Fourier rebinning applied to multi-planar circular-orbit cone-beam SPECT

Abstract

We study the application of Fourier rebinning methods to dual-planar cone-beam SPECT. Dual-planar cone-beam SPECT involves the use of a matched pair of cone-beam collimators on a dual-camera SPECT system. Each collimator has its focus in a different axial plane. While dual-planar data is best reconstructed with fully 3D iterative methods, these methods are slow and have prompted a search for faster reconstruction techniques. Fourier rebinning was developed to estimate equivalent parallel projections from 3D PET data, but it simply expresses a relationship between oblique projections taken in planes not perpendicular to the axis of rotation and direct projections taken in those that are. We find that it is possible to put dual-planar cone-beam data in this context as well. The rebinned data can then be reconstructed using either filtered backprojection (FBP) or parallel iterative algorithms such as OSEM. We compare the Feldkamp algorithm and fully 3D OSEM reconstruction with Fourier-rebinned reconstructions on realistically-simulated Tl-201 HMPAO brain SPECT data. We find that the Fourier-rebinned reconstructions exhibit much less image noise and lower variance in region-of-interest estimates than Feldkamp. Also, Fourier-rebinning followed by OSEM with nonuniform attenuation correction exhibits less bias in ROI estimates than Feldkamp with Chang attenuation correction. The Fourier-rebinned ROI estimates exhibit only slightly higher bias and variance than fully 3D OSEM, and require considerably less processing time. We conclude that Fourier rebinning is a practical and potentially useful approach to reconstructing data from dual-planar circular-orbit cone-beam systems.