Filling of incomplete sinograms from sparse PET detector configurations using a residual U-Net

Long axial field-of-view PET scanners offer increased field-of-view and sensitivity compared to traditional PET scanners. However, a significant cost is associated with the densely packed photodetectors required for the extended-coverage systems, limiting clinical utilisation. To mitigate the cost limitations, alternative sparse system configurations have been proposed, allowing an extended field-of-view PET design with detector costs similar to a standard PET system, albeit at the expense of image quality. In this work, we propose a deep sinogram restoration network to fill in the missing sinogram data. Our method utilises a modified Residual U-Net, trained on clinical PET scans from a GE Signa PET/MR, simulating the removal of 50% of the detectors in a chessboard pattern (retaining only 25% of all lines of response). The model successfully recovers missing counts, with a mean absolute error below two events per pixel, outperforming 2D interpolation in both sinogram and reconstructed image domain. Notably, the predicted sinograms exhibit a smoothing effect, leading to reconstructed images lacking sharpness in finer details. Despite these limitations, the model demonstrates a substantial capacity for compensating for the undersampling caused by the sparse detector configuration. This proof-of-concept study suggests that sparse detector configurations, combined with deep learning techniques, offer a viable alternative to conventional PET scanner designs. This approach supports the development of cost-effective, total body PET scanners, allowing a significant step forward in medical imaging technology.

A Ridgelet Approach to Poisson Denoising

This paper introduces a novel ridgelet transform-based method for Poisson image denoising. Our work focuses on harnessing the Poisson noise's unique non-additive and signal-dependent properties, distinguishing it from Gaussian noise. The core of our approach is a new thresholding scheme informed by theoretical insights into the ridgelet coefficients of Poisson-distributed images and adaptive thresholding guided by Stein's method. We verify our theoretical model through numerical experiments and demonstrate the potential of ridgelet thresholding across assorted scenarios. Our findings represent a significant step in enhancing the understanding of Poisson noise and offer an effective denoising method for images corrupted with it.