3-D image reconstruction with veiling glare correction to improve the contrast of 3-D reconstructed vascular images

The authors are developing an imaging system for three-dimensional (3-D) image analysis of vascular images. The purpose is to enhance the performance of clinicians in assessing anatomical information such as the orientation of blood vessels, cross-sectional area, surface shape and volume of vascular disease. The prototype system takes measurements in a short period of time by an X-ray rotational angiographic system using a CT gantry equipped with a cone-beam X-ray source and an image intensifier. The 3-D image reconstruction from two-dimensional (2-D) projections is performed by a short scan cone-beam filtered backprojection algorithm. The preprocessing of the 3-D image reconstruction includes the correction of the geometrical distortions and the shading artifact introduced by the image intensifier. Here, the authors present the short scan cone-beam filtered backprojection with scatter and veiling glare correction to improve the contrast sensitivity of 3-D reconstructed images. From results of the application to a patient's abdominal blood vessels, the authors show the effectiveness of these methods.