Analytical formula for two-dimensional ring artefact suppression.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Image Processing
• Computational Science

Background:

• Ring artefacts significantly hinder the segmentation of reconstructed volumes in X-ray imaging.
• Existing efforts focus on hardware improvements (optics, detectors) and standard flat-field correction.
• Post-correction processing is often necessary to mitigate these artefacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present a novel method for suppressing ring artefacts in X-ray projections.
• To adapt artefact suppression techniques from single sinogram processing to two-dimensional projections.
• To offer a computationally efficient and accurate approach for ring artefact reduction.

Main Methods:

• A novel analytical formula for processing two-dimensional projections was derived, extending single sinogram methods.
• Ring artefact suppression is achieved through a two-dimensional convolution of averaged projections with a specifically designed filter.
• Methods for efficiently and accurately determining the filter elements were explored and discussed.

Main Results:

• The proposed method effectively suppresses ring artefacts in experimental X-ray datasets.
• The 2D convolution approach provides a viable alternative to existing artefact reduction techniques.
• Faster and accurate methods for filter element calculation were investigated.

Conclusions:

• The developed 2D convolution method offers an effective solution for ring artefact suppression in X-ray imaging.
• This technique enhances the quality of reconstructed volumes, facilitating more accurate segmentation.
• The study contributes a computationally efficient approach to a common problem in medical and industrial imaging.