Helical CT Reconstruction from Sparse-view Data through Exploiting the 3D Anatomical Structure Sparsity

Yongbo Wang, Gaofeng Chen, Xi Tao, Zhaoying Bian, Dong Zeng, Habib Zaidi, Ji He, Jianhua Ma
2021 IEEE Access  
Sparse-view scanning has great potential for realizing ultra-low-dose computed tomography (CT) examination. However, noise and artifacts in reconstructed images are big obstacles, which must be handled to maintain the diagnosis accuracy. Existing sparse-view CT reconstruction algorithms were usually designed for circular imaging geometry, whereas the helical imaging geometry is commonly adopted in the clinic. In this paper, we show that the sparse-view helical CT (SHCT) images contain not only
more » ... oise and artifacts but also severe anatomical distortions. These troubles reduce the applicability of existing sparse-view CT reconstruction algorithms. To deal with this problem, we analyzed the three-dimensional (3D) anatomical structure sparsity in SHCT images. Based on the analyses, we proposed a tensor decomposition and anisotropic total variation regularization model (TDATV) for SHCT reconstruction. Specifically, the tensor decomposition works on nonlocal cube groups to exploit the anatomical structure redundancy; the anisotropic total variation works on the whole volume to exploit the structural piecewise-smooth. Finally, an alternating direction method of multipliers is developed to solve the TDATV model. To our knowledge, the paper presents the first work investigating the reconstruction of sparse-view helical CT. The TDATV model was validated through digital phantom, physical phantom, and clinical patient studies. The results reveal that SHCT could serve as a potential solution for reducing HCT radiation dose to ultra-low level by using the proposed TDATV model. INDEX TERMS Helical CT, sparse-view, tensor, total variation, iterative reconstruction.
doi:10.1109/access.2021.3049181 fatcat:xu44rurg7jcp7gehhbrd6rijwm