Novel techniques for cardiac imaging

The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

Cone beam computer tomography (CT) is a common medical imaging modality. The main principle of CT is based on transmitting a cone beam of x-rays through the patient from various directions. This is achieved by moving the x-ray source along some trajectory. For each source position a detector measures the intensity of the beam as it exits the patient. Then the data are inverted according to a mathematical algorithm. Prime examples of cone beam CT are helical and C-arm scanning. At present, cardiac imaging is arguably the most important challenge facing CT. Mathematically the difficulty of image reconstruction in this case comes from the fact that the object being scanned changes with time. Thus, for each source position the projection data corresponds to a different object. In this project the PI plans to concentrate on the following three directions: 1) Development of exact and efficient reconstruction algorithms for multi-source helical CT; 2) Development of exact and efficient reconstruction algorithms for the types of source trajectories used in C-arms; and 3) Development of local tomography algorithms for dynamic and motion compensated CT. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity will be the development of new reconstruction algorithms for cone beam CT and deeper understanding of the mathematics involved in reconstructing objects that change during the scan. It is expected that the broader impacts will include improved quality of cardiac imaging, potentially resulting in replacing an invasive diagnostic tool with a non-invasive one. The obtained results can also be used in other medical applications, such as nuclear medicine and Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy.