MLEM algorithm adaptation for improved SPECT scintimammography

Andrzej Krol; David H. Feiglin; Wei Lee; Vikram R. Kunniyur; Kedar R. Gangal; Ioana L. Coman; Edward D. Lipson; Deborah A. Karczewski; F. Deaver Thomas

doi:10.1117/12.596093

29 April 2005 MLEM algorithm adaptation for improved SPECT scintimammography

Andrzej Krol, David H. Feiglin, Wei Lee, Vikram R. Kunniyur, Kedar R. Gangal, Ioana L. Coman, Edward D. Lipson, Deborah A. Karczewski, F. Deaver Thomas

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5747, Medical Imaging 2005: Image Processing; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.596093
Event: Medical Imaging, 2005, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Standard MLEM and OSEM algorithms used in SPECT Tc-99m sestamibi scintimammography produce hot-spot artifacts (HSA) at the image support peripheries. We investigated a suitable adaptation of MLEM and OSEM algorithms needed to reduce HSA. Patients with suspicious breast lesions were administered 10 mCi of Tc-99m sestamibi and SPECT scans were acquired for patients in prone position with uncompressed breasts. In addition, to simulate breast lesions, some patients were imaged with a number of breast skin markers each containing 1 μCi of Tc-99m. In order to reduce HSA in reconstruction, we removed from the backprojection step the rays that traverse the periphery of the support region on the way to a detector bin, when their path length through this region was shorter than some critical length. Such very short paths result in a very low projection counts contributed to the detector bin, and consequently to overestimation of the activity in the peripheral voxels in the backprojection step -- thus creating HSA. We analyzed the breast-lesion contrast and suppression of HSA in the images reconstructed using standard and modified MLEM and OSEM algorithms vs. critical path length (CPL). For CPL ≥ 0.01 pixel size, we observed improved breast-lesion contrast and lower noise in the reconstructed images, and a very significant reduction of HSA in the maximum intensity projection (MIP) images.

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Andrzej Krol, David H. Feiglin, Wei Lee, Vikram R. Kunniyur, Kedar R. Gangal, Ioana L. Coman, Edward D. Lipson, Deborah A. Karczewski, and F. Deaver Thomas "MLEM algorithm adaptation for improved SPECT scintimammography", Proc. SPIE 5747, Medical Imaging 2005: Image Processing, (29 April 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.596093

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