Rapid 3D cone-beam reconstruction with the Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) by utilizing texture mapping graphics hardware

The Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (ART) reconstructs a 2D or 3D object from its projections. It has, in certain scenarios, many advantages over the more popular Filtered Backprojection approaches and has also recently been shown to perform well for 3D cone-beam reconstruction. However, so far ART's slow speed has prohibited its routine use in clinical applications. Here, the authors devise a new hardware acceleration scheme, employing readily available texture mapping graphics hardware, that allows quality 3D cone-beam reconstructions to be obtained at almost interactive speeds.