A Quantitative Study on Shaping Filters in Computed Tomography Image Reconstruction

Abstract

The advent of radiological methods in medical imaging has bestowed upon the healthcare industry a wide range of advantages such as increased speed and accuracy in clinical diagnoses, early prediction of the onset of diseases, and has also aided in the treatment of several health complications. A primary advancement in this field of medical imaging is Computed Tomography (CT), an imaging technique that has allowed us to view image slices from various organs, muscles, and soft tissues, in a three-dimensional perspective. Through the years CT has proved to be an indispensable aspect of medical imaging, and has gone through several technical advancements. While CT scans are one of the most preferred methods employed in medical imaging, they pose an imminent risk of the development of several health complications. These health complications arise due to the exposure of radiation, which is in marginally larger amounts than other imaging modalities. The trade-off between the dosage of radiation and the proportional image quality presents a medical challenge that needs to be solved. This problem can only be solved through post-scan enhancements of the reconstruction techniques employed to obtain the CT image. This paper delineates the popular back projection techniques, and presents a first-of-its-kind, quantitative comparison of the various shaping filters that can potentially enhance the CT image quality.