Abstract
For decades, computed tomography (CT) images have been widely used to discover valuable anatomical information. Metallic implants such as dental fillings cause severe streaking artifacts which significantly degrade the quality of CT images. In this paper, we propose a new method for metal-artifact reduction using complementary magnetic resonance (MR) images. The method exploits the possibilities which arise from the use of emergent trimodality systems. The proposed algorithm corrects reconstructed CT images. The projected data which is affected by dental fillings is detected and the missing projections are replaced with data obtained from a corresponding MR image. A simulation study was conducted in order to compare the reconstructed images with images reconstructed through linear interpolation, which is a common metal-artifact reduction technique. The results show that the proposed method is successful in reducing severe metal artifacts without introducing significant amount of secondary artifacts.
Highlights
Trimodality systems are capable of acquiring computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance (MR) datasets in a single session
MR images may suffer from signal voids which are caused by the implants
We proposed a new method for metal artifact reduction
Summary
Trimodality systems are capable of acquiring computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance (MR) datasets in a single session. This offers new possibilities to use the advantages of all three scanners. Computed tomography (CT) imaging systems create cross-sectional images of soft tissue, internal organs, bones, and blood vessels. These systems provide detailed information about patient’s internal structure, they do not provide information on tissue function which is important for differentiation between normal and pathologic functions [1]. Superimposed CT and PET images can lead to accurate diagnosis and more precise information [2]. Another benefit from combining these two modalities is that CT images can be used to generate attenuation correction factors in PET emission data [3]
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