Fast Algorithms for 3D Cone-Beam Tomography

University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL

Investigators

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bresler, Yoram 0209203 U of Ill Tomography, or the reconstruction of an object from a collection of its line integrals from various directions (known as its x-ray transform) is a well known problem. Perhaps most importantly, it is the principle underlying most of the key diagnostic imaging modalities including x-ray Computed Tomography (CT), PET and SPECT, certain forms of MRI, and emerging techniques such as electric impedance tomography (EIT) and optical tomography. Tomographic reconstruction is also widely used for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) in manufacturing, and has been recently proposed for safety screening of passenger luggage in airports. Tomography is also the fundamental principle in numerous other problems and applications in science and engineering from electron microscopy of subcellular structures through geophysical exploration and environmental monitoring, to remote sensing by synthetic aperture radar (SAR). In cone-beam tomography, projections are acquired by an area detector, using a source of divergent rays traveling on a one of several possible trajectories. It is already used in current PET and SPECT scanners and in NDE, and because it appears to be the only practical method for rapid volume acquisition, it will be the basis for the next generation of diagnostic CT scanners. This will allow to use CT as a dynamic imaging modality for cardiac imaging or for real-time surgical guidance in medicine, or as a high-throughput NDE system in manufacturing.