Quantitative 3D data extraction using contiguous volumes

A new image analysis method, called contiguous volume analysis, has been developed to automatically extract 3D information from emission images. The method considers volumes of activity and displays data about them in a format which allows quantitative image comparison. Such rigorous, numerical analysis enables the authors to show, for example, whether or not important information has been gained, lost or changed through the use of different filters and different reconstruction, attenuation and scatter correction algorithms. Since the analysis method is consistent with a visual inspection of the data, intuitive insights into the meaning of the data are possible, allowing a better understanding of the effects of the different image processing techniques on the images. The data can be used to find patterns of activity in sets of images, and might also be used to quantify noise, allowing an objective determination of which volumes in an image are significant.