Metal artifact reduction in tomosynthesis imaging

Zhaoxia Zhang; Ming Yan; Kun Tao; Xiao Xuan; John M. Sabol; Hao Lai

doi:10.1117/12.2080923

18 March 2015 Metal artifact reduction in tomosynthesis imaging

Zhaoxia Zhang, Ming Yan, Kun Tao, Xiao Xuan, John M. Sabol, Hao Lai

Proceedings Volume 9412, Medical Imaging 2015: Physics of Medical Imaging; 94125A (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2080923
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2015, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

The utility of digital tomosynthesis has been shown for many clinical scenarios including post orthopedic surgery applications. However, two kinds of metal artifacts can influence diagnosis: undershooting and ripple. In this paper, we describe a novel metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithm to reduce both of these artifacts within the filtered backprojection framework. First, metal areas that are prone to cause artifacts are identified in the raw projection images. These areas are filled with values similar to those in the local neighborhood. During the filtering step, the filled projection is free of undershooting due to the resulting smooth transition near the metal edge. Finally, the filled area is fused with the filtered raw projection data to recover the metal. Since the metal areas are recognized during the back projection step, anatomy and metal can be distinguished - reducing ripple artifacts. Phantom and clinical experiments were designed to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the algorithms. Based on phantom images with and without metal implants, the Artifact Spread Function (ASF) was used to quantify image quality in the ripple artifact area. The tail of the ASF with MAR decreases from in-plane to out-of-plane, implying a good artifact reduction, while the ASF without MAR remains high over a wider range. An intensity plot was utilized to analyze the edge of undershooting areas. The results illustrate that MAR reduces undershooting while preserving the edge and size of the metal. Clinical images evaluated by physicists and technologists agree with these quantitative results to further demonstrate the algorithm’s effectiveness.

Citation Download Citation

Zhaoxia Zhang, Ming Yan, Kun Tao, Xiao Xuan, John M. Sabol, and Hao Lai "Metal artifact reduction in tomosynthesis imaging", Proc. SPIE 9412, Medical Imaging 2015: Physics of Medical Imaging, 94125A (18 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2080923

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