Three-dimensional blood vessel reconstruction by simulated annealing

Simulated annealing, a Monte Carlo-like algorithm, is applied to three-dimensional blood vessel reconstruction based on digital subtraction angiography. Since imaging systems often employ an insufficient number of projections, adequate reconstruction from observed data is not possible. It is shown that even in such cases objects can be sufficiently reconstructed by simulated annealing, which makes use of constraints based on a priori knowledge. This method is successfully demonstrated with a fundamental computer simulation.