Applicability and potential of monitored reconstruction in computed tomography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Computational Imaging
• Materials Science

Background:

• Computed tomography (CT) scanning involves significant dose and time.
• Monitored tomographic reconstruction (MTR) offers potential for dose and time reduction.
• Practical implementation of MTR on current CT instruments requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the practical implementation of MTR protocols on current CT scanners.
• To develop a quantitative model for MTR acquisition and reconstruction times.
• To propose an optimized acquisition strategy for MTR.

Main Methods:

• Developed an empirical quantitative model for acquisition and reconstruction times.
• Studied four commercial CT setups to assess MTR applicability.
• Constructed an experimental stand for real-time reconstruction validation.
• Proposed an optimized projection acquisition order for MTR.

Main Results:

• Projection acquisition order significantly impacts tomographic experiment time and dose.
• Real-time reconstruction is achievable without slowing the acquisition process.
• Optimized reconstruction from partial data yielded 385 and 440 reconstructions for standard and proposed acquisition orders, respectively.
• The proposed MTR optimizations are effective on current industrial and nano tomography setups.

Conclusions:

• MTR can be practically implemented on existing CT systems.
• Optimized acquisition orders are crucial for efficient MTR.
• MTR with proposed optimizations enhances dose and time reduction in industrial and nano tomography.