Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Noise, sampling, and the number of projections in cone-beam CT with a flat-panel detector

2014; Wiley; Volume: 41; Issue: 6Part1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1118/1.4875688

2473-4209

Ziran Zhao, Grace J. Gang, J. H. Siewerdsen,

Digital Radiography and Breast Imaging

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the number of projection views on image noise in cone-beam CT (CBCT) with a flat-panel detector. Methods: This fairly fundamental consideration in CBCT system design and operation was addressed experimentally (using a phantom presenting a uniform medium as well as statistically motivated "clutter") and theoretically (using a cascaded systems model describing CBCT noise) to elucidate the contributing factors of quantum noise (σQ), electronic noise (σE), and view aliasing (σview). Analysis included investigation of the noise, noise-power spectrum, and modulation transfer function as a function of the number of projections (Nproj), dose (Dtot), and voxel size (bvox). Results: The results reveal a nonmonotonic relationship between image noise andNproj at fixed total dose: for the CBCT system considered, noise decreased with increasing Nproj due to reduction of view sampling effects in the regime Nproj <∼200, above which noise increased with Nproj due to increased electronic noise. View sampling effects were shown to depend on the heterogeneity of the object in a direct analytical relationship to power-law anatomical clutter of the form κ/f β—and a general model of individual noise components (σQ, σE, and σview) demonstrated agreement with measurements over a broad range in Nproj, Dtot, and bvox. Conclusions: The work elucidates fairly basic elements of CBCT noise in a manner that demonstrates the role of distinct noise components (viz., quantum, electronic, and view sampling noise). For configurations fairly typical of CBCT with a flat-panel detector (FPD), the analysis reveals a "sweet spot" (i.e., minimum noise) in the rangeNproj ∼ 250–350, nearly an order of magnitude lower in Nproj than typical of multidetector CT, owing to the relatively high electronic noise in FPDs. The analysis explicitly relates view aliasing and quantum noise in a manner that includes aspects of the object ("clutter") and imaging chain (including nonidealities of detector blur and electronic noise) to provide a more rigorous basis for commonly held intuition and heurism in CBCT system design and operation.