Streak artifact suppressed back projection for sparse-view photoacoustic computed tomography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomedical Engineering
• Computational Imaging

Background:

• Fast and accurate image reconstruction is crucial for photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT).
• Sparse-view measurements accelerate PACT data acquisition but introduce streak artifacts.
• Existing methods struggle to effectively suppress these sparsity-induced artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a novel modified back-projection (BP) algorithm, termed anti-streak BP, for streak artifact suppression in sparse-view PACT.
• To enhance the image quality of PACT reconstructions obtained under data-limited conditions.

Main Methods:

• Developed an anti-streak BP algorithm that identifies and down-weights contaminated back-projection terms using outlier detection.
• Implemented an adaptive weight adjustment strategy to mitigate the influence of high-intensity sources on image reconstruction.
• Validated the anti-streak BP method against the conventional BP method using both simulated and in vivo PACT data.

Main Results:

• The anti-streak BP method demonstrated substantial reduction in streak artifacts compared to conventional BP.
• Streak index was reduced by 54% on simulation data and 20% on in vivo data (N=128).
• Reconstructed images showed significantly improved clarity and reduced artifact levels.

Conclusions:

• The proposed anti-streak BP method is an effective enhancement of the conventional BP algorithm for PACT.
• This technique significantly suppresses streak artifacts, leading to higher quality sparse-view PACT images.
• Anti-streak BP offers a powerful solution for artifact reduction in data-constrained PACT applications.