title: Step-and-shoot data acquisition and reconstruction for cardiac x-ray computed tomography.
abstract: Coronary artery imaging with x-ray computed tomography (CT) is one of the most recent advancements in CT clinical applications. Although existing "state-of-the-art" clinical protocols today utilize helical data acquisition, it suffers from the lack of ability to handle irregular heart rate and relatively high x-ray dose to patients. In this paper, we propose a step-and-shoot data acquisition protocol that significantly overcomes these shortcomings. The key to the proposed protocol is the large volume coverage (40 mm) enabled by the cone beam CT scanner, which allows the coverage of the entire heart in 3 to 4 steps. In addition, we propose a gated complementary reconstruction algorithm that overcomes the longitudinal truncation problem resulting from the cone beam geometry. Computer simulations, phantom experiments, and clinical studies were conducted to validate our approach.
authors.affiliation: GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53188, USA. jiang.hsieh@med.ge.com
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Londt
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vass
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiangyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Darin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Okerlund
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*