This paper discusses methods for reducing beam hardening effects and metal artefacts using spectral x-ray information in biomaterial samples. A small-animal spectral scanner was operated in the 15 to 80 keV x-ray energy range for this study. We use the photon-processing features of a CdTe-Medipix3RX ASIC in charge summing mode to reduce beam hardening and associated artefacts. We present spectral data collected for metal alloy samples, its analysis using algebraic 3D reconstruction software and volume visualisation using a custom volume rendering software. The cupping effect and streak artefacts are quantified in the spectral datasets. The results show reduction in beam hardening effects and metal artefacts in the narrow high energy range acquired using the spectroscopic detector. A post-reconstruction comparison between CdTe-Medipix3RX and Si-Medipix3.1 is discussed. The raw data and processed data are made available (http://hdl.handle.net/10092/8851) for testing with other software routines.
This paper presents a novel 2D/3D desktop virtual reality hybrid user interface for radiology that focuses on improving 3D manipulation required in some diagnostic tasks. An evaluation of our system revealed that our hybrid interface is more efficient for novice users and more accurate for both novice and experienced users when compared to traditional 2D only interfaces. This is a significant finding because it indicates, as the techniques mature, that hybrid interfaces can provide significant benefit to image evaluation. Our hybrid system combines a zSpace stereoscopic display with 2D displays, and mouse and keyboard input. It allows the use of 2D and 3D components interchangeably, or simultaneously. The system was evaluated against a 2D only interface with a user study that involved performing a scoliosis diagnosis task. There were two user groups: medical students and radiology residents. We found improvements in completion time for medical students, and in accuracy for both groups. In particular, the accuracy of medical students improved to match that of the residents.
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