A priority-based self-guided serial–parallel genetic algorithm for low-dose computed tomography

Abstract

Computed tomography (CT) is a non-destructive evaluation technique to know the internal structure of the objects under scan. It has numerous applications in engineering as well as in the medical field. The prime objective of this manuscript is to reduce the radiation dose to the object under scanning and to reconstruct the low-noise CT images, even in limited-view projections data scenarios. The present manuscript proposes a novel priority-based self-guided serial-parallel hybrid genetic algorithm for low-dose CT reconstruction. The current algorithm combines serial and parallel processing elements to reduce the loss of diversity in the population and increase the convergence rate. The proposed algorithm uses a novel priority-based self-guided competition operator. It consists of two approaches for maintaining exploration and exploitation tradeoffs. Here, the first approach uses serial processing, whereas the second approach uses parallel processing. The algorithm also uses priority-based hybrid crossover (PHCO) and adaptive priority-based mutation operator (PMO) to generate the most suitable offspring in every generation. Experimental results reveal that the presented algorithm produces satisfactory results with limited-view projections. The presented algorithm also outperforms other limited-view CT reconstruction algorithms.