title: Electronic noise modeling in statistical iterative reconstruction.
abstract: We consider electronic noise modeling in tomographic image reconstruction when the measured signal is the sum of a Gaussian distributed electronic noise component and another random variable whose log-likelihood function satisfies a certain linearity condition. Examples of such likelihood functions include the Poisson distribution and an exponential dispersion (ED) model that can approximate the signal statistics in integration mode X-ray detectors. We formulate the image reconstruction problem as a maximum-likelihood estimation problem. Using an expectation-maximization approach, we demonstrate that a reconstruction algorithm can be obtained following a simple substitution rule from the one previously derived without electronic noise considerations. To illustrate the applicability of the substitution rule, we present examples of a fully iterative reconstruction algorithm and a sinogram smoothing algorithm both in transmission CT reconstruction when the measured signal contains additive electronic noise. Our simulation studies show the potential usefulness of accurate electronic noise modeling in low-dose CT applications.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287-0859, USA. jxu@jhmi.edu
authors.forename: Jingyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Benjamin M W
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Tsui
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D016012:Poisson Distribution; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed