Toolbox for advanced x-ray image processing

Abstract

A software system has been developed for high-performance Computed Tomography (CT) reconstruction, simulation and other X-ray image processing tasks utilizing remote computer clusters optionally equipped with multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The system has a streamlined Graphical User Interface for interaction with the cluster. Apart from extensive functionality related to X-ray CT in plane-wave and cone-beam forms, the software includes multiple functions for X-ray phase retrieval and simulation of phase-contrast imaging (propagation-based, analyzer crystal based and Talbot interferometry). Other features include several methods for image deconvolution, simulation of various phase-contrast microscopy modes (Zernike, Schlieren, Nomarski, dark-field, interferometry, etc.) and a large number of conventional image processing operations (such as FFT, algebraic and geometrical transformations, pixel value manipulations, simulated image noise, various filters, etc.). The architectural design of the system is described, as well as the two-level parallelization of the most computationally-intensive modules utilizing both the multiple CPU cores and multiple GPUs available in a local PC or a remote computer cluster. Finally, some results about the current system performance are presented. This system can potentially serve as a basis for a flexible toolbox for X-ray image analysis and simulation, that can efficiently utilize modern multi-processor hardware for advanced scientific computations.