Gated Cardiac ECT reconstruction with motion analysis

描述（由申请人提供）： 一个有价值的工具，在诊断冠状动脉疾病是门控发射计算机断层扫描（ECT）使用单光子ECT或正电子发射断层扫描示踪剂。这些方法提供在心动周期的离散相位处的心肌灌注或代谢的3D图像。相对于非门控成像，门控ECT减少了运动模糊，并允许估计重要的功能参数，如射血分数和室壁运动。然而，由于单独的门控ECT图像是使用来自心动周期的仅一部分的数据获得的，因此它们相对于非门控图像具有增加的噪声，这降低了图像质量并将不确定性引入运动分析。该提案的首要目标是开发门控ECT的处理方法，以提高心脏运动分析的准确性的方式提高重建图像的质量。这些处理方法的基本框架是并行地执行（a）图像重建和（B）运动估计，从而使一个估计过程流动以帮助稳定另一个估计过程。我们的总体假设是，这样的联合估计过程相对于当前的独立重建和运动估计方法提供了改进的准确度和精度。该提案的具体目标如下：1.为了开发一个两帧系统的同时重建和运动分析，2。开发使用连续时间的心脏收缩运动的周期性模型的同时估计方法，3。开发同时估计方法，包括收缩和呼吸引起的心脏运动分析。所提出的方法将使用体模和患者数据进行评估，同时考虑计算的功能参数的准确性和人类检测心肌缺陷的能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A valuable tool in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease is gated emission computed tomography (ECT) using either single photon ECT or positron emission tomography tracers. These methods provide 3D images of myocardial perfusion or metabolism at discrete phases of the cardiac cycle. Relative to non-gated imaging, gated ECT reduces motion blur and allows an estimation of important functional parameters such as ejection fraction and wall motion. However, because individual gated ECT images are obtained using data from only a fraction of the cardiac cycle, they have increased noise relative to non-gated images, which reduces image quality and introduces uncertainty into the motion analysis. The foremost goal of this proposal is to develop processing methods for gated ECT that improve the quality of the reconstruced image in a way that also improves the accuracy of the cardiac motion analysis. The underlying framework of these processing methods is to perform in parallel (a) image reconstruction, and (b) motion estimation, thus flowing one estimation process to help stabilize the other. Our overall hypothesis is that such a joint estimation procedure provides improved accuracy and precision relative to current methods of independent reconstruction and motion estimation. The specific aims of this proposal are the following: 1. To develop simultaneous reconstruction and motion analysis for a two frame system, 2. To develop simultaneous estimation methods using a continuous-time, periodic model of cardiac contractile motion, 3. To develop simultaneous estimation methods that incorporate both contractile and respiration-induced cardiac motion analysis. The proposed methods will be evaluated using phantoms and patient data considering both the accuracy of calculated functional parameters and the ability to detect myocardial defects by humans.