Research on the effectiveness of multi-view slice correction strategy based on deep learning in high pitch helical CT reconstruction

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Deng, Zihan^{a; b} | Wang, Zhisheng^{a; b} | Lin, Legeng^{a; b} | Jiang, Demin^{a; b} | Cui, Junning^{a; b} | Wang, Shunli^{a; b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Center of Ultra-Precision Optoelectronic Instrument Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China | [b] Key Lab of Ultra-Precision Intelligent Instrumentation (Harbin Institute of Technology), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Shunli Wang, Technology Innovation Building, Science and Technology Park, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Recent studies have explored layered correction strategies, employing a slice-by-slice approach to mitigate the prominent limited-view artifacts present in reconstructed images from high-pitch helical CT scans. However, challenges persist in determining the angles, quantity, and sequencing of slices. OBJECTIVE:This study aims to explore the optimal slicing method for high pitch helical scanning 3D reconstruction. We investigate the impact of slicing angle, quantity, order, and model on correction effectiveness, aiming to offer valuable insights for the clinical application of deep learning methods. METHODS:In this study, we constructed and developed a series of data-driven slice correction strategies for 3D high pitch helical CT images using slice theory, and conducted extensive experiments by adjusting the order, increasing the number, and replacing the model. RESULTS:The experimental results indicate that indiscriminately augmenting the number of correction directions does not significantly enhance the quality of 3D reconstruction. Instead, optimal reconstruction outcomes are attained by aligning the final corrected slice direction with the observation direction. CONCLUSIONS:The data-driven slicing correction strategy can effectively solve the problem of artifacts in high pitch helical scanning. Increasing the number of slices does not significantly improve the quality of the reconstruction results, ensuring that the final correction angle is consistent with the observation angle to achieve the best reconstruction quality.

Keywords: Computer tomography, 3D medical image restoration, slice correction strategy, multi-view slicing, experimental verification, deep learning

DOI: 10.3233/XST-240128

Journal: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-18, 2024