title: Improved accuracy of reconstructed diffuse optical tomographic images by means of spatial deconvolution: two-dimensional quantitative characterization.
abstract: Systematic characterization studies are presented, relating to a previously reported spatial deconvolution operation that seeks to compensate for the information-blurring property of first-order perturbation algorithms for diffuse optical tomography (DOT) image reconstruction. In simulation results that are presented, this deconvolution operation has been applied to two-dimensional DOT images reconstructed by solving a first-order perturbation equation. Under study was the effect on algorithm performance of control parameters in the measurement (number and spatial distribution of sources and detectors, presence of noise, and presence of systematic error), target (medium shape; and number, location, size, and contrast of inclusions), and computational (number of finite-element-method mesh nodes, length of filter-generating linear system, among others) parameter spaces associated with computation and the use of the deconvolution operators. Substantial improvements in reconstructed image quality, in terms of recovered inclusion location, size, and contrast, are found in all cases. A finding of practical importance is that the method is robust to appreciable differences between the optical coefficients of the media used for filter generation and those of the target media to which the filters are subsequently applied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11203, USA. yong.xu@downstate.edu
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Harry L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Graber
authors.forename: Yaling
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Randall L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Barbour
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D041622:Tomography, Optical / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*