The authors propose an iterative image-domain decomposition method for DECT. The method combines noise suppression and material decomposition into an iterative process and achieves both goals simultaneously. By exploring the full variance-covariance properties of the decomposed images and utilizing the edge predetection, the proposed algorithm shows superior performance on noise suppression with high image spatial resolution and low-contrast detectability.
Purpose: Dual-energy CT (DECT) expands applications of CT imaging in its capability to decompose CT images into material images. However, decomposition via direct matrix inversion leads to large noise amplification and limits quantitative use of DECT. Their group has previously developed a noise suppression algorithm via penalized weighted least-square optimization with edge-preservation regularization (PWLS-EPR). In this paper, the authors improve method performance using the same framework of penalized weighted least-square optimization but with similarity-based regularization (PWLS-SBR), which substantially enhances the quality of decomposed images by retaining a more uniform noise power spectrum (NPS). Methods: The design of PWLS-SBR is based on the fact that averaging pixels of similar materials gives a low-noise image. For each pixel, the authors calculate the similarity to other pixels in its neighborhood by comparing CT values. Using an empirical Gaussian model, the authors assign high/low similarity value to one neighboring pixel if its CT value is close/far to the CT value of the pixel of interest. These similarity values are organized in matrix form, such that multiplication of the similarity matrix to the image vector reduces image noise. The similarity matrices are calculated on both high-and low-energy CT images and averaged. In PWLS-SBR, the authors include a regularization term to minimize the L-2 norm of the difference between the images without and with noise suppression via similarity matrix multiplication. By using all pixel information of the initial CT images rather than just those lying on or near edges, PWLS-SBR is superior to the previously developed PWLS-EPR, as supported by comparison studies on phantoms and a head-and-neck patient. Results: On the line-pair slice of the Catphan C 600 phantom, PWLS-SBR outperforms PWLS-EPR and retains spatial resolution of 8 lp/cm, comparable to the original CT images, even at 90% reduction in noise standard deviation (STD). Similar performance on spatial resolution is observed on an anthropomorphic head phantom. In addition, results of PWLS-SBR show substantially improved image quality due to preservation of image NPS. On the Catphan C 600 phantom, NPS using PWLS-SBR has a correlation of 93% with that via direct matrix inversion, while the correlation drops to −52% for PWLS-EPR. Electron density measurement studies indicate high accuracy of PWLS-SBR. On seven different materials, the measured electron densities calculated from the decomposed material images using PWLS-SBR have a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 1.20%, while the results of PWLS-EPR have a RMSE of 2.21%. In the study on a head-and-neck patient, PWLS-SBR is shown to reduce noise STD by a factor of 3 on material images with image qualities comparable to CT images, whereas fine structures are lost in the PWLS-EPR result. Additionally, PWLS-SBR better preserves low contrast on the tissue image. Conclusions: The authors propose improvements to the regularization term of an optimization frame...
Recently, we proposed a new algorithm of accelerated barrier optimization compressed sensing (ABOCS) for iterative CT reconstruction. The previous implementation of ABOCS uses gradient projection (GP) with a Barzilai-Borwein (BB) step-size selection scheme (GP-BB) to search for the optimal solution. The algorithm does not converge stably due to its non-monotonic behavior. In this paper, we further improve the convergence of ABOCS using the unknown-parameter Nesterov (UPN) method and investigate the ABOCS reconstruction performance on clinical patient data. Comparison studies are carried out on reconstructions of computer simulation, a physical phantom and a head-and-neck patient. In all of these studies, the ABOCS results using UPN show more stable and faster convergence than those of the GPBB method and a state-of-the-art Bregman-type method. As shown in the simulation study of the Shepp-Logan phantom, UPN achieves the same image quality as those of GPBB and the Bregman-type method, but reduces the iteration numbers by up to 50% and 90%, respectively. In the Catphan©600 phantom study, a high-quality image with relative reconstruction error (RRE) less than 3% compared to the full-view result is obtained using UPN with 17% projections (60 views). In the conventional filtered-backprojection (FBP) reconstruction, the corresponding RRE is more than 15% on the same projection data. The superior performance of ABOCS with the UPN implementation is further demonstrated on the head-and-neck patient. Using 25% projections (91 views), the proposed method reduces the RRE from 21% as in the FBP results to 7.3%. In conclusion, we propose UPN for ABOCS implementation. As compared to GPBB and the Bregman-type methods, the new method significantly improves the convergence with higher stability and less iterations.
In dual energy CT (DECT), noise amplification during signal decomposition significantly limits the utility of basis material images. Since clinically relevant objects typically contain a limited number of different materials, we propose an Image-domain Decomposition method through Entropy Minimization (IDEM) for noise suppression in DECT. Pixels of decomposed images are first linearly transformed into 2D clusters of data points, which are highly asymmetric due to strong signal correlation. An optimal axis is identified in the 2D space via numerical search such that the projection of data clusters onto the axis has minimum entropy. Noise suppression is performed on each image pixel by estimating the center-of-mass value of each data cluster along the direction perpendicular to the projection axis. The IDEM method is distinct from other noise suppression techniques in that it does not suppress pixel noise by reducing spatial variation between neighboring pixels. As supported by studies on Catphan©600 and anthropomorphic head phantoms, this feature endows our algorithm with a unique capability of reducing noise standard deviation on DECT decomposed images by approximately one order of magnitude while preserving spatial resolution and image noise power spectra (NPS). Compared with a filtering method and recently developed iterative method at the same level of noise suppression, the IDEM algorithm obtains high-resolution images with less artifacts. It also maintains accuracy of electron density measurements with less than 2% bias error. The IDEM method effectively suppresses noise of DECT for quantitative use, with appealing features on preservation of image spatial resolution and NPS.
The authors propose a general framework of noise suppression in material decomposition for DECT. Phantom studies have shown the proposed method improves the image uniformity and the accuracy of electron density measurements by effective beam-hardening correction and reduces noise level without noticeable resolution loss.
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