ex-vivo methods were utilized to assess the outcome of root canal treatments determined by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and the reliability of the CBCT-findings. CBCT provided useful and reliable information leading to a better understanding of the outcome and

  20. A new method for x-ray scatter correction: first assessment on a cone-beam CT experimental setup

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rinkel, J; Gerfault, L; Esteve, F; Dinten, J-M

    2007-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) enables three-dimensional imaging with isotropic resolution and a shorter acquisition time compared to a helical CT scanner. Because a larger object volume is exposed for each projection, scatter levels are much higher than in collimated fan-beam systems, resulting in cupping artifacts, streaks and quantification inaccuracies. In this paper, a general method to correct for scatter in CBCT, without supplementary on-line acquisition, is presented. This method is based on scatter calibration through off-line acquisition combined with on-line analytical transformation based on physical equations, to adapt calibration to the object observed. The method was tested on a PMMA phantom and on an anthropomorphic thorax phantom. The results were validated by comparison to simulation for the PMMA phantom and by comparison to scans obtained on a commercial multi-slice CT scanner for the thorax phantom. Finally, the improvements achieved with the new method were compared to those obtained using a standard beam-stop method. The new method provided results that closely agreed with the simulation and with the conventional CT scanner, eliminating cupping artifacts and significantly improving quantification. Compared to the beam-stop method, lower x-ray doses and shorter acquisition times were needed, both divided by a factor of 9 for the same scatter estimation accuracy

  1. Radiation dose reduction in medical x-ray CT via Fourier-based iterative reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fahimian, Benjamin P; Zhao, Yunzhe; Huang, Zhifeng; Fung, Russell; Mao, Yu; Zhu, Chun; Khatonabadi, Maryam; DeMarco, John J; Osher, Stanley J; McNitt-Gray, Michael F; Miao, Jianwei

    2013-03-01

    A Fourier-based iterative reconstruction technique, termed Equally Sloped Tomography (EST), is developed in conjunction with advanced mathematical regularization to investigate radiation dose reduction in x-ray CT. The method is experimentally implemented on fan-beam CT and evaluated as a function of imaging dose on a series of image quality phantoms and anonymous pediatric patient data sets. Numerical simulation experiments are also performed to explore the extension of EST to helical cone-beam geometry. EST is a Fourier based iterative algorithm, which iterates back and forth between real and Fourier space utilizing the algebraically exact pseudopolar fast Fourier transform (PPFFT). In each iteration, physical constraints and mathematical regularization are applied in real space, while the measured data are enforced in Fourier space. The algorithm is automatically terminated when a proposed termination criterion is met. Experimentally, fan-beam projections were acquired by the Siemens z-flying focal spot technology, and subsequently interleaved and rebinned to a pseudopolar grid. Image quality phantoms were scanned at systematically varied mAs settings, reconstructed by EST and conventional reconstruction methods such as filtered back projection (FBP), and quantified using metrics including resolution, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs). Pediatric data sets were reconstructed at their original acquisition settings and additionally simulated to lower dose settings for comparison and evaluation of the potential for radiation dose reduction. Numerical experiments were conducted to quantify EST and other iterative methods in terms of image quality and computation time. The extension of EST to helical cone-beam CT was implemented by using the advanced single-slice rebinning (ASSR) method. Based on the phantom and pediatric patient fan-beam CT data, it is demonstrated that EST reconstructions with the lowest scanner flux setting of 39 m

  2. Radiation dose reduction in medical x-ray CT via Fourier-based iterative reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fahimian, Benjamin P.; Zhao Yunzhe; Huang Zhifeng; Fung, Russell; Zhu Chun; Miao Jianwei; Mao Yu; Khatonabadi, Maryam; DeMarco, John J.; McNitt-Gray, Michael F.; Osher, Stanley J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: A Fourier-based iterative reconstruction technique, termed Equally Sloped Tomography (EST), is developed in conjunction with advanced mathematical regularization to investigate radiation dose reduction in x-ray CT. The method is experimentally implemented on fan-beam CT and evaluated as a function of imaging dose on a series of image quality phantoms and anonymous pediatric patient data sets. Numerical simulation experiments are also performed to explore the extension of EST to helical cone-beam geometry. Methods: EST is a Fourier based iterative algorithm, which iterates back and forth between real and Fourier space utilizing the algebraically exact pseudopolar fast Fourier transform (PPFFT). In each iteration, physical constraints and mathematical regularization are applied in real space, while the measured data are enforced in Fourier space. The algorithm is automatically terminated when a proposed termination criterion is met. Experimentally, fan-beam projections were acquired by the Siemens z-flying focal spot technology, and subsequently interleaved and rebinned to a pseudopolar grid. Image quality phantoms were scanned at systematically varied mAs settings, reconstructed by EST and conventional reconstruction methods such as filtered back projection (FBP), and quantified using metrics including resolution, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs). Pediatric data sets were reconstructed at their original acquisition settings and additionally simulated to lower dose settings for comparison and evaluation of the potential for radiation dose reduction. Numerical experiments were conducted to quantify EST and other iterative methods in terms of image quality and computation time. The extension of EST to helical cone-beam CT was implemented by using the advanced single-slice rebinning (ASSR) method. Results: Based on the phantom and pediatric patient fan-beam CT data, it is demonstrated that EST reconstructions with the lowest

  3. The detailed evaluation of supernumerary teeth with the aid of cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tumen, E.C.; Yavuz, I.; Atakul, F.; Tumen, D.S.; Hamamci, N.; Berber, G.; Uysal, E.

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the application of a recently developed three-dimensional imaging system, cone beam computed tomography, in the detailed evaluation of supernumerary teeth. Two-hundred and twenty three patients with supernumerary teeth (68 females and 155 males) were included in this study. Patients ranged in age from 12 to 25 years. Supernumerary teeth were detected by clinical examination and traditional radiographies. Moreover, careful investigation for more details was made with the cone beam computed tomography. Supernumerary teeth which were detected with the examinations of the cone beam computed tomography images were classified according to the number, location, shape and eruption rate. The prevalence of supernumerary teeth was determined to be 1.45% of the study population. Males were affected more than females in a ratio of 2.3:1. Supernumerary teeth were most frequently located in 86.2% of the cases in the maxilla; 10.1% in the mandible and 3.7% both in the maxilla and mandible. Supernumerary teeth were most commonly conical in shape (68.8%). One supernumerary tooth was present in 67.7% of the patients, 30.9% had two, and 1.4% had three supernumeraries. Definite and early diagnosis of the supernumerary teeth is very important. Detailed examinations and evaluations of these teeth with three-dimensional images is very beneficial in terms of treatment planning and preventing complications which may occur.

  4. A feasibility study for image guided radiotherapy using low dose, high speed, cone beam X-ray volumetric imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sykes, Jonathan R.; Amer, Ali; Czajka, Jadwiga; Moore, Christopher J.

    2005-01-01

    Background and purpose: Image Guidance of patient set-up for radiotherapy can be achieved by acquiring X-ray volumetric images (XVI) with Elekta Synergy and registering these to the planning CT scan. This enables full 3D registration of structures from similar 3D imaging modalities and offers superior image quality, rotational set-up information and a large field of view. This study uses the head section of the Rando phantom to demonstrate a new paradigm of faster, lower dose XVI that still allows registration to high precision. Materials and methods: One high exposure XVI scan and one low exposure XVI scan were performed with a Rando Head Phantom. The second scan was used to simulate ultra low dose, fast acquisition, full and half scans by discarding a large number of projections before reconstruction. Dose measurements were performed using Thermo Luminescent Dosimeters (TLD) and an ion chamber. The reconstructed XVI scans were automatically registered with a helical CT scan of the Rando Head using the volumetric, grey-level, cross-correlation algorithm implemented in the Syntegra software package (Philips Medical Systems). Reproducibility of the registration process was investigated. Results: In both XVI scans the body surface, bone-tissue and tissue air interfaces were clearly visible. Although the subjective image quality of the low dose cone beam scan was reduced, registration of both cone beam scans with the planning CT scan agreed within 0.1 mm and 0.1 deg. Dose to the patient was reduced from 28 mGy to less than 1 mGy and the equivalent scan speed reduced to one minute or less. Conclusions: Automatic 3D registration of high speed, ultra low dose XVI scans with the planning CT scan can be used for precision 3D patient set-up verification/image guidance on a daily basis with out loss of accuracy when compared to higher dose XVI scans

  5. Protocol of image guided off-line using cone beam CT megavoltage; Protocolo de imagen guiada off-line mediante Cone Beam CT de megavoltaje

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia Ruiz-Zorrilla, J.; Fernandez Leton, J. P.; Perez Moreno, J. M.; Zucca Aparicio, D.; Minambres Moro, A.

    2013-07-01

    The goal of image guided protocols offline is to reduce systematic errors in positioning of the patient in the treatment unit, being more important than the random errors, since the systematic have one contribution in the margin of the CTV to the PTV. This paper proposes a protocol for image guided offline with the different actions to take with their threshold values evaluated previously by anatomic location in a sample of 474 patients and 4821Cone beam Megavoltaje CT (CBCT). (Author)

  6. Prostate image-guided radiotherapy by megavolt cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zucca, Sergio; Carau, Barbara; Solla, Ignazio; Garibaldi, Elisabetta; Farace, Paolo; Lay, Giancarlo; Meleddu, Gianfranco; Gabriele, Pietro

    2011-01-01

    To test megavolt cone-beam CT (MV-CBCT) in order to evaluate setup errors in prostate radiotherapy. The setup of 9 patients was verified weekly by electronic portal imaging (EPI) and MV-CBCT, both performed in the same treatment session. EPI were compared with digitally reconstructed radiographies (DRRs). MV-CBCTs were matched to simulation CTs by manual registration based on bone markers (BMR), by manual registration based on soft tissues (STR) - rectum, bladder, and seminal vesicles - and by automatic registration (AR) performed by a mutual information algorithm. Shifts were evaluated along the three main axes: anteroposterior (AP), craniocaudal (CC), and laterolateral (LL). Finally, in 4 additional patients showing intraprostatic calcifications, the calcification mismatch error was used to evaluate the three MV-CBCT matching methods. A total of 50 pairs of orthogonal EPIs and 50 MV-CBCTs were analyzed. Assuming an overall tolerance of 2 mm, no significant differences were observed comparing EPI vs BMR in any axis. A significant difference (p < 0.001) was observed along the AP axis comparing EPI vs AR and EPI vs STR. On the calcification data set (22 measures), the calcification mismatch along the AP direction was significantly lower (p < 0.05) after STR than after BMR or AR. Bone markers were not an effective surrogate of the target position and significant differences were observed comparing EPI or BMR vs STR, supporting the assessment of soft tissue position by MVCBs to verify and correct patient setup in prostate radiotherapy. (orig.)

  7. Prostate image-guided radiotherapy by megavolt cone-beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zucca, Sergio; Carau, Barbara; Solla, Ignazio; Garibaldi, Elisabetta; Farace, Paolo; Lay, Giancarlo; Meleddu, Gianfranco; Gabriele, Pietro [Regional Oncological Hospital, Cagliari (Italy). Dept. of Radiooncology

    2011-08-15

    To test megavolt cone-beam CT (MV-CBCT) in order to evaluate setup errors in prostate radiotherapy. The setup of 9 patients was verified weekly by electronic portal imaging (EPI) and MV-CBCT, both performed in the same treatment session. EPI were compared with digitally reconstructed radiographies (DRRs). MV-CBCTs were matched to simulation CTs by manual registration based on bone markers (BMR), by manual registration based on soft tissues (STR) - rectum, bladder, and seminal vesicles - and by automatic registration (AR) performed by a mutual information algorithm. Shifts were evaluated along the three main axes: anteroposterior (AP), craniocaudal (CC), and laterolateral (LL). Finally, in 4 additional patients showing intraprostatic calcifications, the calcification mismatch error was used to evaluate the three MV-CBCT matching methods. A total of 50 pairs of orthogonal EPIs and 50 MV-CBCTs were analyzed. Assuming an overall tolerance of 2 mm, no significant differences were observed comparing EPI vs BMR in any axis. A significant difference (p < 0.001) was observed along the AP axis comparing EPI vs AR and EPI vs STR. On the calcification data set (22 measures), the calcification mismatch along the AP direction was significantly lower (p < 0.05) after STR than after BMR or AR. Bone markers were not an effective surrogate of the target position and significant differences were observed comparing EPI or BMR vs STR, supporting the assessment of soft tissue position by MVCBs to verify and correct patient setup in prostate radiotherapy. (orig.)

  8. Evaluation of Skin Dose and Image Quality on Cone Beam Computed Tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Jong Ho; Hong, Chae Seon; Kim, Jin Man; Jang, Jun Young

    2008-01-01

    Cone-beam CT using linear accelerator attached to on-board imager is a image guided therapy equipment. Because it is to check the patient's set-up error, correction, organ and target movement. But imaging dose should be cause of the secondary cancer when taking a image. The aim of this study is investigation of appropriate cone beam CT scan mode to compare and estimate the image quality and skin dose. Measurement by Thermoluminescence dosimeter (TLD-100, Harshaw) with using the Rando phantom are placed on each eight sites in separately H and N, thoracic, abdominal section. each 4 methods of scan modes of are measured the for skin dose in three time. Subsequently, obtained average value. Following image quality QA protocol of equipment manufacturers using the catphan 504 phantom, image quality of each scan mode is compared and analyzed. The results of the measured skin dose are described in here. The skin dose of Head and Neck are measured mode A: 8.96 cGy, mode B: 4.59 cGy, mode C: 3.46 cGy mode D: 1.76 cGy and thoracic mode A: 9.42 cGy, mode B: 4.58 cGy, mode C: 3.65 cGy, mode D: 1.85 cGy, and abdominal mode A: 9.97 cGy, mode B: 5.12 cGy, mode C: 4.03 cGy, mode D: 2.21 cGy. Approximately, dose of mode B are reduced 50%, mode C are reduced 60%, mode D are reduced 80% a point of reference dose of mode A. the results of analyzed HU reproducibility, low contrast resolution, spatial resolution (high contrast resolution), HU uniformity in evaluation item of image quality are within the tolerance value by recommended equipment manufacturer in all scan mode. Maintaining the image quality as well as reducing the image dose are very important in cone beam CT. In the result of this study, we are considered when to take mode A when interested in soft tissue. And we are considered to take mode D when interested in bone scan and we are considered to take mode B, C when standard scan. Increasing secondary cancer risk due to cone beam CT scan should be reduced by low m

  9. Enhancing breast projection in autologous reconstruction using the St Andrew's coning technique and 3D volumetric analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chae, Michael P; Rozen, Warren Matthew; Patel, Nakul Gamanlal; Hunter-Smith, David J; Ramakrishnan, Venkat

    2017-12-01

    An increasing number of women undergo mastectomy for breast cancer and post-mastectomy autologous breast reconstruction has been shown to significantly improve the psychosexual wellbeing of the patients. A goal of treatment is to achieve symmetry and projection to match the native breast, and/or the contralateral breast in the case of a unilateral reconstruction. Autologous reconstruction, particularly with the deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap, is particularly advantageous as it can be manipulated to mimic the shape and turgor of the native breast. However, very few techniques of shaping the breast conus when insetting the DIEP flap to enhance aesthetic outcome have been reported to date. With the aide of three-dimension (3D) photography and 3D-printed mirrored image of the contralateral breast as a guide intraoperatively, we describe our St Andrew's coning technique to create a personalized flap projection. We report a prospective case series of 3 delayed unilateral breast reconstructions where symmetrization procedure to the contralateral breast was not indicated. Using a commercial 3D scanner (VECTRA XR, Canfield Scientific), the breast region was imaged. The mirrored image was 3D-printed in-house using a desktop 3D printer. In all cases, projection of the breast mound was able to be safely achieved, with a demonstrated central volume (or 'cone') able to be highlighted on imaging and a 3D printed breast. A 3D print of the contralateral breast was able to be used intraoperatively to guide the operative approach. The St Andrew's coning technique is a useful aesthetic maneuver for achieving breast projection during DIEP flap breast reconstruction, with 3D imaging techniques able to assist in perioperative assessment of breast volume.

  10. Motion-compensated cone beam computed tomography using a conjugate gradient least-squares algorithm and electrical impedance tomography imaging motion data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pengpen, T; Soleimani, M

    2015-06-13

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an imaging modality that has been used in image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). For applications such as lung radiation therapy, CBCT images are greatly affected by the motion artefacts. This is mainly due to low temporal resolution of CBCT. Recently, a dual modality of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and CBCT has been proposed, in which the high temporal resolution EIT imaging system provides motion data to a motion-compensated algebraic reconstruction technique (ART)-based CBCT reconstruction software. High computational time associated with ART and indeed other variations of ART make it less practical for real applications. This paper develops a motion-compensated conjugate gradient least-squares (CGLS) algorithm for CBCT. A motion-compensated CGLS offers several advantages over ART-based methods, including possibilities for explicit regularization, rapid convergence and parallel computations. This paper for the first time demonstrates motion-compensated CBCT reconstruction using CGLS and reconstruction results are shown in limited data CBCT considering only a quarter of the full dataset. The proposed algorithm is tested using simulated motion data in generic motion-compensated CBCT as well as measured EIT data in dual EIT-CBCT imaging. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  11. Electromagnetic scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an impedance cone

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed

    2013-07-01

    The electromagnetic field scattering of a vector Bessel beam in the presence of an infinite circular cone with an impedance boundary on its surface is considered. The impinging field is normal to the tip of the cone and is expanded in terms of vector spherical wave functions; a Kontorovich-Lebedev (KL) transform is employed to expand the scattered fields. The problem is reduced to a singular integral equation with a variable coefficient of the non-convolution type. The singularities of the spectral function are deduced and representations for the field at the tip of the cone as well as other regions are given together with the conditions of validity of these representations. © 2013 IEEE.

  12. Cone beam CT evaluation of patient set-up accuracy as a QA tool

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Morten; Bertelsen, Anders; Westberg, Jonas

    2009-01-01

    Purpose. To quantify by means of cone beam CT the random and systematic uncertainty involved in radiotherapy, and to determine if this information can be used for e.g. technical quality assurance, evaluation of patient immobilization and determination of margins for the treatment planning. Patients...... and lateral directions). In the CC direction, the margin has to be 5 mm for the Thorax patients. The total uncertainty on the patient position grows during the treatment course, especially in the CC direction for patients receiving thoracical irradiation. This may stem from problems in the immobilization...... and methods. Eighty four cancer patients have been cone beam CT scanned at treatment sessions 1, 2, 3, 10 and 20. Translational and rotational errors are analyzed. Results and conclusions. For the first three treatment sessions the mean translational error in the AP direction is 1 mm; this indicates a small...

  13. Localization of a Portion of an Endorectal Balloon for Prostate Image-Guided Radiation Therapy Using Cone-Beam Tomosynthesis: A Feasibility Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ng, Sook Kien; Zygmanski, Piotr; Lyatskaya, Yulia; D’Amico, Anthony V.; Cormack, Robert A.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the feasibility of using cone-beam tomosynthesis (CBTS) to localize the air–tissue interface for the application of prostate image-guided radiation therapy using an endorectal balloon for immobilization and localization. Methods and Materials: A Feldkamp-David-Kress-based CBTS reconstruction was applied to selected sets of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) projection data to simulate volumetric imaging achievable from tomosynthesis for a limited range of scan angles. Projection data were calculated from planning CT images of 10 prostate cancer patients treated with an endorectal balloon, as were experimental CBCT projections for a pelvic phantom in two patients. More than 50 points at the air–tissue interface were objectively identified by an intensity-based interface-finding algorithm. Using three-dimensional point sets extracted from CBTS images compared with points extracted from corresponding CBCT images, the relative shift resulting from a reduced scan angle was determined. Because the CBCT and CBTS images were generated from the same projection data set, shift identified was presumed to be due to distortions introduced by the tomosynthesis technique. Results: Scans of ≥60° were shown to be able to localize an air–tissue interface near the isocenter with accuracy on the order of a millimeter. The accuracy was quantified in terms of the mean discrepancy as a function of reconstruction angle. Conclusion: This work provides an understanding of the effect of scan angle used in localization of a portion of an endorectal balloon by means of CBTS. CBTS with relatively small scan angles is capable of accurately localizing an extended interface near the isocenter and may provide clinically relevant measurements to guide IGRT treatments while reducing imaging radiation to the patient.

  14. Localization of a Portion of an Endorectal Balloon for Prostate Image-Guided Radiation Therapy Using Cone-Beam Tomosynthesis: A Feasibility Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ng, Sook Kien, E-mail: Sook_Ng@dfci.harvard.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Mannheim Medical Centre, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim (Germany); Zygmanski, Piotr; Lyatskaya, Yulia; D' Amico, Anthony V.; Cormack, Robert A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States)

    2012-06-01

    Purpose: To assess the feasibility of using cone-beam tomosynthesis (CBTS) to localize the air-tissue interface for the application of prostate image-guided radiation therapy using an endorectal balloon for immobilization and localization. Methods and Materials: A Feldkamp-David-Kress-based CBTS reconstruction was applied to selected sets of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) projection data to simulate volumetric imaging achievable from tomosynthesis for a limited range of scan angles. Projection data were calculated from planning CT images of 10 prostate cancer patients treated with an endorectal balloon, as were experimental CBCT projections for a pelvic phantom in two patients. More than 50 points at the air-tissue interface were objectively identified by an intensity-based interface-finding algorithm. Using three-dimensional point sets extracted from CBTS images compared with points extracted from corresponding CBCT images, the relative shift resulting from a reduced scan angle was determined. Because the CBCT and CBTS images were generated from the same projection data set, shift identified was presumed to be due to distortions introduced by the tomosynthesis technique. Results: Scans of {>=}60 Degree-Sign were shown to be able to localize an air-tissue interface near the isocenter with accuracy on the order of a millimeter. The accuracy was quantified in terms of the mean discrepancy as a function of reconstruction angle. Conclusion: This work provides an understanding of the effect of scan angle used in localization of a portion of an endorectal balloon by means of CBTS. CBTS with relatively small scan angles is capable of accurately localizing an extended interface near the isocenter and may provide clinically relevant measurements to guide IGRT treatments while reducing imaging radiation to the patient.

  15. Accuracy of digital radiography and cone beam computed tomography on periapical radiolucency detection in endodontically treated teeth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venskutonis, Tadas; Daugela, Povilas; Strazdas, Marijus; Juodzbalys, Gintaras

    2014-04-01

    The aim of the present study was to compare the accuracy of intraoral digital periapical radiography and cone beam computed tomography in the detection of periapical radiolucencies in endodontically treated teeth. Radiographic images (cone beam computed tomography [CBCT] scans and digital periapical radiography [PR] images) from 60 patients, achieved from September 2008 to July 2013, were retrieved from databases of the Department of Oral Diseases, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Twenty patients met inclusion criteria and were selected for further evaluation. In 20 patients (42.4 [SD 12.1] years, 65% men and 35% women) a total of 35 endodontically treated teeth (1.75 [SD 0.91]; 27 in maxilla and 8 in mandible) were evaluated. Overall, it was observed a statistical significant difference between the number of periapical lesions observed in the CBCT (n = 42) and radiographic (n = 24) examinations (P cone beam computed tomography scans were more accurate compared to digital periapical radiographs for detecting periapical radiolucencies in endodontically treated teeth. The difference was more pronounced in molar teeth.

  16. Fixed, object-specific intensity compensation for cone beam optical CT radiation dosimetry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekker, Kurtis H.; Hazarika, Rubin; Silveira, Matheus A.; Jordan, Kevin J.

    2018-03-01

    Optical cone beam computed tomography (CT) scanning of radiochromic gel dosimeters, using a CCD camera and a low stray light convergent source, provides fast, truly 3D radiation dosimetry with high accuracy. However, a key limiting factor in radiochromic gel dosimetry at large (⩾10 cm diameter) volumes is the initial attenuation of the dosimeters. It is not unusual to observe a 5–10×  difference in signal intensity through the dosimeter center versus through the surrounding medium in pre-irradiation images. Thus, all dosimetric information in a typical experiment is measured within the lower 10%–20% of the camera sensor’s range, and re-use of gels is often not possible due to a lack of transmission. To counteract this, in this note we describe a simple method to create source compensators by printing on transparent films. This technique, which is easily implemented and inexpensive, is an optical analogue to the bowtie filter in x-ray CT. We present transmission images and solution phantom reconstructions to demonstrate that (1) placing compensators beyond the focal zone of the imaging lens prevents high spatial frequency features of the printed films from generating reconstruction artifacts, and (2) object-specific compensation considerably reduces the range of intensities measured in projection images. This will improve the measurable dose range in optical CT dosimetry, and will enable imaging of larger gel volumes (∼15 cm diameter). Additionally, it should enable re-use of dosimeters by printing a new compensator for a second experiment.

  17. Prior image constrained image reconstruction in emerging computed tomography applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, Stephen T.

    Advances have been made in computed tomography (CT), especially in the past five years, by incorporating prior images into the image reconstruction process. In this dissertation, we investigate prior image constrained image reconstruction in three emerging CT applications: dual-energy CT, multi-energy photon-counting CT, and cone-beam CT in image-guided radiation therapy. First, we investigate the application of Prior Image Constrained Compressed Sensing (PICCS) in dual-energy CT, which has been called "one of the hottest research areas in CT." Phantom and animal studies are conducted using a state-of-the-art 64-slice GE Discovery 750 HD CT scanner to investigate the extent to which PICCS can enable radiation dose reduction in material density and virtual monochromatic imaging. Second, we extend the application of PICCS from dual-energy CT to multi-energy photon-counting CT, which has been called "one of the 12 topics in CT to be critical in the next decade." Numerical simulations are conducted to generate multiple energy bin images for a photon-counting CT acquisition and to investigate the extent to which PICCS can enable radiation dose efficiency improvement. Third, we investigate the performance of a newly proposed prior image constrained scatter correction technique to correct scatter-induced shading artifacts in cone-beam CT, which, when used in image-guided radiation therapy procedures, can assist in patient localization, and potentially, dose verification and adaptive radiation therapy. Phantom studies are conducted using a Varian 2100 EX system with an on-board imager to investigate the extent to which the prior image constrained scatter correction technique can mitigate scatter-induced shading artifacts in cone-beam CT. Results show that these prior image constrained image reconstruction techniques can reduce radiation dose in dual-energy CT by 50% in phantom and animal studies in material density and virtual monochromatic imaging, can lead to radiation

  18. Influence of Head Motion on the Accuracy of 3D Reconstruction with Cone-Beam CT: Landmark Identification Errors in Maxillofacial Surface Model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyung-Min Lee

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of head motion on the accuracy of three-dimensional (3D reconstruction with cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT scan.Fifteen dry skulls were incorporated into a motion controller which simulated four types of head motion during CBCT scan: 2 horizontal rotations (to the right/to the left and 2 vertical rotations (upward/downward. Each movement was triggered to occur at the start of the scan for 1 second by remote control. Four maxillofacial surface models with head motion and one control surface model without motion were obtained for each skull. Nine landmarks were identified on the five maxillofacial surface models for each skull, and landmark identification errors were compared between the control model and each of the models with head motion.Rendered surface models with head motion were similar to the control model in appearance; however, the landmark identification errors showed larger values in models with head motion than in the control. In particular, the Porion in the horizontal rotation models presented statistically significant differences (P < .05. Statistically significant difference in the errors between the right and left side landmark was present in the left side rotation which was opposite direction to the scanner rotation (P < .05.Patient movement during CBCT scan might cause landmark identification errors on the 3D surface model in relation to the direction of the scanner rotation. Clinicians should take this into consideration to prevent patient movement during CBCT scan, particularly horizontal movement.

  19. Assessment of protocols in cone beam CT with symmetric and asymmetric beam using effective dose and Pka

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Batista, W. O.; Linhares de O, M. V.; Soares, M. R.; Maia, A. F.; Caldas, L. V. E.

    2014-08-01

    The cone beam CT is an emerging technology in dental radiology with significant differences the point of view of design technology between the various manufacturers on the world market. This study aims to evaluate and compare protocols with similar purposes in a cone beam CT scanner using TLDs and air kerma - area product (P ka ) as kerma index. Measurements were performed on two protocols used to obtain the image the maxilla-mandible in equipment Gendex GXCB 500: Protocol [GX1] extended diameter and asymmetric beam (14 cm x 8.5 cm - maxilla / mandible) and protocol [GX2] symmetrical beam (8.5 cm x 8.5 cm - maxillary / mandible). Was used LiF dosimeters (TLD 100) inserted into a female anthropomorphic phantom manufactured by Radiology Support Devices. For all protocols evaluated the value of P ka using a meter Diamentor E2 and PTW system Radcal Rapidose. The results obtained for Effective Dose / P ka these measurements were separated by protocol image. Protocol [GX1]: 44.5 μSv/478 mGy cm 2 ; protocol [GX2]: 54.8 μSv/507 mGy cm 2 . These values indicate that the relationship between the diameter of the image acquired in the protocol [GX1] and the diameter of the image in the protocol [GX2] is equal to 1.65, the Effective Dose for the first protocol has lower value at 18%. P ka values reveal very similar results between the two protocols, although, common sense leads to the interpretation that imaging protocols with field of view (Fov) of large diameters imply high values of effective dose when compared to small diameters. However, in this particular case, this is not true due to the asymmetrical beam technology. Conclude that for the cases where the scanner uses asymmetric beam to obtain images with large diameters that cover the entire face there are advantages from the point of view of reducing the exposure of patients with respect to the use of symmetrical beam and / or to Fov images with a smaller diameter. (Author)

  20. Study of effective dose of various protocols in equipment cone beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soares, M. R.; Maia, A. F.; Batista, W. O.; Caldas, L. V. E.; Lara, P. A.

    2014-08-01

    Currently the cone beam computed tomography is widely used in various procedures of dental radiology. Although the doses values associated with the procedures of cone beam CT are low compared to typical values associated with dental radiology procedure in multi slices CT. However can be high compared to typical values of other techniques commonly used in dental radiology. The present scenario is a very wide range of designs of equipment and, consequently, lack of uniformity in all parameters associated with x-ray generation and geometry. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate and calculate the absorbed dose in organs and tissues relevant and estimate effective dose for different protocols with different geometries of exposure in five cone beam CT equipment. For this, a female Alderson anthropomorphic phantom, manufactured by Radiology Support Devices was used. The phantom was irradiated with 26 dosimeters LiF: Mg, Ti (TLD-100), inserted in organs and tissues along the layers forming the head and neck of the phantom. The equipment used, in this present assessment, was: i-CAT Classical, Kodak 9000 3D, Gendex GXCB 500, Sirona Orthophos X G 3D and Planmeca Pro Max 3D. The effective doses were be determined by the ICRP 103 weighting factors. The values were between 7.0 and 111.5 micro Sv, confirming the broad dose range expected due to the diversity of equipment and protocols used in each equipment. The values of effective dose per Fov size were: between 7 and 51.2 micro Sv for located Fov; between 17.6 and 52.0 micro Sv for medium Fov; and between 11.5 and 43.1 micro Sv to large Fov (maxillofacial). In obtaining the effective dose the measurements highlighted a relevance contribution of dose absorbed by the remaining organs (36%), Salivary glands (30%), thyroid (12%) and bone marrow (12%). (Author)

  1. Study of effective dose of various protocols in equipment cone beam CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soares, M. R.; Maia, A. F. [Universidade Federale de Sergipe, Departamento de Fisica, Cidade Universitaria Prof. Jose Aloisio de Campos, Marechal Rondon s/n, Jardim Rosa Elze, 49-100000 Sao Cristovao, Sergipe (Brazil); Batista, W. O. [Instituto Federal da Bahia, Rua Emidio dos Santos s/n, Barbalho, Salvador, 40301015 Bahia (Brazil); Caldas, L. V. E.; Lara, P. A., E-mail: mrs2206@gmail.com [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / CNEN, Av. Lineu Prestes 2242, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-000 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2014-08-15

    Currently the cone beam computed tomography is widely used in various procedures of dental radiology. Although the doses values associated with the procedures of cone beam CT are low compared to typical values associated with dental radiology procedure in multi slices CT. However can be high compared to typical values of other techniques commonly used in dental radiology. The present scenario is a very wide range of designs of equipment and, consequently, lack of uniformity in all parameters associated with x-ray generation and geometry. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate and calculate the absorbed dose in organs and tissues relevant and estimate effective dose for different protocols with different geometries of exposure in five cone beam CT equipment. For this, a female Alderson anthropomorphic phantom, manufactured by Radiology Support Devices was used. The phantom was irradiated with 26 dosimeters LiF: Mg, Ti (TLD-100), inserted in organs and tissues along the layers forming the head and neck of the phantom. The equipment used, in this present assessment, was: i-CAT Classical, Kodak 9000 3D, Gendex GXCB 500, Sirona Orthophos X G 3D and Planmeca Pro Max 3D. The effective doses were be determined by the ICRP 103 weighting factors. The values were between 7.0 and 111.5 micro Sv, confirming the broad dose range expected due to the diversity of equipment and protocols used in each equipment. The values of effective dose per Fov size were: between 7 and 51.2 micro Sv for located Fov; between 17.6 and 52.0 micro Sv for medium Fov; and between 11.5 and 43.1 micro Sv to large Fov (maxillofacial). In obtaining the effective dose the measurements highlighted a relevance contribution of dose absorbed by the remaining organs (36%), Salivary glands (30%), thyroid (12%) and bone marrow (12%). (Author)

  2. Cone beam computed tomography: basics and applications in dentistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venkatesh, Elluru; Elluru, Snehal Venkatesh

    2017-01-01

    The introduction of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) devices, changed the way oral and maxillofacial radiology is practiced. CBCT was embraced into the dental settings very rapidly due to its compact size, low cost, low ionizing radiation exposure when compared to medical computed tomography. Alike medical CT, 3 dimensional evaluation of the maxillofacial region with minimal distortion is offered by the CBCT. This article provides an overview of basics of CBCT technology and reviews the specific application of CBCT technology to oral and maxillofacial region with few illustrations.

  3. Applications of linac-mounted kilovoltage Cone-beam Computed Tomography in modern radiation therapy: A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srinivasan, Kavitha; Mohammadi, Mohammad; Shepherd, Justin

    2014-01-01

    The use of Cone-beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in radiotherapy is increasing due to the widespread implementation of kilovoltage systems on the currently available linear accelerators. Cone beam CT acts as an effective Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) tool for the verification of patient position. It also opens up the possibility of real-time re-optimization of treatment plans for Adaptive Radiotherapy (ART). This paper reviews the most prominent applications of CBCT (linac-mounted) in radiation therapy, focusing on CBCT-based planning and dose calculation studies. This is followed by a concise review of the main issues associated with CBCT, such as imaging artifacts, dose and image quality. It explores how medical physicists and oncologists can best apply CBCT for therapeutic applications

  4. Computed tomographic reconstruction of beam profiles with a multi-wire chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alonso, J.R.; Tobias, C.A.; Chu, W.T.

    1979-03-01

    MEDUSA (MEdical Dose Uniformity SAmpler), a 16 plane multi-wire proportional chamber, has been built to accurately measure beam profiles. The large number of planes allows for reconstruction of highly detailed beam intensity structures by means of Fourier convolution reconstruction techniques. This instrument is being used for verification and tuning of the Bevalac radiotherapy beams, but has potential applications in many beam profile monitoring situations

  5. Intraoperative imaging for patient safety and QA: detection of intracranial hemorrhage using C-arm cone-beam CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schafer, Sebastian; Wang, Adam; Otake, Yoshito; Stayman, J. W.; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Kleinszig, Gerhard; Xia, Xuewei; Gallia, Gary L.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

    2013-03-01

    Intraoperative imaging could improve patient safety and quality assurance (QA) via the detection of subtle complications that might otherwise only be found hours after surgery. Such capability could therefore reduce morbidity and the need for additional intervention. Among the severe adverse events that could be more quickly detected by high-quality intraoperative imaging is acute intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), conventionally assessed using post-operative CT. A mobile C-arm capable of high-quality cone-beam CT (CBCT) in combination with advanced image reconstruction techniques is reported as a means of detecting ICH in the operating room. The system employs an isocentric C-arm with a flat-panel detector in dual gain mode, correction of x-ray scatter and beam-hardening, and a penalized likelihood (PL) iterative reconstruction method. Performance in ICH detection was investigated using a quantitative phantom focusing on (non-contrast-enhanced) blood-brain contrast, an anthropomorphic head phantom, and a porcine model with injection of fresh blood bolus. The visibility of ICH was characterized in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and qualitative evaluation of images by a neurosurgeon. Across a range of size and contrast of the ICH as well as radiation dose from the CBCT scan, the CNR was found to increase from ~2.2-3.7 for conventional filtered backprojection (FBP) to ~3.9-5.4 for PL at equivalent spatial resolution. The porcine model demonstrated superior ICH detectability for PL. The results support the role of high-quality mobile C-arm CBCT employing advanced reconstruction algorithms for detecting subtle complications in the operating room at lower radiation dose and lower cost than intraoperative CT scanners and/or fixedroom C-arms. Such capability could present a potentially valuable aid to patient safety and QA.

  6. SU-G-IeP2-08: Investigation On Signal Detectability in Volumetric Cone Beam CT Images with Anatomical Background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, M; Baek, J

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the slice direction dependent detectability in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Methods: We generated 3D anatomical background images using breast anatomy model. To generate 3D breast anatomy, we filtered 3D Gaussian noise with a square root of 1/f"3, and then assigned the attenuation coefficient of glandular (0.8cm"−"1) and adipose (0.46 cm"−"1) tissues based on voxel values. Projections were acquired by forward projection, and quantum noise was added to the projection data. The projection data were reconstructed by FDK algorithm. We compared the detectability of a 3 mm spherical signal in the image reconstructed from four different backprojection Methods: Hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON1), Hanning weighted ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON2), ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON3), and ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON4), respectively. We computed task SNR of the spherical signal in transverse and longitudinal planes using channelized Hotelling observer with Laguerre-Gauss channels. Results: Transverse plane has similar task SNR values for different backprojection methods, while longitudinal plane has a maximum task SNR value in RECON1. For all backprojection methods, longitudinal plane has higher task SNR than transverse plane. Conclusion: In this work, we investigated detectability for different slice direction in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Longitudinal plane has a higher task SNR than transverse plane, and backprojection with hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation method (i.e., RECON1) produced the highest task SNR among four different backprojection methods. This research was supported by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the IT Consilience Creative Programs(IITP-2015-R0346-15-1008) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion), Basic Science

  7. SU-G-IeP2-08: Investigation On Signal Detectability in Volumetric Cone Beam CT Images with Anatomical Background

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, M; Baek, J [Yonsei University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To investigate the slice direction dependent detectability in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Methods: We generated 3D anatomical background images using breast anatomy model. To generate 3D breast anatomy, we filtered 3D Gaussian noise with a square root of 1/f{sup 3}, and then assigned the attenuation coefficient of glandular (0.8cm{sup −1}) and adipose (0.46 cm{sup −1}) tissues based on voxel values. Projections were acquired by forward projection, and quantum noise was added to the projection data. The projection data were reconstructed by FDK algorithm. We compared the detectability of a 3 mm spherical signal in the image reconstructed from four different backprojection Methods: Hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON1), Hanning weighted ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON2), ramp filter with linear interpolation (RECON3), and ramp filter with Fourier interpolation (RECON4), respectively. We computed task SNR of the spherical signal in transverse and longitudinal planes using channelized Hotelling observer with Laguerre-Gauss channels. Results: Transverse plane has similar task SNR values for different backprojection methods, while longitudinal plane has a maximum task SNR value in RECON1. For all backprojection methods, longitudinal plane has higher task SNR than transverse plane. Conclusion: In this work, we investigated detectability for different slice direction in cone beam CT images with anatomical background. Longitudinal plane has a higher task SNR than transverse plane, and backprojection with hanning weighted ramp filter with linear interpolation method (i.e., RECON1) produced the highest task SNR among four different backprojection methods. This research was supported by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea, under the IT Consilience Creative Programs(IITP-2015-R0346-15-1008) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion

  8. Evaluation of imaging reformation with cone beam computed tomography for the assessment of bone density and shape in mandible

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Sang Woo; Kim, Gyu Tae; Choi, Yong Suk; Hwan, Eui Hwan

    2008-01-01

    Diagnostic estimation of destruction and formation of bone has the typical limit according to capacity of x-ray generator and image detector. So the aim of this study was to find out how much it can reproduce the shape and the density of bone in the case of using recently developed dental type of cone beam computed tomography, and which image is applied by new detector and mathematic calculation. Cone beam computed tomography (PSR 9000N, Asahi Roentgen Ind. Co., Ltd., Japan) and soft x-ray radiography were executed on dry mandible that was already decalcified during 5 hours, 10 hours, 15 hours, 20 hours, and 25 hours. Estimating and comparing of those came to the following results. The change of inferior border of mandible and anterior border of ramous in the region of cortical bone was observed between first 5 and 10 hours of decalcification. The reproduction of shape and density in the region of cortical bone and cancellous bone can be hardly observed at cone beam computed tomography compared with soft x-ray radiography. The difference of decrease of bone density according to hours of decalcification increase was not reproduced at cone beam computed tomography compared with soft x-ray radiography. CBCT images revealed higher spatial resolution. However, contrast resolution in region of low contrast sensitivity is the inferiority of images' property.

  9. Assessment of the relationship between the mandibular third molar and the mandibular canal using panoramic radiograph and cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Yun Hoa; Nah, Kyung Soo; Cho, Bong Hae

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the position of the mandibular canal in relation to the mandibular third molar by cone beam CT in cases showing a close relationship between the third molar and the mandibular canal on the panoramic radiograph. The panoramic images and cone beam CT scans of 87 impacted mandibular third molars in 60 patients were evaluated to assess the tooth relationship to the mandibular canal. The clearness of the canal wall and the vertical depth of the lower third molar were evaluated on panoramic radiographs. The lower third molars were assessed using cone beam CT to determine the proximity and position of the canal relative to the roots. In the 66 cases where the canal wall was unclear on the panoramic radiographs, 58 (87.9%) of the third molars had contact between the canal and root; 34 (51.5%) canals were showed an inferior position and 22 (33.3%) showed a linguoinferior position on cone beam CT. Interruption of the canal wall on panoramic radiographs was highly predictive of contact between the mandibular canal and the third molar. Cross sectional CT may be indicated for localization of the mandibular canal in such cases.

  10. Image reconstruction from multiple fan-beam projections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jelinek, J.; Overton, T.R.

    1984-01-01

    Special-purpose third-generation fan-beam CT systems can be greatly simplified by limiting the number of detectors, but this requires a different mode of data collection to provide a set of projections appropriate to the required spatial resolution in the reconstructed image. Repeated rotation of the source-detector fan, combined with shift of the detector array and perhaps offset of the source with respect to the fan's axis after each 360 0 rotation(cycle), provides a fairly general pattern of projection space filling. The authors' investigated the problem of optimal data-collection geometry for a multiple-rotation fan-beam scanner and of corresponding reconstruction algorithm

  11. Reconstruction of implanted marker trajectories from cone-beam CT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, Hyekyun; Poulsen, Per Rugaard; Keall, Paul J.; Cho, Seungryong; Cho, Byungchul

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is a widely used imaging modality for image-guided radiotherapy. Most vendors provide CBCT systems that are mounted on a linac gantry. Thus, CBCT can be used to estimate the actual 3-dimensional (3D) position of moving respiratory targets in the thoracic/abdominal region using 2D projection images. The authors have developed a method for estimating the 3D trajectory of respiratory-induced target motion from CBCT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling. Methods: Because the superior–inferior (SI) motion of a target can be easily analyzed on projection images of a gantry-mounted CBCT system, the authors investigated the interdimensional correlation of the SI motion with left–right and anterior–posterior (AP) movements while the gantry is rotating. A simple linear model and a state-augmented model were implemented and applied to the interdimensional correlation analysis, and their performance was compared. The parameters of the interdimensional correlation models were determined by least-square estimation of the 2D error between the actual and estimated projected target position. The method was validated using 160 3D tumor trajectories from 46 thoracic/abdominal cancer patients obtained during CyberKnife treatment. The authors’ simulations assumed two application scenarios: (1) retrospective estimation for the purpose of moving tumor setup used just after volumetric matching with CBCT; and (2) on-the-fly estimation for the purpose of real-time target position estimation during gating or tracking delivery, either for full-rotation volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in 60 s or a stationary six-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a beam delivery time of 20 s. Results: For the retrospective CBCT simulations, the mean 3D root-mean-square error (RMSE) for all 4893 trajectory segments was 0.41 mm (simple linear model) and 0.35 mm (state-augmented model). In the on-the-fly simulations, prior

  12. Reconstruction of implanted marker trajectories from cone-beam CT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Hyekyun [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, South Korea and Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 138-736 (Korea, Republic of); Poulsen, Per Rugaard [Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Nørrebrogade 44, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Keall, Paul J. [Radiation Physics Laboratory, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia); Cho, Seungryong [Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Byungchul, E-mail: cho.byungchul@gmail.com, E-mail: bcho@amc.seoul.kr [Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505 (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is a widely used imaging modality for image-guided radiotherapy. Most vendors provide CBCT systems that are mounted on a linac gantry. Thus, CBCT can be used to estimate the actual 3-dimensional (3D) position of moving respiratory targets in the thoracic/abdominal region using 2D projection images. The authors have developed a method for estimating the 3D trajectory of respiratory-induced target motion from CBCT projection images using interdimensional correlation modeling. Methods: Because the superior–inferior (SI) motion of a target can be easily analyzed on projection images of a gantry-mounted CBCT system, the authors investigated the interdimensional correlation of the SI motion with left–right and anterior–posterior (AP) movements while the gantry is rotating. A simple linear model and a state-augmented model were implemented and applied to the interdimensional correlation analysis, and their performance was compared. The parameters of the interdimensional correlation models were determined by least-square estimation of the 2D error between the actual and estimated projected target position. The method was validated using 160 3D tumor trajectories from 46 thoracic/abdominal cancer patients obtained during CyberKnife treatment. The authors’ simulations assumed two application scenarios: (1) retrospective estimation for the purpose of moving tumor setup used just after volumetric matching with CBCT; and (2) on-the-fly estimation for the purpose of real-time target position estimation during gating or tracking delivery, either for full-rotation volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in 60 s or a stationary six-field intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a beam delivery time of 20 s. Results: For the retrospective CBCT simulations, the mean 3D root-mean-square error (RMSE) for all 4893 trajectory segments was 0.41 mm (simple linear model) and 0.35 mm (state-augmented model). In the on-the-fly simulations, prior

  13. Quality control and radioprotection in dental cone beam computed tomography - case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodrigues, Ligiane C.N.; Ferreira, Nadya M.P.D., E-mail: lnadya@ime.eb.br [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2011-07-01

    The radiological protection in medical and odontologic radiology follows The Order (Portaria) 453/98 of the Ministry of Health, which presents the minimum set of tests for the constancy X-ray equipment. These tests follow the procedures set forth in the Resolution no. 64, the National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance. This work aims to show a study on dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), evaluating the physical parameters that influence the performance and image quality and presenting the appropriate tests to this new system. The authors analyzed the tests specific for computed tomography (CT) of the Resolution no. 64, feasibility assessment of them and if their interpretations are compatible with CBCT. Once determined if testing is feasible, compare with those presented in the manual provided by the equipment manufacturer. The CT scanner used was the Mini-Cat Tomography Scanner Xoran Technologies of KAVO. In the study it was verified that four tests could be reproduced in CBCT: noise, accuracy and uniformity in the number of CT of water and spatial resolution. Considering experimental data, the methodology and tolerance of manufacturer for the first two tests were more appropriate. For the uniformity test of the CT number, we recommend using the phantom quality control. Three new tests were suggested to be made in the quality control of the Cone Beam: linearity, artifacts and alignment of the beam. (author)

  14. Quality control and radioprotection in dental cone beam computed tomography - case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodrigues, Ligiane C.N.; Ferreira, Nadya M.P.D.

    2011-01-01

    The radiological protection in medical and odontologic radiology follows The Order (Portaria) 453/98 of the Ministry of Health, which presents the minimum set of tests for the constancy X-ray equipment. These tests follow the procedures set forth in the Resolution no. 64, the National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance. This work aims to show a study on dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), evaluating the physical parameters that influence the performance and image quality and presenting the appropriate tests to this new system. The authors analyzed the tests specific for computed tomography (CT) of the Resolution no. 64, feasibility assessment of them and if their interpretations are compatible with CBCT. Once determined if testing is feasible, compare with those presented in the manual provided by the equipment manufacturer. The CT scanner used was the Mini-Cat Tomography Scanner Xoran Technologies of KAVO. In the study it was verified that four tests could be reproduced in CBCT: noise, accuracy and uniformity in the number of CT of water and spatial resolution. Considering experimental data, the methodology and tolerance of manufacturer for the first two tests were more appropriate. For the uniformity test of the CT number, we recommend using the phantom quality control. Three new tests were suggested to be made in the quality control of the Cone Beam: linearity, artifacts and alignment of the beam. (author)

  15. Study of Variation in Dose Calculation Accuracy Between kV Cone-Beam Computed Tomography and kV fan-Beam Computed Tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaliyaperumal, Venkatesan; Raphael, C. Jomon; Varghese, K. Mathew; Gopu, Paul; Sivakumar, S.; Boban, Minu; Raj, N. Arunai Nambi; Senthilnathan, K.; Babu, P. Ramesh

    2017-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images are presently used for geometric verification for daily patient positioning. In this work, we have compared the images of CBCT with the images of conventional fan beam CT (FBCT) in terms of image quality and Hounsfield units (HUs). We also compared the dose calculated using CBCT with that of FBCT. Homogenous RW3 plates and Catphan phantom were scanned by FBCT and CBCT. In RW3 and Catphan phantom, percentage depth dose (PDD), profiles, isodose distributions (for intensity modulated radiotherapy plans), and calculated dose volume histograms were compared. The HU difference was within ± 20 HU (central region) and ± 30 HU (peripheral region) for homogeneous RW3 plates. In the Catphan phantom, the difference in HU was ± 20 HU in the central area and peripheral areas. The HU differences were within ± 30 HU for all HU ranges starting from −1000 to 990 in phantom and patient images. In treatment plans done with simple symmetric and asymmetric fields, dose difference (DD) between CBCT plan and FBCT plan was within 1.2% for both phantoms. In intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment plans, for different target volumes, the difference was <2%. This feasibility study investigated HU variation and dose calculation accuracy between FBCT and CBCT based planning and has validated inverse planning algorithms with CBCT. In our study, we observed a larger deviation of HU values in the peripheral region compared to the central region. This is due to the ring artifact and scatter contribution which may prevent the use of CBCT as the primary imaging modality for radiotherapy treatment planning. The reconstruction algorithm needs to be modified further for improving the image quality and accuracy in HU values. However, our study with TG-119 and intensity modulated radiotherapy test targets shows that CBCT can be used for adaptive replanning as the recalculation of dose with the anisotropic analytical algorithm is in full accord

  16. Comparison of two dosimetric protocols in water and solid phantoms for electron beams in an extension cone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genis S, R.; Garcia C, C.; Martinez A, M.

    1998-01-01

    The objective of this work is to realize the dosimetry for an extension cone for electron beams and proposing a simple and reliable procedure for this purpose. Clinically it was sufficient to employ an energy not greater than 9 MeV, by the clinical conditions of the leisure. It was had nominally 6 or 9 MeV and it was decided to employ the second energy. This cone was elaborated for special cases that by the anatomical position of the leisure, it is not allowed the easy access with the usual cones. (Author)

  17. Accuracy and Reliability of a Novel Method for Fusion of Digital Dental Casts and Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangel, Frits A.; Maal, Thomas J. J.; Bronkhorst, Ewald M.; Breuning, K. Hero; Schols, Jan G. J. H.; Bergé, Stefaan J.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie

    2013-01-01

    Several methods have been proposed to integrate digital models into Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans. Since all these methods have some drawbacks such as radiation exposure, soft tissue deformation and time-consuming digital handling processes, we propose a new method to integrate digital dental casts into Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans. Plaster casts of 10 patients were randomly selected and 5 titanium markers were glued to the upper and lower plaster cast. The plaster models were scanned, impressions were taken from the plaster models and the impressions were also scanned. Linear measurements were performed on all three models, to assess accuracy and reproducibility. Besides that, matching of the scanned plaster models and scanned impressions was done, to assess the accuracy of the matching procedure. Results show that all measurement errors are smaller than 0.2 mm, and that 81% is smaller than 0.1 mm. Matching of the scanned plaster casts and scanned impressions show a mean error between the two surfaces of the upper arch of 0.14 mm and for the lower arch of 0.18 mm. The time needed for reconstructing the CBCT scans to a digital patient, where the impressions are integrated into the CBCT scan of the patient takes about 15 minutes, with little variance between patients. In conclusion, we can state that this new method is a reliable method to integrate digital dental casts into CBCT scans. As far as radiation exposure, soft tissue deformation and digital handling processes are concerned, it is a significant improvement compared to the previously published methods. PMID:23527111

  18. Accuracy and reliability of a novel method for fusion of digital dental casts and Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frits A Rangel

    Full Text Available Several methods have been proposed to integrate digital models into Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans. Since all these methods have some drawbacks such as radiation exposure, soft tissue deformation and time-consuming digital handling processes, we propose a new method to integrate digital dental casts into Cone Beam Computed Tomography scans. Plaster casts of 10 patients were randomly selected and 5 titanium markers were glued to the upper and lower plaster cast. The plaster models were scanned, impressions were taken from the plaster models and the impressions were also scanned. Linear measurements were performed on all three models, to assess accuracy and reproducibility. Besides that, matching of the scanned plaster models and scanned impressions was done, to assess the accuracy of the matching procedure. Results show that all measurement errors are smaller than 0.2 mm, and that 81% is smaller than 0.1 mm. Matching of the scanned plaster casts and scanned impressions show a mean error between the two surfaces of the upper arch of 0.14 mm and for the lower arch of 0.18 mm. The time needed for reconstructing the CBCT scans to a digital patient, where the impressions are integrated into the CBCT scan of the patient takes about 15 minutes, with little variance between patients. In conclusion, we can state that this new method is a reliable method to integrate digital dental casts into CBCT scans. As far as radiation exposure, soft tissue deformation and digital handling processes are concerned, it is a significant improvement compared to the previously published methods.

  19. Interior beam searchlight semi-analytical benchmark

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ganapol, Barry D.; Kornreich, Drew E.

    2008-01-01

    Multidimensional semi-analytical benchmarks to provide highly accurate standards to assess routine numerical particle transport algorithms are few and far between. Because of the well-established 1D theory for the analytical solution of the transport equation, it is sometimes possible to 'bootstrap' a 1D solution to generate a more comprehensive solution representation. Here, we consider the searchlight problem (SLP) as a multidimensional benchmark. A variation of the usual SLP is the interior beam SLP (IBSLP) where a beam source lies beneath the surface of a half space and emits directly towards the free surface. We consider the establishment of a new semi-analytical benchmark based on a new FN formulation. This problem is important in radiative transfer experimental analysis to determine cloud absorption and scattering properties. (authors)

  20. Analytic 3D image reconstruction using all detected events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kinahan, P.E.; Rogers, J.G.

    1988-11-01

    We present the results of testing a previously presented algorithm for three-dimensional image reconstruction that uses all gamma-ray coincidence events detected by a PET volume-imaging scanner. By using two iterations of an analytic filter-backprojection method, the algorithm is not constrained by the requirement of a spatially invariant detector point spread function, which limits normal analytic techniques. Removing this constraint allows the incorporation of all detected events, regardless of orientation, which improves the statistical quality of the final reconstructed image

  1. Evaluation of web-based instruction for anatomical interpretation in maxillofacial cone beam computed tomography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Al-Rawi, W.T.; Jacobs, R.; Hassan, B.A.; Sanderink, G.; Scarfe, W.C.

    2007-01-01

    Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based instruction in the interpretation of anatomy in images acquired with maxillofacial cone beam CT (CBCT). Methods: An interactive web-based education course for the interpretation of craniofacial CBCT images was recently developed at our

  2. Design and characterization of a dedicated cone-beam CT scanner for detection of acute intracranial hemorrhage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, J.; Sisniega, A.; Zbijewski, W.; Dang, H.; Stayman, J. W.; Wang, X.; Foos, D. H.; Aygun, N.; Koliatsos, V. E.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2016-03-01

    Purpose: Prompt and reliable detection of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) has substantial clinical impact in diagnosis and treatment of stroke and traumatic brain injury. This paper describes the design, development, and preliminary performance characterization of a dedicated cone-beam CT (CBCT) head scanner prototype for imaging of acute ICH. Methods: A task-based image quality model was used to analyze the detectability index as a function of system configuration, and hardware design was guided by the results of this model-based optimization. A robust artifact correction pipeline was developed using GPU-accelerated Monte Carlo (MC) scatter simulation, beam hardening corrections, detector veiling glare, and lag deconvolution. An iterative penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) reconstruction framework with weights adjusted for artifact-corrected projections was developed. Various bowtie filters were investigated for potential dose and image quality benefits, with a MC-based tool providing estimates of spatial dose distribution. Results: The initial prototype will feature a source-detector distance of 1000 mm and source-axis distance of 550 mm, a 43x43 cm2 flat panel detector, and a 15° rotating anode x-ray source with 15 kW power and 0.6 focal spot size. Artifact correction reduced image nonuniformity by ~250 HU, and PWLS reconstruction with modified weights improved the contrast to noise ratio by 20%. Inclusion of a bowtie filter can potentially reduce dose by 50% and improve CNR by 25%. Conclusions: A dedicated CBCT system capable of imaging millimeter-scale acute ICH was designed. Preliminary findings support feasibility of point-of-care applications in TBI and stroke imaging, with clinical studies beginning on a prototype.

  3. Cone Beam Computed Tomography-Dawn of A New Imaging Modality in Orthodontics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamatha, J; Chaitra, K R; Paul, Renji K; George, Merin; Anitha, J; Khanna, Bharti

    2015-01-01

    Today, we are in a world of innovations, and there are various diagnostics aids that help to take a decision regarding treatment in a well-planned way. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been a vital tool for imaging diagnostic tool in orthodontics. This article reviews case reports during orthodontic treatment and importance of CBCT during the treatment evaluation. PMID:26225116

  4. Evaluation of positioning errors of the patient using cone beam CT megavoltage

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Ruiz-Zorrilla, J.; Fernandez Leton, J. P.; Zucca Aparicio, D.; Perez Moreno, J. M.; Minambres Moro, A.

    2013-01-01

    Image-guided radiation therapy allows you to assess and fix the positioning of the patient in the treatment unit, thus reducing the uncertainties due to the positioning of the patient. This work assesses errors systematic and errors of randomness from the corrections made to a series of patients of different diseases through a protocol off line of cone beam CT (CBCT) megavoltage. (Author)

  5. Cone-beam micro-CT system based on LabVIEW software.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ionita, Ciprian N; Hoffmann, Keneth R; Bednarek, Daniel R; Chityala, Ravishankar; Rudin, Stephen

    2008-09-01

    Construction of a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system for laboratory research usually requires integration of different software and hardware components. As a result, building and operating such a complex system require the expertise of researchers with significantly different backgrounds. Additionally, writing flexible code to control the hardware components of a CBCT system combined with designing a friendly graphical user interface (GUI) can be cumbersome and time consuming. An intuitive and flexible program structure, as well as the program GUI for CBCT acquisition, is presented in this note. The program was developed in National Instrument's Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) graphical language and is designed to control a custom-built CBCT system but has been also used in a standard angiographic suite. The hardware components are commercially available to researchers and are in general provided with software drivers which are LabVIEW compatible. The program structure was designed as a sequential chain. Each step in the chain takes care of one or two hardware commands at a time; the execution of the sequence can be modified according to the CBCT system design. We have scanned and reconstructed over 200 specimens using this interface and present three examples which cover different areas of interest encountered in laboratory research. The resulting 3D data are rendered using a commercial workstation. The program described in this paper is available for use or improvement by other researchers.

  6. Geometric calibration method for multiple-head cone-beam SPECT system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rizo, P.; Grangeat, P.; Guillemaud, R.

    1994-01-01

    A method is presented for estimating the geometrical parameters of cone beam systems with multiple heads, each head having its own orientation. In tomography, for each head, the relative position of the rotation axis and f the collimator do not change during the data acquisition. The authors thus can separate the parameters into intrinsic parameters and extrinsic parameters. The intrinsic parameters describe the detection system geometry and the extrinsic parameters the position of the detection system with respect to the rotation axis. Intrinsic parameters must be estimated each time the acquisition geometry is modified. Extrinsic parameters are estimated by minimizing the distances between the measured position of a point source projection and the computed position obtained using the estimated extrinsic parameters. The main advantage of this method is that the extrinsic parameters are only weakly correlated when the intrinsic parameters are known. Thus the authors can use any simple least square error minimization method to perform the estimation of the extrinsic parameters. Giving a fixed value to the distance between the point source and the rotation axis in the estimation process, ensures the coherence of the extrinsic parameters between each head. They show that with this calibration method, the full width at half maximum measured with point sources is very close to the theoretical one, and remains almost unchanged when more than one head is used. Simulation results and reconstructions on a Jaszczak phantom are presented that show the capabilities of this method

  7. Movement of the patient and the cone beam computed tomography scanner: objectives and possible solutions

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hanzelka, T.; Dušek, J.; Ocásek, F.; Kučera, J.; Šedý, Jiří; Beneš, J.; Pavlíková, G.; Foltán, R.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 116, č. 6 (2013), s. 769-773 ISSN 2212-4403 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : cone beam computed tomography * movement artifacts * dry-run scan Subject RIV: ED - Physiology Impact factor: 1.265, year: 2013

  8. A rare case of dilated invaginated odontome with talon cusp in a permanent maxillary central incisor diagnosed by cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaya, Ranganathan; Kumar, Rangarajan Sundaresan Mohan; Srinivasan, Ramasamy [Dept. of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Priyadarshini Dental College and Hospital, Chennai (India)

    2013-09-15

    It has been a challenge to establish the accurate diagnosis of developmental tooth anomalies based on periapical radiographs. Recently, three-dimensional imaging by cone beam computed tomography has provided useful information to investigate the complex anatomy of and establish the proper management for tooth anomalies. The most severe variant of dens invaginatus, known as dilated odontome, is a rare occurrence, and the cone beam computed tomographic findings of this anomaly have never been reported for an erupted permanent maxillary central incisor. The occurrence of talon cusp occurring along with dens invaginatus is also unusual. The aim of this report was to show the importance of cone beam computed tomography in contributing to the accurate diagnosis and evaluation of the complex anatomy of this rare anomaly.

  9. A rare case of dilated invaginated odontome with talon cusp in a permanent maxillary central incisor diagnosed by cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaya, Ranganathan; Kumar, Rangarajan Sundaresan Mohan; Srinivasan, Ramasamy

    2013-01-01

    It has been a challenge to establish the accurate diagnosis of developmental tooth anomalies based on periapical radiographs. Recently, three-dimensional imaging by cone beam computed tomography has provided useful information to investigate the complex anatomy of and establish the proper management for tooth anomalies. The most severe variant of dens invaginatus, known as dilated odontome, is a rare occurrence, and the cone beam computed tomographic findings of this anomaly have never been reported for an erupted permanent maxillary central incisor. The occurrence of talon cusp occurring along with dens invaginatus is also unusual. The aim of this report was to show the importance of cone beam computed tomography in contributing to the accurate diagnosis and evaluation of the complex anatomy of this rare anomaly.

  10. Volumetric analysis of the mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bayram, Mehmet, E-mail: dtmehmetbayram@yahoo.com [Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics, 61080 Trabzon (Turkey); Kayipmaz, Saadettin; Sezgin, Oemer Said [Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Oral Radiology, Trabzon (Turkey); Kuecuek, Murat [Karadeniz Technical University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry, Trabzon (Turkey)

    2012-08-15

    Objective: The aim was to determine the accuracy of volumetric analysis of the mandibular condyle using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: Five dry mandibles containing 9 condyles were used. CBCT scans of the mandibles and an impression of each condylar area were taken. The physical volumes of the condyles were calculated as the gold standard using the water displacement technique. After isolating, the condylar volume was sectioned in the sagittal plane, and 0.3 mm thick sections with 0.9 mm intervals were obtained from 3D reconstructions. Using the Cavalieri principle, the volume of each condyle was estimated from the CBCT images by three observers. The accuracy of the CBCT volume measurements and the relation agreements between the results of the three observers were assessed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Pearson correlation test. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation showed that there were highly significant positive correlations between the observers' measurements. According to the results of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test comparing the physical and observers' measurements, there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The Cavalieri principle, used in conjunction with a planimetry method, is a valid and effective method for volume estimation of the mandibular condyle on CBCT images.

  11. Volumetric analysis of the mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bayram, Mehmet; Kayipmaz, Saadettin; Sezgin, Ömer Said; Küçük, Murat

    2012-01-01

    Objective: The aim was to determine the accuracy of volumetric analysis of the mandibular condyle using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: Five dry mandibles containing 9 condyles were used. CBCT scans of the mandibles and an impression of each condylar area were taken. The physical volumes of the condyles were calculated as the gold standard using the water displacement technique. After isolating, the condylar volume was sectioned in the sagittal plane, and 0.3 mm thick sections with 0.9 mm intervals were obtained from 3D reconstructions. Using the Cavalieri principle, the volume of each condyle was estimated from the CBCT images by three observers. The accuracy of the CBCT volume measurements and the relation agreements between the results of the three observers were assessed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Pearson correlation test. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05. Results: The results of the Pearson correlation showed that there were highly significant positive correlations between the observers’ measurements. According to the results of the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test comparing the physical and observers’ measurements, there were no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The Cavalieri principle, used in conjunction with a planimetry method, is a valid and effective method for volume estimation of the mandibular condyle on CBCT images.

  12. Avaliação da simetria craniana através de imagens de TC cone beam = Cranial symmetry assessment through cone-beam CT images

    OpenAIRE

    Vilella, Oswaldo de Vasconcellos; Rothier, Eduardo Kant Colunga; Vilella, Beatriz de Souza

    2014-01-01

    Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi comparar os lados direito e esquerdo de indivíduos que apresentavam simetria craniana através de 2 imagens geradas pela tomografia computadorizada cone beam (TCCB). Métodos: A amostra consistiu de 35 imagens obtidas pelo tomógrafo 3D-i-CAT (Imaging Sciences International Inc. , Hatfield, USA), sendo 13 de indivíduos do gênero masculino e 22 do gênero feminino, com idades variando de 8 a 64 anos, que apresentavam simetria facial aceitável. As imagens...

  13. Incidental findings on cone beam computed tomography scans in cleft lip and palate patients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijpers, M.A.R.; Pazera, A.; Admiraal, R.J.C.; Berge, S.J.; Vissink, A.; Pazera, P.

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is frequently used in treatment planning for alveolar bone grafting (ABG) and orthognathic surgery in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP). CBCT images may depict coincident findings. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of

  14. Image reconstruction with shift-variant filtration and its implication for noise and resolution properties in fan-beam computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan Xiaochuan; Yu Lifeng

    2003-01-01

    In computed tomography (CT), the fan-beam filtered backprojection (FFBP) algorithm is used widely for image reconstruction. It is known that the FFBP algorithm can significantly amplify data noise and aliasing artifacts in situations where the focal lengths are comparable to or smaller than the size of the field of measurement (FOM). In this work, we propose an algorithm that is less susceptible to data noise, aliasing, and other data inconsistencies than is the FFBP algorithm while retaining the favorable resolution properties of the FFBP algorithm. In an attempt to evaluate the noise properties in reconstructed images, we derive analytic expressions for image variances obtained by use of the FFBP algorithm and the proposed algorithm. Computer simulation studies are conducted for quantitative evaluation of the spatial resolution and noise properties of images reconstructed by use of the algorithms. Numerical results of these studies confirm the favorable spatial resolution and noise properties of the proposed algorithm and verify the validity of the theoretically predicted image variances. The proposed algorithm and the derived analytic expressions for image variances can have practical implications for both estimation and detection/classification tasks making use of CT images, and they can readily be generalized to other fan-beam geometries

  15. Enhanced long-distance transport of periodic electron beams in an advanced double layer cone-channel target

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanling Ji

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available An enhanced long-distance transport of periodic electron beams in an advanced double layer cone-channel target is investigated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The target consists of a cone attached to a double-layer hollow channel with a near-critical-density inner layer. The periodic electron beams are generated by the combination of ponderomotive force and longitudinal laser electric field. Then a stable electron propagation is achieved in the double-layer channel over a much longer distance without evident divergency, compared with a normal cone-channel target. Detailed simulations show that the much better long-distance collimation and guidance of energetic electrons is attributed to the much stronger electromagnetic fields at the inner wall surfaces. Furthermore, a continuous electron acceleration is obtained by the more intense laser electric fields and extended electron acceleration length in the channel. Our investigation shows that by employing this advanced target, both the forward-going electron energy flux in the channel and the energy coupling efficiency from laser to electrons are about threefold increased in comparison with the normal case.

  16. Enhanced long-distance transport of periodic electron beams in an advanced double layer cone-channel target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Yanling; Duan, Tao; Zhou, Weimin; Li, Boyuan; Wu, Fengjuan; Zhang, Zhimeng; Ye, Bin; Wang, Rong; Wu, Chunrong; Tang, Yongjian

    2018-02-01

    An enhanced long-distance transport of periodic electron beams in an advanced double layer cone-channel target is investigated using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations. The target consists of a cone attached to a double-layer hollow channel with a near-critical-density inner layer. The periodic electron beams are generated by the combination of ponderomotive force and longitudinal laser electric field. Then a stable electron propagation is achieved in the double-layer channel over a much longer distance without evident divergency, compared with a normal cone-channel target. Detailed simulations show that the much better long-distance collimation and guidance of energetic electrons is attributed to the much stronger electromagnetic fields at the inner wall surfaces. Furthermore, a continuous electron acceleration is obtained by the more intense laser electric fields and extended electron acceleration length in the channel. Our investigation shows that by employing this advanced target, both the forward-going electron energy flux in the channel and the energy coupling efficiency from laser to electrons are about threefold increased in comparison with the normal case.

  17. SU-E-J-150: Four-Dimensional Cone-Beam CT Algorithm by Extraction of Physical and Motion Parameter of Mobile Targets Retrospective to Image Reconstruction with Motion Modeling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, I; Ahmad, S; Alsbou, N

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To develop 4D-cone-beam CT (CBCT) algorithm by motion modeling that extracts actual length, CT numbers level and motion amplitude of a mobile target retrospective to image reconstruction by motion modeling. Methods: The algorithm used three measurable parameters: apparent length and blurred CT number distribution of a mobile target obtained from CBCT images to determine actual length, CT-number value of the stationary target, and motion amplitude. The predictions of this algorithm were tested with mobile targets that with different well-known sizes made from tissue-equivalent gel which was inserted into a thorax phantom. The phantom moved sinusoidally in one-direction to simulate respiratory motion using eight amplitudes ranging 0–20mm. Results: Using this 4D-CBCT algorithm, three unknown parameters were extracted that include: length of the target, CT number level, speed or motion amplitude for the mobile targets retrospective to image reconstruction. The motion algorithms solved for the three unknown parameters using measurable apparent length, CT number level and gradient for a well-defined mobile target obtained from CBCT images. The motion model agreed with measured apparent lengths which were dependent on the actual target length and motion amplitude. The gradient of the CT number distribution of the mobile target is dependent on the stationary CT number level, actual target length and motion amplitude. Motion frequency and phase did not affect the elongation and CT number distribution of the mobile target and could not be determined. Conclusion: A 4D-CBCT motion algorithm was developed to extract three parameters that include actual length, CT number level and motion amplitude or speed of mobile targets directly from reconstructed CBCT images without prior knowledge of the stationary target parameters. This algorithm provides alternative to 4D-CBCT without requirement to motion tracking and sorting of the images into different breathing phases

  18. SU-E-J-150: Four-Dimensional Cone-Beam CT Algorithm by Extraction of Physical and Motion Parameter of Mobile Targets Retrospective to Image Reconstruction with Motion Modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ali, I; Ahmad, S [University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, OK (United States); Alsbou, N [Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH (United States)

    2015-06-15

    Purpose: To develop 4D-cone-beam CT (CBCT) algorithm by motion modeling that extracts actual length, CT numbers level and motion amplitude of a mobile target retrospective to image reconstruction by motion modeling. Methods: The algorithm used three measurable parameters: apparent length and blurred CT number distribution of a mobile target obtained from CBCT images to determine actual length, CT-number value of the stationary target, and motion amplitude. The predictions of this algorithm were tested with mobile targets that with different well-known sizes made from tissue-equivalent gel which was inserted into a thorax phantom. The phantom moved sinusoidally in one-direction to simulate respiratory motion using eight amplitudes ranging 0–20mm. Results: Using this 4D-CBCT algorithm, three unknown parameters were extracted that include: length of the target, CT number level, speed or motion amplitude for the mobile targets retrospective to image reconstruction. The motion algorithms solved for the three unknown parameters using measurable apparent length, CT number level and gradient for a well-defined mobile target obtained from CBCT images. The motion model agreed with measured apparent lengths which were dependent on the actual target length and motion amplitude. The gradient of the CT number distribution of the mobile target is dependent on the stationary CT number level, actual target length and motion amplitude. Motion frequency and phase did not affect the elongation and CT number distribution of the mobile target and could not be determined. Conclusion: A 4D-CBCT motion algorithm was developed to extract three parameters that include actual length, CT number level and motion amplitude or speed of mobile targets directly from reconstructed CBCT images without prior knowledge of the stationary target parameters. This algorithm provides alternative to 4D-CBCT without requirement to motion tracking and sorting of the images into different breathing phases

  19. Dimensional Changes of Fresh Sockets With Reactive Soft Tissue Preservation: A Cone Beam CT Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespi, Roberto; Capparé, Paolo; Crespi, Giovanni; Gastaldi, Giorgio; Gherlone, Enrico Felice

    2017-06-01

    The aim of this study was to assess dimensional changes of the fresh sockets grafted with collagen sheets and maintenance of reactive soft tissue, using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Tooth extractions were performed with maximum preservation of the alveolar housing, reactive soft tissue was left into the sockets and collagen sheets filled bone defects. Cone beam computed tomography were performed before and 3 months after extractions. One hundred forty-five teeth, 60 monoradiculars and 85 molars, were extracted. In total, 269 alveoli were evaluated. In Group A, not statistically significant differences were found between monoradiculars, whereas statistically significant differences (P 0.05) for all types of teeth. This study reported an atraumatic tooth extraction, reactive soft tissue left in situ, and grafted collagen sponge may be helpful to reduce fresh socket collapse after extraction procedures.

  20. Design of a Compton camera for 3D prompt-{gamma} imaging during ion beam therapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roellinghoff, F., E-mail: roelling@ipnl.in2p3.fr [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Universite Lyon 1 and CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, IPNL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); INSA-Lyon Laboratory of Nondestructive Testing using Ionizing Radiation (CNDRI), F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Richard, M.-H., E-mail: mrichard@ipnl.in2p3.fr [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Universite Lyon 1 and CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, IPNL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); INSA-Lyon Laboratory of Nondestructive Testing using Ionizing Radiation (CNDRI), F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Chevallier, M.; Constanzo, J.; Dauvergne, D. [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Universite Lyon 1 and CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, IPNL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Freud, N. [INSA-Lyon Laboratory of Nondestructive Testing using Ionizing Radiation (CNDRI), F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Henriquet, P.; Le Foulher, F. [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Universite Lyon 1 and CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, IPNL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Letang, J.M. [INSA-Lyon Laboratory of Nondestructive Testing using Ionizing Radiation (CNDRI), F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Montarou, G. [LPC, CNRS/IN2P3, Clermont-F. University (France); Ray, C.; Testa, E.; Testa, M. [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Universite Lyon 1 and CNRS/IN2P3, UMR 5822, IPNL, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Walenta, A.H. [Uni-Siegen, FB Physik, Emmy-Noether Campus, D-57068 Siegen (Germany)

    2011-08-21

    We investigate, by means of Geant4 simulations, a real-time method to control the position of the Bragg peak during ion therapy, based on a Compton camera in combination with a beam tagging device (hodoscope) in order to detect the prompt gamma emitted during nuclear fragmentation. The proposed set-up consists of a stack of 2 mm thick silicon strip detectors and a LYSO absorber detector. The {gamma} emission points are reconstructed analytically by intersecting the ion trajectories given by the beam hodoscope and the Compton cones given by the camera. The camera response to a polychromatic point source in air is analyzed with regard to both spatial resolution and detection efficiency. Various geometrical configurations of the camera have been tested. In the proposed configuration, for a typical polychromatic photon point source, the spatial resolution of the camera is about 8.3 mm FWHM and the detection efficiency 2.5x10{sup -4} (reconstructable photons/emitted photons in 4{pi}). Finally, the clinical applicability of our system is considered and possible starting points for further developments of a prototype are discussed.

  1. Contours identification of elements in a cone beam computed tomography for investigating maxillary cysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chioran, Doina; Nicoarǎ, Adrian; Roşu, Şerban; Cǎrligeriu, Virgil; Ianeş, Emilia

    2013-10-01

    Digital processing of two-dimensional cone beam computer tomography slicesstarts by identification of the contour of elements within. This paper deals with the collective work of specialists in medicine and applied mathematics in computer science on elaborating and implementation of algorithms in dental 2D imagery.

  2. Incidental findings on cone beam computed tomography scans in cleft lip and palate patients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijpers, Mette A. R.; Pazera, Andrzej; Admiraal, Ronald J.; Berge, Stefaan J.; Vissink, Arjan; Pazera, Pawel

    Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is frequently used in treatment planning for alveolar bone grafting (ABG) and orthognathic surgery in patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP). CBCT images may depict coincident findings. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of incidental findings

  3. Reliability of voxel gray values in cone beam computed tomography for preoperative implant planning assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Parsa, A.; Ibrahim, N.; Hassan, B.; Motroni, A.; van der Stelt, P.; Wismeijer, D.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the reliability of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) voxel gray value measurements using Hounsfield units (HU) derived from multislice computed tomography (MSCT) as a clinical reference (gold standard). Materials and Methods: Ten partially edentulous human mandibular cadavers

  4. High-resolution-cone beam tomography analysis of bone microarchitecture in patients with acromegaly and radiological vertebral fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maffezzoni, Filippo; Maddalo, Michele; Frara, Stefano; Mezzone, Monica; Zorza, Ivan; Baruffaldi, Fabio; Doglietto, Francesco; Mazziotti, Gherardo; Maroldi, Roberto; Giustina, Andrea

    2016-11-01

    Vertebral fractures are an emerging complication of acromegaly but their prediction is still difficult occurring even in patients with normal bone mineral density. In this study we evaluated the ability of high-resolution cone-beam computed tomography to provide information on skeletal abnormalities associated with vertebral fractures in acromegaly. 40 patients (24 females, 16 males; median age 57 years, range 25-72) and 21 healthy volunteers (10 females, 11 males; median age 60 years, range: 25-68) were evaluated for trabecular (bone volume/trabecular volume ratio, mean trabecular separation, and mean trabecular thickness) and cortical (thickness and porosity) parameters at distal radius using a high-resolution cone-beam computed tomography system. All acromegaly patients were evaluated for morphometric vertebral fractures and for mineral bone density by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at lumbar spine, total hip, femoral neck, and distal radius. Acromegaly patients with vertebral fractures (15 cases) had significantly (p acromegaly patients did not have significant differences in bone density at either skeletal site. Patients with acromegaly showed lower bone volume/trabecular volume ratio (p = 0.003) and mean trabecular thickness (p acromegaly. High-resolution cone-beam computed tomography at the distal radius may be useful to evaluate and predict the effects of acromegaly on bone microstructure.

  5. Integration of Digital Dental Casts in Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Scans

    OpenAIRE

    Rangel, Frits A.; Maal, Thomas J. J.; Bergé, Stefaan J.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, Anne Marie

    2012-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is widely used in maxillofacial surgery. The CBCT image of the dental arches, however, is of insufficient quality to use in digital planning of orthognathic surgery. Several authors have described methods to integrate digital dental casts into CBCT scans, but all reported methods have drawbacks. The aim of this feasibility study is to present a new simplified method to integrate digital dental casts into CBCT scans. In a patient scheduled for orthognathic ...

  6. Feasibility of contrast-enhanced cone-beam CT for target localization and treatment monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodal, Jan; Sovik, Aste; Skogmo, Hege Kippenes; Knudtsen, Ingerid Skjei; Malinen, Eirik

    2010-01-01

    A dog with a spontaneous maxillary tumour was given 40 Gy of fractionated radiotherapy. At five out of 10 fractions cone-beam CT (CBCT) imaging before and after administration of an iodinated contrast agent were performed. Contrast enhancement maps were overlaid on the pre-contrast CBCT images. The tumour was clearly visualized in the images thus produced.

  7. Correction of patient motion in cone-beam CT using 3D-2D registration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouadah, S.; Jacobson, M.; Stayman, J. W.; Ehtiati, T.; Weiss, C.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2017-12-01

    Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is increasingly common in guidance of interventional procedures, but can be subject to artifacts arising from patient motion during fairly long (~5-60 s) scan times. We present a fiducial-free method to mitigate motion artifacts using 3D-2D image registration that simultaneously corrects residual errors in the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of geometric calibration. The 3D-2D registration process registers each projection to a prior 3D image by maximizing gradient orientation using the covariance matrix adaptation-evolution strategy optimizer. The resulting rigid transforms are applied to the system projection matrices, and a 3D image is reconstructed via model-based iterative reconstruction. Phantom experiments were conducted using a Zeego robotic C-arm to image a head phantom undergoing 5-15 cm translations and 5-15° rotations. To further test the algorithm, clinical images were acquired with a CBCT head scanner in which long scan times were susceptible to significant patient motion. CBCT images were reconstructed using a penalized likelihood objective function. For phantom studies the structural similarity (SSIM) between motion-free and motion-corrected images was  >0.995, with significant improvement (p  values of uncorrected images. Additionally, motion-corrected images exhibited a point-spread function with full-width at half maximum comparable to that of the motion-free reference image. Qualitative comparison of the motion-corrupted and motion-corrected clinical images demonstrated a significant improvement in image quality after motion correction. This indicates that the 3D-2D registration method could provide a useful approach to motion artifact correction under assumptions of local rigidity, as in the head, pelvis, and extremities. The method is highly parallelizable, and the automatic correction of residual geometric calibration errors provides added benefit that could be valuable in routine use.

  8. Analytical Model for Fictitious Crack Propagation in Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulfkjær, J. P.; Krenk, S.; Brincker, Rune

    An analytical model for load-displacement curves of unreinforced notched and un-notched concrete beams is presented. The load displacement-curve is obtained by combining two simple models. The fracture is modelled by a fictitious crack in an elastic layer around the mid-section of the beam. Outside...... the elastic layer the deformations are modelled by the Timoshenko beam theory. The state of stress in the elastic layer is assumed to depend bi-lineary on local elongation corresponding to a linear softening relation for the fictitious crack. For different beam size results from the analytical model...... is compared with results from a more accurate model based on numerical methods. The analytical model is shown to be in good agreement with the numerical results if the thickness of the elastic layer is taken as half the beam depth. Several general results are obtained. It is shown that the point on the load...

  9. A comparative evaluation of Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) and Multi-Slice CT (MSCT). Part II: On 3D model accuracy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang Xin; Lambrichts, Ivo; Sun Yi; Denis, Kathleen; Hassan, Bassam; Li Limin; Pauwels, Ruben; Jacobs, Reinhilde

    2010-01-01

    Aim: The study aim was to compare the geometric accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) surface model reconstructions between five Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scanners and one Multi-Slice CT (MSCT) system. Materials and methods: A dry human mandible was scanned with five CBCT systems (NewTom 3G, Accuitomo 3D, i-CAT, Galileos, Scanora 3D) and one MSCT scanner (Somatom Sensation 16). A 3D surface bone model was created from the six systems. The reference (gold standard) 3D model was obtained with a high resolution laser surface scanner. The 3D models from the five systems were compared with the gold standard using a point-based rigid registration algorithm. Results: The mean deviation from the gold standard for MSCT was 0.137 mm and for CBCT were 0.282, 0.225, 0.165, 0.386 and 0.206 mm for the i-CAT, Accuitomo, NewTom, Scanora and Galileos, respectively. Conclusion: The results show that the accuracy of CBCT 3D surface model reconstructions is somewhat lower but acceptable comparing to MSCT from the gold standard.

  10. Cone beam computed tomography and intraoral radiography for diagnosis of dental abnormalities in dogs and cats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roza, Marcello R.; Fioravanti, Maria Clorinda S.; Silva, Luiz Antonio F.; Barriviera, Mauricio; Januario, Alessandro L.; Bezerra, Ana Cristina B.

    2011-01-01

    The development of veterinary dentistry has substantially improved the ability to diagnose canine and feline dental abnormalities. Consequently, examinations previously performed only on humans are now available for small animals, thus improving the diagnostic quality. This has increased the need for technical qualification of veterinary professionals and increased technological investments. This study evaluated the use of cone beam computed tomography and intraoral radiography as complementary exams for diagnosing dental abnormalities in dogs and cats. Cone beam computed tomography was provided faster image acquisition with high image quality, was associated with low ionizing radiation levels, enabled image editing, and reduced the exam duration. Our results showed that radiography was an effective method for dental radiographic examination with low cost and fast execution times, and can be performed during surgical procedures

  11. Diagnosis and decision making in endodontics with the use of cone beam computed tomography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Metska, M.E.

    2014-01-01

    In the current thesis the use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in endodontics has been evaluated within the framework of ex vivo and in vivo studies. The first objective of the thesis was to examine whether CBCT scans can be used for the detection of vertical root fractures in endodontically

  12. Analytical Model for Fictitious Crack Propagation in Concrete Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulfkjær, J. P.; Krenk, Steen; Brincker, Rune

    1995-01-01

    An analytical model for load-displacement curves of concrete beams is presented. The load-displacement curve is obtained by combining two simple models. The fracture is modeled by a fictitious crack in an elastic layer around the midsection of the beam. Outside the elastic layer the deformations...... are modeled by beam theory. The state of stress in the elastic layer is assumed to depend bilinearly on local elongation corresponding to a linear softening relation for the fictitious crack. Results from the analytical model are compared with results from a more detailed model based on numerical methods...... for different beam sizes. The analytical model is shown to be in agreement with the numerical results if the thickness of the elastic layer is taken as half the beam depth. It is shown that the point on the load-displacement curve where the fictitious crack starts to develop and the point where the real crack...

  13. Evaluation of accelerated iterative x-ray CT image reconstruction using floating point graphics hardware

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kole, J S; Beekman, F J

    2006-01-01

    Statistical reconstruction methods offer possibilities to improve image quality as compared with analytical methods, but current reconstruction times prohibit routine application in clinical and micro-CT. In particular, for cone-beam x-ray CT, the use of graphics hardware has been proposed to accelerate the forward and back-projection operations, in order to reduce reconstruction times. In the past, wide application of this texture hardware mapping approach was hampered owing to limited intrinsic accuracy. Recently, however, floating point precision has become available in the latest generation commodity graphics cards. In this paper, we utilize this feature to construct a graphics hardware accelerated version of the ordered subset convex reconstruction algorithm. The aims of this paper are (i) to study the impact of using graphics hardware acceleration for statistical reconstruction on the reconstructed image accuracy and (ii) to measure the speed increase one can obtain by using graphics hardware acceleration. We compare the unaccelerated algorithm with the graphics hardware accelerated version, and for the latter we consider two different interpolation techniques. A simulation study of a micro-CT scanner with a mathematical phantom shows that at almost preserved reconstructed image accuracy, speed-ups of a factor 40 to 222 can be achieved, compared with the unaccelerated algorithm, and depending on the phantom and detector sizes. Reconstruction from physical phantom data reconfirms the usability of the accelerated algorithm for practical cases

  14. Relationships between cone beam CT value and physical density in image guided radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Xiaoqin; Bai Sen; Zhong Renming; Tang Zhiquan; Jiang Qinfeng; Li Tao

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To evaluate the main factors affecting the relationship between physical density and CT value in cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT) for imaging guided radiation therapy(IGRT) by comparing the CT value in the image from cone-beam scanner and from fan-beam (FBCT) scanner of a reference phantom. Methods: A taking-park reference phantom with a set of tissue equivalent inserts was scanned at different energies different fields of view (FOV) for IGRT-CBCT and FBCT. The CT value of every insert was measured and compared. Results: The position of inserts in phantom, the size of phantom, the FOV of scanner and different energies had more effect on the relationships between physical density and the CT value from IGRT-CBCT than those from the normal FBCT. The higher the energy was, the less effect of the position of inserts in phantom, the size of phantom and the FOV of scanner on CT value, and the poorer density contrast was observed. Conclusion: At present, the CT value of IGRT-CBCT is not in the true HU value since the manufacturer has not corrected its number. Therefore, we are not able to use the CT value of CBCT for dose calculation in TPS. (authors)

  15. Clinical implementation of intraoperative cone-beam CT in head and neck surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daly, M. J.; Chan, H.; Nithiananthan, S.; Qiu, J.; Barker, E.; Bachar, G.; Dixon, B. J.; Irish, J. C.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2011-03-01

    A prototype mobile C-arm for cone-beam CT (CBCT) has been translated to a prospective clinical trial in head and neck surgery. The flat-panel CBCT C-arm was developed in collaboration with Siemens Healthcare, and demonstrates both sub-mm spatial resolution and soft-tissue visibility at low radiation dose (e.g., software based on the open-source Image-Guided Surgery Toolkit (IGSTK). The CBCT C-arm has been successfully deployed in 15 head and neck cases and streamlined into the surgical environment using human factors engineering methods and expert feedback from surgeons, nurses, and anesthetists. Intraoperative imaging is implemented in a manner that maintains operating field sterility, reduces image artifacts (e.g., carbon fiber OR table) and minimizes radiation exposure. Image reviews conducted with surgical staff indicate bony detail and soft-tissue visualization sufficient for intraoperative guidance, with additional artifact management (e.g., metal, scatter) promising further improvements. Clinical trial deployment suggests a role for intraoperative CBCT in guiding complex head and neck surgical tasks, including planning mandible and maxilla resection margins, guiding subcranial and endonasal approaches to skull base tumours, and verifying maxillofacial reconstruction alignment. Ongoing translational research into complimentary image-guidance subsystems include novel methods for real-time tool tracking, fusion of endoscopic video and CBCT, and deformable registration of preoperative volumes and planning contours with intraoperative CBCT.

  16. Combining Acceleration Techniques for Low-Dose X-Ray Cone Beam Computed Tomography Image Reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hsuan-Ming; Hsiao, Ing-Tsung

    2017-01-01

    Over the past decade, image quality in low-dose computed tomography has been greatly improved by various compressive sensing- (CS-) based reconstruction methods. However, these methods have some disadvantages including high computational cost and slow convergence rate. Many different speed-up techniques for CS-based reconstruction algorithms have been developed. The purpose of this paper is to propose a fast reconstruction framework that combines a CS-based reconstruction algorithm with several speed-up techniques. First, total difference minimization (TDM) was implemented using the soft-threshold filtering (STF). Second, we combined TDM-STF with the ordered subsets transmission (OSTR) algorithm for accelerating the convergence. To further speed up the convergence of the proposed method, we applied the power factor and the fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm to OSTR and TDM-STF, respectively. Results obtained from simulation and phantom studies showed that many speed-up techniques could be combined to greatly improve the convergence speed of a CS-based reconstruction algorithm. More importantly, the increased computation time (≤10%) was minor as compared to the acceleration provided by the proposed method. In this paper, we have presented a CS-based reconstruction framework that combines several acceleration techniques. Both simulation and phantom studies provide evidence that the proposed method has the potential to satisfy the requirement of fast image reconstruction in practical CT.

  17. Weighted expectation maximization reconstruction algorithms with application to gated megavoltage tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jin; Shi Daxin; Anastasio, Mark A; Sillanpaa, Jussi; Chang Jenghwa

    2005-01-01

    We propose and investigate weighted expectation maximization (EM) algorithms for image reconstruction in x-ray tomography. The development of the algorithms is motivated by the respiratory-gated megavoltage tomography problem, in which the acquired asymmetric cone-beam projections are limited in number and unevenly sampled over view angle. In these cases, images reconstructed by use of the conventional EM algorithm can contain ring- and streak-like artefacts that are attributable to a combination of data inconsistencies and truncation of the projection data. By use of computer-simulated and clinical gated fan-beam megavoltage projection data, we demonstrate that the proposed weighted EM algorithms effectively mitigate such image artefacts. (note)

  18. Comparison of five cone beam computed tomography systems for the detection of vertical root fractures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hassan, B.; Metska, M.E.; Ozok, A.R.; van der Stelt, P.; Wesselink, P.R.

    2010-01-01

    Introduction This study compared the accuracy of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans made by five different systems in detecting vertical root fractures (VRFs). It also assessed the influence of the presence of root canal filling (RCF), CBCT slice orientation selection, and the type of tooth

  19. A preliminary study on cone beam CT image based treatment planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Padmanaban, Sriram; Jeevanandham, Prakash; Boopathy, Raghavendiran; Sukumar, Prabakar; Syam Kumar, S.A.; Kunjithapatham, Bhuvana; Nagarajan, Vivekanandan

    2008-01-01

    Kilovolt Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) based on flat panel technology is primarily used for positioning verification. However it is required to evaluate the accuracy of dose calculation based on CBCT images for the purpose of re-planning in adaptive radiation therapy (ART). In this study, 3DCRT and IMRT plans were done using both the planning CT and CBCT images and the corresponding variations in dose and MUs were analyzed, hence evaluating the feasibility of using kilovolt CBCT for dose calculation and patient dose verification. (author)

  20. Backscatter spectra measurements of the two beams on the same cone on Shenguang-III laser facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zha, Weiyi; Yang, Dong; Xu, Tao; Liu, Yonggang; Wang, Feng; Peng, Xiaoshi; Li, Yulong; Wei, Huiyue; Liu, Xiangming; Mei, Yu; Yan, Yadong; He, Junhua; Li, Zhichao; Li, Sanwei; Jiang, Xiaohua; Guo, Liang; Xie, Xufei; Pan, Kaiqiang; Liu, Shenye; Jiang, Shaoen; Zhang, Baohan; Ding, Yongkun

    2018-01-01

    In laser driven hohlraums, laser beams on the same incident cone may have different beam and plasma conditions, causing beam-to-beam backscatter difference and subsequent azimuthal variations in the x-ray drive on the capsule. To elucidate the large variation of backscatter proportion from beam to beam in some gas-filled hohlraum shots on Shenguang-III, two 28.5° beams have been measured with the Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) time-resolved spectra. A bifurcated fiber is used to sample two beams and then coupled to a spectrometer and streak camera combination to reduce the cost. The SRS spectra, characterized by a broad wavelength, were further corrected considering the temporal distortion and intensity modulation caused by components along the light path. This measurement will improve the understanding of the beam propagation inside the hohlraum and related laser plasma instabilities.

  1. Progress in light cone physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preparata, G.

    1973-01-01

    A very brief review is given of the progress made in the physics of the light cone in the past year. Included are the light cone expansion, gauge invariance and the consequences of precocious scaling near threshold, the light cone description of the muon pair experiment, light cone expansions, and the assessment and exploitation of analyticity properties in both mass and energy of light cone amplitudes. (U.S.)

  2. Half-Fan-Based Intensity-Weighted Region-of-Interest Imaging for Low-Dose Cone-Beam CT in Image-Guided Radiation Therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Boyeol; Son, Kihong; Pua, Rizza; Kim, Jinsung; Solodov, Alexander; Cho, Seungryong

    2016-10-01

    With the increased use of computed tomography (CT) in clinics, dose reduction is the most important feature people seek when considering new CT techniques or applications. We developed an intensity-weighted region-of-interest (IWROI) imaging method in an exact half-fan geometry to reduce the imaging radiation dose to patients in cone-beam CT (CBCT) for image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). While dose reduction is highly desirable, preserving the high-quality images of the ROI is also important for target localization in IGRT. An intensity-weighting (IW) filter made of copper was mounted in place of a bowtie filter on the X-ray tube unit of an on-board imager (OBI) system such that the filter can substantially reduce radiation exposure to the outer ROI. In addition to mounting the IW filter, the lead-blade collimation of the OBI was adjusted to produce an exact half-fan scanning geometry for a further reduction of the radiation dose. The chord-based rebinned backprojection-filtration (BPF) algorithm in circular CBCT was implemented for image reconstruction, and a humanoid pelvis phantom was used for the IWROI imaging experiment. The IWROI image of the phantom was successfully reconstructed after beam-quality correction, and it was registered to the reference image within an acceptable level of tolerance. Dosimetric measurements revealed that the dose is reduced by approximately 61% in the inner ROI and by 73% in the outer ROI compared to the conventional bowtie filter-based half-fan scan. The IWROI method substantially reduces the imaging radiation dose and provides reconstructed images with an acceptable level of quality for patient setup and target localization. The proposed half-fan-based IWROI imaging technique can add a valuable option to CBCT in IGRT applications.

  3. A novel image-domain-based cone-beam computed tomography enhancement algorithm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li Xiang; Li Tianfang; Yang Yong; Heron, Dwight E; Huq, M Saiful, E-mail: lix@upmc.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 (United States)

    2011-05-07

    Kilo-voltage (kV) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) plays an important role in image-guided radiotherapy. However, due to a large cone-beam angle, scatter effects significantly degrade the CBCT image quality and limit its clinical application. The goal of this study is to develop an image enhancement algorithm to reduce the low-frequency CBCT image artifacts, which are also called the bias field. The proposed algorithm is based on the hypothesis that image intensities of different types of materials in CBCT images are approximately globally uniform (in other words, a piecewise property). A maximum a posteriori probability framework was developed to estimate the bias field contribution from a given CBCT image. The performance of the proposed CBCT image enhancement method was tested using phantoms and clinical CBCT images. Compared to the original CBCT images, the corrected images using the proposed method achieved a more uniform intensity distribution within each tissue type and significantly reduced cupping and shading artifacts. In a head and a pelvic case, the proposed method reduced the Hounsfield unit (HU) errors within the region of interest from 300 HU to less than 60 HU. In a chest case, the HU errors were reduced from 460 HU to less than 110 HU. The proposed CBCT image enhancement algorithm demonstrated a promising result by the reduction of the scatter-induced low-frequency image artifacts commonly encountered in kV CBCT imaging.

  4. A circular multifocal collimator for 3D SPECT imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guillemaud, R.; Grangeat, P.

    1993-01-01

    In order to improve sensitivity of 3D Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) image, a cone-beam collimator can be used. A new circular multifocal collimator is proposed. The multiple focal points are distributed on a transaxial circle which is the trajectory of the focal points during the circular acquisition. This distribution provides a strong focusing at the center of the detector like a cone-beam collimator, with a good sensitivity, and a weak transaxial focusing at the periphery. A solution for an analytical multifocal reconstruction algorithm has been derived. Grangeat algorithm is proposed to use for this purpose in order to reconstruct with a good sensitivity the region of interest. (R.P.) 3 refs

  5. SU-F-T-191: 4D Dose Reconstruction of Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy (IMPT) Based On Breathing Probability Density Function (PDF) From 4D Cone Beam Projection Images: A Study for Lung Treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, J; Ding, X; Liang, J; Zhang, J; Wang, Y; Yan, D

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: With energy repainting in lung IMPT, the dose delivered is approximate to the convolution of dose in each phase with corresponding breathing PDF. This study is to compute breathing PDF weighted 4D dose in lung IMPT treatment and compare to its initial robust plan. Methods: Six lung patients were evaluated in this study. Amsterdam shroud image were generated from pre-treatment 4D cone-beam projections. Diaphragm motion curve was extract from the shroud image and the breathing PDF was generated. Each patient was planned to 60 Gy (12GyX5). In initial plans, ITV density on average CT was overridden with its maximum value for planning, using two IMPT beams with robust optimization (5mm uncertainty in patient position and 3.5% range uncertainty). The plan was applied to all 4D CT phases. The dose in each phase was deformed to a reference phase. 4D dose is reconstructed by summing all these doses based on corresponding weighting from the PDF. Plan parameters, including maximum dose (Dmax), ITV V100, homogeneity index (HI=D2/D98), R50 (50%IDL/ITV), and the lung-GTV’s V12.5 and V5 were compared between the reconstructed 4D dose to initial plans. Results: The Dmax is significantly less dose in the reconstructed 4D dose, 68.12±3.5Gy, vs. 70.1±4.3Gy in the initial plans (p=0.015). No significant difference is found for the ITV V100, HI, and R50, 92.2%±15.4% vs. 96.3%±2.5% (p=0.565), 1.033±0.016 vs. 1.038±0.017 (p=0.548), 19.2±12.1 vs. 18.1±11.6 (p=0.265), for the 4D dose and initial plans, respectively. The lung-GTV V12.5 and V5 are significantly high in the 4D dose, 13.9%±4.8% vs. 13.0%±4.6% (p=0.021) and 17.6%±5.4% vs. 16.9%±5.2% (p=0.011), respectively. Conclusion: 4D dose reconstruction based on phase PDF can be used to evaluate the dose received by the patient. A robust optimization based on the phase PDF may even further improve patient care.

  6. Cone-Beam Computed Tomography for Image-Guided Radiation Therapy of Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-01-01

    imaging in small- animal on-Medical Physics, Vol. 34, No. 12, December 2007cology models,” Mol. Imag. 3, 55–62 2004. 8E. B. Walters, K. Panda , J. A...publication 8 October 2007; published 28 November 2007 Cone-beam microcomputed tomography microCT is one of the most popular choices for small animal ...imaging which is becoming an important tool for studying animal models with transplanted diseases. Region-of-interest ROI imaging techniques in CT, which

  7. Analytical model of impedance in elliptical beam pipes

    CERN Document Server

    Pesah, Arthur Chalom

    2017-01-01

    Beam instabilities are among the main limitations in building higher intensity accelerators. Having a good impedance model for every accelerators is necessary in order to build components that minimize the probability of instabilities caused by the interaction beam-environment and to understand what piece to change in case of intensity increasing. Most of accelerator components have their impedance simulated with finite elements method (using softwares like CST Studio), but simple components such as circular or flat pipes are modeled analytically, with a decreasing computation time and an increasing precision compared to their simulated model. Elliptical beam pipes, while being a simple component present in some accelerators, still misses a good analytical model working for the hole range of velocities and frequencies. In this report, we present a general framework to study the impedance of elliptical pipes analytically. We developed a model for both longitudinal and transverse impedance, first in the case of...

  8. Analytical solutions of the electrostatically actuated curled beam problem

    KAUST Repository

    Younis, Mohammad I.

    2014-07-24

    This works presents analytical expressions of the electrostatically actuated initially deformed cantilever beam problem. The formulation is based on the continuous Euler-Bernoulli beam model combined with a single-mode Galerkin approximation. We derive simple analytical expressions for two commonly observed deformed beams configurations: the curled and tilted configurations. The derived analytical formulas are validated by comparing their results to experimental data and numerical results of a multi-mode reduced order model. The derived expressions do not involve any complicated integrals or complex terms and can be conveniently used by designers for quick, yet accurate, estimations. The formulas are found to yield accurate results for most commonly encountered microbeams of initial tip deflections of few microns. For largely deformed beams, we found that these formulas yield less accurate results due to the limitations of the single-mode approximation. In such cases, multi-mode reduced order models are shown to yield accurate results. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  9. Evaluation of dose from kV cone-beam computed tomography during radiotherapy: a comparison of methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckley, J.; Wilkinson, D.; Malaroda, A.; Metcalfe, P.

    2017-01-01

    Three alternative methodologies to the Computed-Tomography Dose Index for the evaluation of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography dose are compared, the Cone-Beam Dose Index, IAEA Human Health Report No. 5 recommended methodology and the AAPM Task Group 111 recommended methodology. The protocols were evaluated for Pelvis and Thorax scan modes on Varian® On-Board Imager and Truebeam kV XI imaging systems. The weighted planar average dose was highest for the AAPM methodology across all scans, with the CBDI being the second highest overall. A 17.96% and 1.14% decrease from the TG-111 protocol to the IAEA and CBDI protocols for the Pelvis mode and 18.15% and 13.10% decrease for the Thorax mode were observed for the XI system. For the OBI system, the variation was 16.46% and 7.14% for Pelvis mode and 15.93% to the CBDI protocol in Thorax mode respectively.

  10. Five-dimensional motion compensation for respiratory and cardiac motion with cone-beam CT of the thorax region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauppe, Sebastian; Hahn, Andreas; Brehm, Marcus; Paysan, Pascal; Seghers, Dieter; Kachelrieß, Marc

    2016-03-01

    We propose an adapted method of our previously published five-dimensional (5D) motion compensation (MoCo) algorithm1, developed for micro-CT imaging of small animals, to provide for the first time motion artifact-free 5D cone-beam CT (CBCT) images from a conventional flat detector-based CBCT scan of clinical patients. Image quality of retrospectively respiratory- and cardiac-gated volumes from flat detector CBCT scans is deteriorated by severe sparse projection artifacts. These artifacts further complicate motion estimation, as it is required for MoCo image reconstruction. For high quality 5D CBCT images at the same x-ray dose and the same number of projections as todays 3D CBCT we developed a double MoCo approach based on motion vector fields (MVFs) for respiratory and cardiac motion. In a first step our already published four-dimensional (4D) artifact-specific cyclic motion-compensation (acMoCo) approach is applied to compensate for the respiratory patient motion. With this information a cyclic phase-gated deformable heart registration algorithm is applied to the respiratory motion-compensated 4D CBCT data, thus resulting in cardiac MVFs. We apply these MVFs on double-gated images and thereby respiratory and cardiac motion-compensated 5D CBCT images are obtained. Our 5D MoCo approach processing patient data acquired with the TrueBeam 4D CBCT system (Varian Medical Systems). Our double MoCo approach turned out to be very efficient and removed nearly all streak artifacts due to making use of 100% of the projection data for each reconstructed frame. The 5D MoCo patient data show fine details and no motion blurring, even in regions close to the heart where motion is fastest.

  11. Assessment of protocols in cone beam CT with symmetric and asymmetric beam using effective dose and P{sub ka}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Batista, W. O.; Linhares de O, M. V. [Instituto Federal da Bahia, Rua Emidio dos Santos s/n, Barbalho, Salvador, 40301015 Bahia (Brazil); Soares, M. R.; Maia, A. F. [Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Departamento de Fisica, Cidade Universitaria Prof. Jose Aloisio de Campos, Marechal Rondon s/n, Jardim Rosa Elze, 49-100000 Sao Cristovao, Sergipe (Brazil); Caldas, L. V. E., E-mail: wilsonottobatista@gmail.com [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / CNEN, Av. Lineu Prestes 2242, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-000 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2014-08-15

    The cone beam CT is an emerging technology in dental radiology with significant differences the point of view of design technology between the various manufacturers on the world market. This study aims to evaluate and compare protocols with similar purposes in a cone beam CT scanner using TLDs and air kerma - area product (P{sub ka}) as kerma index. Measurements were performed on two protocols used to obtain the image the maxilla-mandible in equipment Gendex GXCB 500: Protocol [GX1] extended diameter and asymmetric beam (14 cm x 8.5 cm - maxilla / mandible) and protocol [GX2] symmetrical beam (8.5 cm x 8.5 cm - maxillary / mandible). Was used LiF dosimeters (TLD 100) inserted into a female anthropomorphic phantom manufactured by Radiology Support Devices. For all protocols evaluated the value of P{sub ka} using a meter Diamentor E2 and PTW system Radcal Rapidose. The results obtained for Effective Dose / P{sub ka} these measurements were separated by protocol image. Protocol [GX1]: 44.5 μSv/478 mGy cm{sup 2}; protocol [GX2]: 54.8 μSv/507 mGy cm{sup 2}. These values indicate that the relationship between the diameter of the image acquired in the protocol [GX1] and the diameter of the image in the protocol [GX2] is equal to 1.65, the Effective Dose for the first protocol has lower value at 18%. P{sub ka} values reveal very similar results between the two protocols, although, common sense leads to the interpretation that imaging protocols with field of view (Fov) of large diameters imply high values of effective dose when compared to small diameters. However, in this particular case, this is not true due to the asymmetrical beam technology. Conclude that for the cases where the scanner uses asymmetric beam to obtain images with large diameters that cover the entire face there are advantages from the point of view of reducing the exposure of patients with respect to the use of symmetrical beam and / or to Fov images with a smaller diameter. (Author)

  12. Cone-beam X-ray phase-contrast tomography for the observation of single cells in whole organs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krenkel, Martin

    2015-01-01

    X-ray imaging enables the nondestructive investigation of interior structures in otherwise opaque samples. In particular the use of computed tomography (CT) allows for arbitrary virtual slices through the object and 3D information about intricate structures can be obtained. However, when it comes to image very small structures like single cells, the classical CT approach is limited by the weak absorption of soft-tissue. The use of phase information, encoded in measureable intensity images by free-space propagation of coherent X-rays, allows a huge increase in contrast, which enables 3D reconstructions at higher resolutions. In this work the application of propagation-based phase-contrast tomography to lung tissue samples is demonstrated in close to in vivo conditions. Reconstructions of the lung structure of whole mice at down to 5 µm resolution are obtained at a selfbuilt CT setup, which is based on a liquid-metal jet X-ray source. To reach even higher resolutions, synchrotron radiation in combination with suitable holographic phase-retrieval algorithms is employed. Due to optimized cone-beam geometry, field of view and resolution can be varied over a wide range of parameters, so that information on different length scales can be achieved, covering several millimeters field of view down to a 3D resolution of 50 nm. Thus, the sub-cellular 3D imaging of single cells embedded in large pieces of tissue is enabled, which paves the way for future biomedical research.

  13. Iterative image-domain ring artifact removal in cone-beam CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Xiaokun; Zhang, Zhicheng; Niu, Tianye; Yu, Shaode; Wu, Shibin; Li, Zhicheng; Zhang, Huailing; Xie, Yaoqin

    2017-07-01

    Ring artifacts in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images are caused by pixel gain variations using flat-panel detectors, and may lead to structured non-uniformities and deterioration of image quality. The purpose of this study is to propose a method of general ring artifact removal in CBCT images. This method is based on the polar coordinate system, where the ring artifacts manifest as stripe artifacts. Using relative total variation, the CBCT images are first smoothed to generate template images with fewer image details and ring artifacts. By subtracting the template images from the CBCT images, residual images with image details and ring artifacts are generated. As the ring artifact manifests as a stripe artifact in a polar coordinate system, the artifact image can be extracted by mean value from the residual image; the image details are generated by subtracting the artifact image from the residual image. Finally, the image details are compensated to the template image to generate the corrected images. The proposed framework is iterated until the differences in the extracted ring artifacts are minimized. We use a 3D Shepp-Logan phantom, Catphan©504 phantom, uniform acrylic cylinder, and images from a head patient to evaluate the proposed method. In the experiments using simulated data, the spatial uniformity is increased by 1.68 times and the structural similarity index is increased from 87.12% to 95.50% using the proposed method. In the experiment using clinical data, our method shows high efficiency in ring artifact removal while preserving the image structure and detail. The iterative approach we propose for ring artifact removal in cone-beam CT is practical and attractive for CBCT guided radiation therapy.

  14. Detection of vertical root fractures in endodontically treated teeth by a cone beam computed tomography scan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hassan, B.; Metska, M.E.; Özok, A.R.; van der Stelt, P.; Wesselink, P.R.

    2009-01-01

    Our aim was to compare the accuracy of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans and periapical radiographs (PRs) in detecting vertical root fractures (VRFs) and to assess the influence of root canal filling (RCF) on fracture visibility. Eighty teeth were endodontically prepared and divided into

  15. Intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography and multi-slice computed tomography in temporal bone imaging for surgical treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erovic, Boban M; Chan, Harley H L; Daly, Michael J; Pothier, David D; Yu, Eugene; Coulson, Chris; Lai, Philip; Irish, Jonathan C

    2014-01-01

    Conventional computed tomography (CT) imaging is the standard imaging technique for temporal bone diseases, whereas cone-beam CT (CBCT) imaging is a very fast imaging tool with a significant less radiation dose compared with conventional CT. We hypothesize that a system for intraoperative cone-beam CT provides comparable image quality to diagnostic CT for identifying temporal bone anatomical landmarks in cadaveric specimens. Cross-sectional study. University tertiary care facility. Twenty cadaveric temporal bones were affixed into a head phantom and scanned with both a prototype cone-beam CT C-arm and multislice helical CT. Imaging performance was evaluated by 3 otologic surgeons and 1 head and neck radiologist. Participants were presented images in a randomized order and completed landmark identification questionnaires covering 21 structures. CBCT and multislice CT have comparable performance in identifying temporal structures. Three otologic surgeons indicated that CBCT provided statistically equivalent performance for 19 of 21 landmarks, with CBCT superior to CT for the chorda tympani and inferior for the crura of the stapes. Subgroup analysis showed that CBCT performed superiorly for temporal bone structures compared with CT. The radiologist rated CBCT and CT as statistically equivalent for 18 of 21 landmarks, with CT superior to CBCT for the crura of stapes, chorda tympani, and sigmoid sinus. CBCT provides comparable image quality to conventional CT for temporal bone anatomical sites in cadaveric specimens. Clinical applications of low-dose CBCT imaging in surgical planning, intraoperative guidance, and postoperative assessment are promising but require further investigation.

  16. SU-G-TeP4-12: Individual Beam QA for a Robotic Radiosurgery System Using a Scintillator Cone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McGuinness, C; Descovich, M; Sudhyadhom, A [University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: The targeting accuracy of the Cyberknife system is measured by end-to-end tests delivering multiple isocentric beams to a point in space. While the targeting accuracy of two representative beams can be determined by a Winston-Lutz-type test, no test is available today to determine the targeting accuracy of each clinical beam. We used a scintillator cone to measure the accuracy of each individual beam. Methods: The XRV-124 from Logos Systems Int’l is a scintillator cone with an imaging system that is able to measure individual beam vectors and a resulting error between planned and measured beam coordinates. We measured the targeting accuracy of isocentric and non-isocentric beams for a number of test cases using the Iris and the fixed collimator. The average difference between plan and measured beam position was 0.8–1.2mm across the collimator sizes and plans considered here. The max error for a single beam was 2.5mm for the isocentric plans, and 1.67mm for the non-isocentric plans. The standard deviation of the differences was 0.5mm or less. Conclusion: The CyberKnife System is specified to have an overall targeting accuracy for static targets of less than 0.95mm. In E2E tests using the XRV124 system we measure average beam accuracy between 0.8 to 1.23mm, with maximum of 2.5mm. We plan to investigate correlations between beam position error and robot position, and to quantify the effect of beam position errors on patient specific plans. Martina Descovich has received research support and speaker honoraria from Accuray.

  17. SU-G-TeP4-12: Individual Beam QA for a Robotic Radiosurgery System Using a Scintillator Cone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGuinness, C; Descovich, M; Sudhyadhom, A

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The targeting accuracy of the Cyberknife system is measured by end-to-end tests delivering multiple isocentric beams to a point in space. While the targeting accuracy of two representative beams can be determined by a Winston-Lutz-type test, no test is available today to determine the targeting accuracy of each clinical beam. We used a scintillator cone to measure the accuracy of each individual beam. Methods: The XRV-124 from Logos Systems Int’l is a scintillator cone with an imaging system that is able to measure individual beam vectors and a resulting error between planned and measured beam coordinates. We measured the targeting accuracy of isocentric and non-isocentric beams for a number of test cases using the Iris and the fixed collimator. The average difference between plan and measured beam position was 0.8–1.2mm across the collimator sizes and plans considered here. The max error for a single beam was 2.5mm for the isocentric plans, and 1.67mm for the non-isocentric plans. The standard deviation of the differences was 0.5mm or less. Conclusion: The CyberKnife System is specified to have an overall targeting accuracy for static targets of less than 0.95mm. In E2E tests using the XRV124 system we measure average beam accuracy between 0.8 to 1.23mm, with maximum of 2.5mm. We plan to investigate correlations between beam position error and robot position, and to quantify the effect of beam position errors on patient specific plans. Martina Descovich has received research support and speaker honoraria from Accuray

  18. History of imaging in orthodontics from Broadbent to cone-beam computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hans, Mark G; Palomo, J Martin; Valiathan, Manish

    2015-12-01

    The history of imaging and orthodontics is a story of technology informing biology. Advances in imaging changed our thinking as our understanding of craniofacial growth and the impact of orthodontic treatment deepened. This article traces the history of imaging in orthodontics from the invention of the cephalometer by B. Holly Broadbent in 1930 to the introduction of low-cost, low-radiation-dose cone-beam computed tomography imaging in 2015. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. 4D cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) using a moving blocker for simultaneous radiation dose reduction and scatter correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Cong; Zhong, Yuncheng; Duan, Xinhui; Zhang, You; Huang, Xiaokun; Wang, Jing; Jin, Mingwu

    2018-06-01

    Four-dimensional (4D) x-ray cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is important for a precise radiation therapy for lung cancer. Due to the repeated use and 4D acquisition over a course of radiotherapy, the radiation dose becomes a concern. Meanwhile, the scatter contamination in CBCT deteriorates image quality for treatment tasks. In this work, we propose the use of a moving blocker (MB) during the 4D CBCT acquisition (‘4D MB’) and to combine motion-compensated reconstruction to address these two issues simultaneously. In 4D MB CBCT, the moving blocker reduces the x-ray flux passing through the patient and collects the scatter information in the blocked region at the same time. The scatter signal is estimated from the blocked region for correction. Even though the number of projection views and projection data in each view are not complete for conventional reconstruction, 4D reconstruction with a total-variation (TV) constraint and a motion-compensated temporal constraint can utilize both spatial gradient sparsity and temporal correlations among different phases to overcome the missing data problem. The feasibility simulation studies using the 4D NCAT phantom showed that 4D MB with motion-compensated reconstruction with 1/3 imaging dose reduction could produce satisfactory images and achieve 37% improvement on structural similarity (SSIM) index and 55% improvement on root mean square error (RMSE), compared to 4D reconstruction at the regular imaging dose without scatter correction. For the same 4D MB data, 4D reconstruction outperformed 3D TV reconstruction by 28% on SSIM and 34% on RMSE. A study of synthetic patient data also demonstrated the potential of 4D MB to reduce the radiation dose by 1/3 without compromising the image quality. This work paves the way for more comprehensive studies to investigate the dose reduction limit offered by this novel 4D MB method using physical phantom experiments and real patient data based on clinical relevant metrics.

  20. Cone beam computed tomography in dentistry: what dental educators and learners should know.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adibi, Shawn; Zhang, Wenjian; Servos, Tom; O'Neill, Paula N

    2012-11-01

    Recent advances in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in dentistry have identified the importance of providing outcomes related to the appropriate use of this innovative technology to practitioners, educators, and investigators. To assist in determining whether and what types of evidence exist, the authors conducted PubMed, Google, and Cochrane Library searches in the spring of 2011 using the key words "cone beam computed tomography and dentistry." This search resulted in over 26,900 entries in more than 700 articles including forty-one reviews recently published in national and international journals. This article is based on existing publications and studies and will provide readers with an overview of the advantages, disadvantages, and indications/contraindications of this emerging technology as well as some thoughts on the current educational status of CBCT in U.S. dental schools. It is the responsibility of dental educators to incorporate the most updated information on this technology into their curricula in a timely manner, so that the next generation of oral health providers and educators will be competent in utilizing this technology for the best interest of patients. To do so, there is a need to conduct studies meeting methodological standards to demonstrate the diagnostic efficacy of CBCT in the dental field.

  1. Dose optimisation for intraoperative cone-beam flat-detector CT in paediatric spinal surgery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petersen, Asger Greval; Eiskjaer, Soeren; Kaspersen, Jon

    2012-01-01

    During surgery for spinal deformities, accurate placement of pedicle screws may be guided by intraoperative cone-beam flat-detector CT. The purpose of this study was to identify appropriate paediatric imaging protocols aiming to reduce the radiation dose in line with the ALARA principle. Using O-arm registered (Medtronic, Inc.), three paediatric phantoms were employed to measure CTDI w doses with default and lowered exposure settings. Images from 126 scans were evaluated by two spinal surgeons and scores were compared (Kappa statistics). Effective doses were calculated. The recommended new low-dose 3-D spine protocols were then used in 15 children. The lowest acceptable exposure as judged by image quality for intraoperative use was 70 kVp/40 mAs, 70 kVp/80 mAs and 80 kVp/40 mAs for the 1-, 5- and 12-year-old-equivalent phantoms respectively (kappa = 0,70). Optimised dose settings reduced CTDI w doses 89-93%. The effective dose was 0.5 mSv (91-94,5% reduction). The optimised protocols were used clinically without problems. Radiation doses for intraoperative 3-D CT using a cone-beam flat-detector scanner could be reduced at least 89% compared to manufacturer settings and still be used to safely navigate pedicle screws. (orig.)

  2. Calculation and Verification of a Planar Pencil Beam Kernel Through the Hankel Transform of Measured OARs for a Radiosurgery System with Cones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vargas Verdesoto, Milton X.; Alvarez Romero, Jose T.

    2010-01-01

    A planar multienergetic pencil beam kernel with rotational symmetry is calculated for a stereotactic radiosurgery system, SRS, BrainLAB with cones, employing the deconvolution method of the off axis ratio profile, OAR, corresponding to the cone of 35 mm in diameter for a 6 MV photon beam produced by a linear accelerator Varian 2100 C/D. Before the deconvolution, the experimental OAR is corrected for beam divergence and variations of the spectral fluence Φ, using a boundary function BF. The function BF and the fluence Φ are transformed to the conjugate space with the zero order Hankel function, which is the appropriate transform due to the radial symmetry of the circular beams generated by the cones. The kernel in the conjugate space is obtained as the ratio of the transform of BF to the transform of Φ, therefore the kernel in the real space is calculated as the inverse transform of the kernel in the conjugate space. To validate the kernel in the real space, it is convolved with the fluence of the cones of 7.5, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 30 and 35 mm in diameter. The comparison of the OARs calculated and measured shows a maximum difference of 4.5% in the zones of high gradient of dose, and a difference less than 2% in the regions of low gradient of dose. Finally, the expanded uncertainty of the kernel is estimated and reported.

  3. The validity of cone-beam computed tomography in measuring root canal length using a gold standard

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liang, Y.H.; Jiang, L.; Chen, C.; Gao, X.J.; Wesselink, P.R.; Wu, M.K.; Shemesh, H.

    2013-01-01

    Introduction The distance between a coronal reference point and the major apical foramen is important for working length determination. The aim of this in vitro study was to determine the accuracy of root canal length measurements performed with cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scans using a

  4. Implementation and evaluation of the quality control program of a system for image guided radiotherapy by megavoltage cone beam; Puesta en marcha y evaluacion del programa de control de calidad de un sistema de haz conico de megavoltaje para radioterapia guiada por la imagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Castro Tejero, P.; Fernandez Leton, P.; Perez Moreno, J. M.; Zucca Aparicio, D.

    2009-07-01

    The use of image guided radiotherapy is essential in order to ensure the correct positioning of the patient prior to the delivery of the treatment. The most common procedure is the acquisition of two-dimensional orthogonal images that are compared with the corresponding digital images reconstructed by the treatment planning system. A recent technique, known as cone beam computed tomography, consists of three-dimensional image CT acquisition in the accelerator room by cone beam. This set of images is compared with the images used for the treatment planning. In our centre, the implementation of the M Vision system, including both techniques, has been carried out in two accelerators Siemens Oncor Expression. The quality control program associated with the M Vision system is presented in this work. The results obtained over a year since its implantation is also presented. (Author) 12 refs.

  5. External cervical resorption: an analysis using cone beam and microfocus computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunst, V; Mavridou, A; Huybrechts, B; Van Gorp, G; Bergmans, L; Lambrechts, P

    2013-09-01

    To provide a three-dimensional representation of external cervical resorption (ECR) with microscopy, stereo microscopy, cone beam computed tomography (CT), microfocus CT and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). External cervical resorption is an aggressive form of root resorption, leading to a loss of dental hard tissues. This is due to clastic action, activated by a damage of the covering cementum and stimulated probably by infection. Clinically, it is a challenging situation as it is characterized by a late symptomatology. This is due to the pericanalar protection from a resorption-resistant sheet, composed of pre-dentine and surrounding dentine. The clastic activity is often associated with an attempt to repair, seen by the formation of osteoid tissue. Cone beam CT is extremely useful in the diagnoses and treatment planning of ECR. SEM analyses provide a better insight into the activity of osteoclasts. The root canal is surrounded by a layer of dentine that is resistant to resorption. © 2013 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. A new hybrid-FBP inversion algorithm with inverse distance backprojection weight for CT reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Narasimhadhan, A.V.; Rajgopal, Kasi

    2011-07-01

    This paper presents a new hybrid filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm for fan-beam and cone-beam scan. The hybrid reconstruction kernel is the sum of the ramp and Hilbert filters. We modify the redundancy weighting function to reduce the inverse square distance weighting in the backprojection to inverse distance weight. The modified weight also eliminates the derivative associated with the Hilbert filter kernel. Thus, the proposed reconstruction algorithm has the advantages of the inverse distance weight in the backprojection. We evaluate the performance of the new algorithm in terms of the magnitude level and uniformity in noise for the fan-beam geometry. The computer simulations show that the spatial resolution is nearly identical to the standard fan-beam ramp filtered algorithm while the noise is spatially uniform and the noise variance is reduced. (orig.)

  7. Moving metal artifact reduction in cone-beam CT scans with implanted cylindrical gold markers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toftegaard, Jakob; Fledelius, Walther; Worm, Esben S.; Poulsen, Per R.; Seghers, Dieter; Huber, Michael; Brehm, Marcus; Elstrøm, Ulrik V.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Implanted gold markers for image-guided radiotherapy lead to streaking artifacts in cone-beam CT (CBCT) scans. Several methods for metal artifact reduction (MAR) have been published, but they all fail in scans with large motion. Here the authors propose and investigate a method for automatic moving metal artifact reduction (MMAR) in CBCT scans with cylindrical gold markers. Methods: The MMAR CBCT reconstruction method has six steps. (1) Automatic segmentation of the cylindrical markers in the CBCT projections. (2) Removal of each marker in the projections by replacing the pixels within a masked area with interpolated values. (3) Reconstruction of a marker-free CBCT volume from the manipulated CBCT projections. (4) Reconstruction of a standard CBCT volume with metal artifacts from the original CBCT projections. (5) Estimation of the three-dimensional (3D) trajectory during CBCT acquisition for each marker based on the segmentation in Step 1, and identification of the smallest ellipsoidal volume that encompasses 95% of the visited 3D positions. (6) Generation of the final MMAR CBCT reconstruction from the marker-free CBCT volume of Step 3 by replacing the voxels in the 95% ellipsoid with the corresponding voxels of the standard CBCT volume of Step 4. The MMAR reconstruction was performed retrospectively using a half-fan CBCT scan for 29 consecutive stereotactic body radiation therapy patients with 2–3 gold markers implanted in the liver. The metal artifacts of the MMAR reconstructions were scored and compared with a standard MAR reconstruction by counting the streaks and by calculating the standard deviation of the Hounsfield units in a region around each marker. Results: The markers were found with the same autosegmentation settings in 27 CBCT scans, while two scans needed slightly changed settings to find all markers automatically in Step 1 of the MMAR method. MMAR resulted in 15 scans with no streaking artifacts, 11 scans with 1–4 streaks, and 3 scans

  8. Cone-beam computed tomography in the management of dentigerous cyst of the jaws: A report of two cases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vidya, Lakshminarayanan; Ranganathan, Kannan; Praveen, B; Gunaseelan, Rajan; Shanmugasundaram, S

    2013-01-01

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is an emerging technology finding application in all branches of dentistry. The current series highlights the application of CBCT in the preoperative assessment of dentigerous cyst of the jaws

  9. Self-calibration of cone-beam CT geometry using 3D–2D image registration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouadah, S; Stayman, J W; Gang, G J; Ehtiati, T; Siewerdsen, J H

    2016-01-01

    Robotic C-arms are capable of complex orbits that can increase field of view, reduce artifacts, improve image quality, and/or reduce dose; however, it can be challenging to obtain accurate, reproducible geometric calibration required for image reconstruction for such complex orbits. This work presents a method for geometric calibration for an arbitrary source-detector orbit by registering 2D projection data to a previously acquired 3D image. It also yields a method by which calibration of simple circular orbits can be improved. The registration uses a normalized gradient information similarity metric and the covariance matrix adaptation-evolution strategy optimizer for robustness against local minima and changes in image content. The resulting transformation provides a ‘self-calibration’ of system geometry. The algorithm was tested in phantom studies using both a cone-beam CT (CBCT) test-bench and a robotic C-arm (Artis Zeego, Siemens Healthcare) for circular and non-circular orbits. Self-calibration performance was evaluated in terms of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function in CBCT reconstructions, the reprojection error (RPE) of steel ball bearings placed on each phantom, and the overall quality and presence of artifacts in CBCT images. In all cases, self-calibration improved the FWHM—e.g. on the CBCT bench, FWHM = 0.86 mm for conventional calibration compared to 0.65 mm for self-calibration (p < 0.001). Similar improvements were measured in RPE—e.g. on the robotic C-arm, RPE = 0.73 mm for conventional calibration compared to 0.55 mm for self-calibration (p < 0.001). Visible improvement was evident in CBCT reconstructions using self-calibration, particularly about high-contrast, high-frequency objects (e.g. temporal bone air cells and a surgical needle). The results indicate that self-calibration can improve even upon systems with presumably accurate geometric calibration and is applicable to situations where conventional

  10. Self-calibration of cone-beam CT geometry using 3D-2D image registration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouadah, S.; Stayman, J. W.; Gang, G. J.; Ehtiati, T.; Siewerdsen, J. H.

    2016-04-01

    Robotic C-arms are capable of complex orbits that can increase field of view, reduce artifacts, improve image quality, and/or reduce dose; however, it can be challenging to obtain accurate, reproducible geometric calibration required for image reconstruction for such complex orbits. This work presents a method for geometric calibration for an arbitrary source-detector orbit by registering 2D projection data to a previously acquired 3D image. It also yields a method by which calibration of simple circular orbits can be improved. The registration uses a normalized gradient information similarity metric and the covariance matrix adaptation-evolution strategy optimizer for robustness against local minima and changes in image content. The resulting transformation provides a ‘self-calibration’ of system geometry. The algorithm was tested in phantom studies using both a cone-beam CT (CBCT) test-bench and a robotic C-arm (Artis Zeego, Siemens Healthcare) for circular and non-circular orbits. Self-calibration performance was evaluated in terms of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function in CBCT reconstructions, the reprojection error (RPE) of steel ball bearings placed on each phantom, and the overall quality and presence of artifacts in CBCT images. In all cases, self-calibration improved the FWHM—e.g. on the CBCT bench, FWHM  =  0.86 mm for conventional calibration compared to 0.65 mm for self-calibration (p  robotic C-arm, RPE  =  0.73 mm for conventional calibration compared to 0.55 mm for self-calibration (p  <  0.001). Visible improvement was evident in CBCT reconstructions using self-calibration, particularly about high-contrast, high-frequency objects (e.g. temporal bone air cells and a surgical needle). The results indicate that self-calibration can improve even upon systems with presumably accurate geometric calibration and is applicable to situations where conventional calibration is not feasible

  11. Analytical solutions of the electrostatically actuated curled beam problem

    KAUST Repository

    Younis, Mohammad I.

    2014-01-01

    This works presents analytical expressions of the electrostatically actuated initially deformed cantilever beam problem. The formulation is based on the continuous Euler-Bernoulli beam model combined with a single-mode Galerkin approximation. We

  12. Cone-beam computed tomography: Time to move from ALARA to ALADA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaju, Prashant P.; Jaju, Sushma P. [Rishiraj College of Dental Sciences and Research Centre, Bhopa(Indonesia)

    2015-12-15

    Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is routinely recommended for dental diagnosis and treatment planning. CBCT exposes patients to less radiation than does conventional CT. Still, lack of proper education among dentists and specialists is resulting in improper referral for CBCT. In addition, aiming to generate high-quality images, operators may increase the radiation dose, which can expose the patient to unnecessary risk. This letter advocates appropriate radiation dosing during CBCT to the benefit of both patients and dentists, and supports moving from the concept of 'as low as reasonably achievable' (ALARA) to 'as low as diagnostically acceptable' (ALADA.

  13. Alopecia associated with unexpected leakage from electron cone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wen, B.C.; Pennington, E.C.; Hussey, D.H.; Jani, S.K.

    1989-06-01

    Excessive irradiation due to unexpected leakage was found on a patient receiving electron beam therapy. The cause of this leakage was analyzed and the amount of leakage was measured for different electron beam energies. The highest leakage occurred with a 6 x 6 cm cone using a 12 MeV electron beam. The leakage dose measured along the side of the cone could be as great as 40%. Until the cones are modified or redesigned, it is advised that all patient setups be carefully reviewed to assure that no significant patient areas are in the side scatter region.

  14. Evaluation of the 'dose of the day' for IMRT prostate cancer patients derived from portal dose measurements and cone-beam CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zijtveld, Mathilda van; Dirkx, Maarten; Breuers, Marcel; Kuipers, Ruud; Heijmen, Ben

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: High geometrical and dosimetrical accuracies are required for radiotherapy treatments where IMRT is applied in combination with narrow treatment margins in order to minimize dose delivery to normal tissues. As an overall check, we implemented a method for reconstruction of the actually delivered 3D dose distribution to the patient during a treatment fraction, i.e., the 'dose of the day'. In this article results on the clinical evaluation of this concept for a group of IMRT prostate cancer patients are presented. Materials and methods: The actual IMRT fluence maps delivered to a patient were derived from measured EPID-images acquired during treatment using a previously described iterative method. In addition, the patient geometry was obtained from in-room acquired cone-beam CT images. For dose calculation, a mapping of the Hounsfield Units from the planning CT was applied. With the fluence maps and the modified cone-beam CT the 'dose of the day' was calculated. The method was validated using phantom measurements and evaluated clinically for 10 prostate cancer patients in 4 or 5 fractions. Results: The phantom measurements showed that the delivered dose could be reconstructed within 3%/3 mm accuracy. For prostate cancer patients, the isocenter dose agreed within -0.4 ± 1.0% (1 SD) with the planned value, while for on average 98.1% of the pixels within the 50% isodose surface the actually delivered dose agreed within 3% or 3 mm with the planned dose. For most fractions, the dose coverage of the prostate volume was slightly deteriorated which was caused by small prostate rotations and small inaccuracies in fluence delivery. The dose that was delivered to the rectum remained within the constraints used during planning. However, for two patients a large degrading of the dose delivery was observed in two fractions. For one patient this was related to changes in rectum filling with respect to the planning CT and for the other to large intra-fraction motion during

  15. Adaptive radiotherapy based on contrast enhanced cone beam CT imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soevik, Aaste; Skogmo, Hege K.; Roedal, Jan; Lervaag, Christoffer; Eilertsen, Karsten; Malinen, Eirik

    2010-01-01

    Cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging has become an integral part of radiation therapy, with images typically used for offline or online patient setup corrections based on bony anatomy co-registration. Ideally, the co-registration should be based on tumor localization. However, soft tissue contrast in CBCT images may be limited. In the present work, contrast enhanced CBCT (CECBCT) images were used for tumor visualization and treatment adaptation. Material and methods. A spontaneous canine maxillary tumor was subjected to repeated cone beam CT imaging during fractionated radiotherapy (10 fractions in total). At five of the treatment fractions, CECBCT images, employing an iodinated contrast agent, were acquired, as well as pre-contrast CBCT images. The tumor was clearly visible in post-contrast minus pre-contrast subtraction images, and these contrast images were used to delineate gross tumor volumes. IMRT dose plans were subsequently generated. Four different strategies were explored: 1) fully adapted planning based on each CECBCT image series, 2) planning based on images acquired at the first treatment fraction and patient repositioning following bony anatomy co-registration, 3) as for 2), but with patient repositioning based on co-registering contrast images, and 4) a strategy with no patient repositioning or treatment adaptation. The equivalent uniform dose (EUD) and tumor control probability (TCP) calculations to estimate treatment outcome for each strategy. Results. Similar translation vectors were found when bony anatomy and contrast enhancement co-registration were compared. Strategy 1 gave EUDs closest to the prescription dose and the highest TCP. Strategies 2 and 3 gave EUDs and TCPs close to that of strategy 1, with strategy 3 being slightly better than strategy 2. Even greater benefits from strategies 1 and 3 are expected with increasing tumor movement or deformation during treatment. The non-adaptive strategy 4 was clearly inferior to all three adaptive strategies

  16. A model for precessing helical vortex in the turbine discharge cone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuibin, P A; University Politehnica Timişoara, Bv. Mihai Viteazu 1, RO-300222, Timişoara (Romania))" data-affiliation=" (Department of Hydraulic Machinery, University Politehnica Timişoara, Bv. Mihai Viteazu 1, RO-300222, Timişoara (Romania))" >Susan-Resiga, R F; Muntean, S

    2014-01-01

    The decelerated swirling flow in the discharge cone of hydraulic turbine develops various self-induced instabilities and associated low frequency phenomena when the turbine is operated far from the best efficiency regime. In particular, the precessing helical vortex ( v ortex rope ) developed at part-load regimes is notoriously difficult and expensive to be computed using full three-dimensional turbulent unsteady flow models. On the other hand, modern design and optimization techniques require robust, tractable and accurate a-priori assessment of the turbine flow unsteadiness level within a wide operating range before actually knowing the runner geometry details. This paper presents the development and validation of a quasi-analytical model of the vortex rope in the discharge cone. The first stage is the computing of the axisymmetrical swirling flow at runner outlet with input information related only to the operating point and to the blade outlet angle. Then, the swirling flow profile further downstream is computed in successive cross-sections through the discharge cone. The second stage is the reconstruction of the precessing vortex core parameters in successive cross-sections of the discharge cone. The final stage lies in assembling 3D unsteady flow field in the discharge cone. The end result is validated against both experimental and numerical data

  17. Dosimetric evaluations and comparisons between different techniques (Fan beam, Cone beam, OPT) in the dental industry and not

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rampado, O.

    2014-01-01

    In recent years there has been an impressive evolution and spread of cone beam tomographic equipment, in particular in the dental and maxillofacial surgery. These devices exhibit unique characteristics both from the point of view of the geometric parameters of exposure than the quality of the beams radiating employed. In parallel to this technological development it was dealt with the quantification of the dose to the patient, with a discussion between experts to define what are the variables most appropriate to use and the appropriate ways of measuring. And it is of interest also the discussion on the comparison of the risks associated with the use of this method as an alternative to traditional techniques or other tomographic techniques, both on the criteria of optimization in the realization of the tests.

  18. Edge plasma density reconstruction for fast monoenergetic lithium beam probing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, S.; Takamura, S.; Ueda, M.; Iguchi, H.; Fujita, J.; Kadota, K.

    1993-01-01

    Two different electron density reconstruction methods for 8-keV neutral lithium beam probing have been developed for the Compact Helical System (CHS). Density dependences on emission and ionization processes are included by using effective rate coefficients obtained from the collisional radiative model. Since the two methods differ in the way the local beam density in the plasma is determined, the methods have different applicable electron densities. The beam attenuation is calculated by iteration from the electron density profile in method I. In method II, the beam remainder at the observation point z is determined by integrating the Li I emission intensity from z toward the position of emission tail-off. At the emission tail-off, the fast lithium beam is completely attenuated. Selecting an appropriate method enables us to obtain edge electron density profile well inside the last closed flux surface for various ranges of plasma densities (10 12 --5x10 13 cm -3 ). The electron density profiles reconstructed by these two different methods are in good agreement with each other and are consistent with results from ruby laser Thomson scattering

  19. SU-E-J-252: A Motion Algorithm to Extract Physical and Motion Parameters of a Mobile Target in Cone-Beam Computed Tomographic Imaging Retrospective to Image Reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ali, I; Ahmad, S [University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, OK (United States); Alsbou, N [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ada, OH (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: A motion algorithm was developed to extract actual length, CT-numbers and motion amplitude of a mobile target imaged with cone-beam-CT (CBCT) retrospective to image-reconstruction. Methods: The motion model considered a mobile target moving with a sinusoidal motion and employed three measurable parameters: apparent length, CT number level and gradient of a mobile target obtained from CBCT images to extract information about the actual length and CT number value of the stationary target and motion amplitude. The algorithm was verified experimentally with a mobile phantom setup that has three targets with different sizes manufactured from homogenous tissue-equivalent gel material embedded into a thorax phantom. The phantom moved sinusoidal in one-direction using eight amplitudes (0–20mm) and a frequency of 15-cycles-per-minute. The model required imaging parameters such as slice thickness, imaging time. Results: This motion algorithm extracted three unknown parameters: length of the target, CT-number-level, motion amplitude for a mobile target retrospective to CBCT image reconstruction. The algorithm relates three unknown parameters to measurable apparent length, CT-number-level and gradient for well-defined mobile targets obtained from CBCT images. The motion model agreed with measured apparent lengths which were dependent on actual length of the target and motion amplitude. The cumulative CT-number for a mobile target was dependent on CT-number-level of the stationary target and motion amplitude. The gradient of the CT-distribution of mobile target is dependent on the stationary CT-number-level, actual target length along the direction of motion, and motion amplitude. Motion frequency and phase did not affect the elongation and CT-number distributions of mobile targets when imaging time included several motion cycles. Conclusion: The motion algorithm developed in this study has potential applications in diagnostic CT imaging and radiotherapy to extract

  20. The Applications of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in Endodontics: A Review of Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiarudi, Amir Hosein; Eghbal, Mohammad Jafar; Safi, Yaser; Aghdasi, Mohammad Mehdi; Fazlyab, Mahta

    2015-01-01

    By producing undistorted three-dimensional images of the area under examination, cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) systems have met many of the limitations of conventional radiography. These systems produce images with small field of view at low radiation doses with adequate spatial resolution that are suitable for many applications in endodontics from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. This review article comprehensively assembles all the data from literature regarding the potential applications of CBCT in endodontics. PMID:25598804