Projection decomposition via univariate optimization for dual-energy CT.

Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) acquires two x-ray projection datasets with different x-ray energy spectra, performs material-specific image reconstruction based on the energy-dependent non-linear integral model, and provides more accurate quantification of attenuation coefficients than single energy spectrum CT. In the diagnostic energy range, x-ray energy-dependent attenuation is mainly caused by photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering. Theoretically, these two physical components of the x-ray attenuation mechanism can be determined from two projection datasets with distinct energy spectra. Practically, the solution of the non-linear integral equation is complicated due to spectral uncertainty, detector sensitivity, and data noise. Conventional multivariable optimization methods are prone to local minima. In this paper, we develop a new method for DECT image reconstruction in the projection domain. This method combines an analytic solution of a polynomial equation and a univariate optimization to solve the polychromatic non-linear integral equation. The polynomial equation of an odd order has a unique real solution with sufficient accuracy for image reconstruction, and the univariate optimization can achieve the global optimal solution, allowing accurate and stable projection decomposition for DECT. Numerical and physical phantom experiments are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in comparison with the state-of-the-art projection decomposition methods. As a result, the univariate optimization method yields a quality improvement of 15% for image reconstruction and substantial reduction of the computational time, as compared to the multivariable optimization methods.

The small animal material discrimination study based on equivalent monochromatic energy projection decomposition method with dual-energy CT system.

Material discrimination is an important application of dual-energy computed tomography (CT) techniques. Projection decomposition is a key problem for pre-reconstruction material discrimination. In this study, we focused on the pre-reconstruction space based on the photoelectric and Compton effect decomposition model to characterize different material components, and proposed an efficient method to calculate the projection decomposition coefficient. We converted the complex projection integral into a linear equation by calculating the equivalent monochromatic energy from the high and low energy spectrum. Meanwhile, we constructed a dual-energy CT system based on a photon-counting detector to take small animal scan and material discrimination analysis. Finally, the results of simulation and experimental study demonstrated the feasibility of our proposed new method, and explained the characteristics of photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering reconstruction images.

[The acceleration algorithm for projection decomposition of dual-energy computed tomography image reconstruction based on projection matching].

Dual-energy computed tomography (CT) reconstruction imaging technology is an important development direction in the field of CT imaging. The mainstream model of dual-energy CT reconstruction algorithm is the basis material decomposition model, and the projection decomposition is the crucial technique. The projection decomposition algorithm based on projection matching was a general method. With establishing the energy spectrum lookup table, we can obtain the stable solution by the least squares matching method. But the computation cost will increase dramatically when size of lookup table enlarges and it will slow down the computer. In this paper, an acceleration algorithm based on projection matching is proposed. The proposed algorithm makes use of linear equations and plane equations to fit the lookup table data, so that the projection value of the decomposition coefficients can be calculated quickly. As the result of simulation experiment, the acceleration algorithm can greatly shorten the running time of the program to get the stable and correct solution.

Convolutional MLP orthogonal fusion of multiscale features for visual place recognition.

Visual place recognition (VPR) involves obtaining robust image descriptors to cope with differences in camera viewpoints and drastic external environment changes. Utilizing multiscale features improves the robustness of image descriptors; however, existing methods neither exploit the multiscale features generated during feature extraction nor consider the feature redundancy problem when fusing multiscale information when image descriptors are enhanced. We propose a novel encoding strategy-convolutional multilayer perceptron orthogonal fusion of multiscale features (ConvMLP-OFMS)-for VPR. A ConvMLP is used to obtain robust and generalized global image descriptors and the multiscale features generated during feature extraction are used to enhance the global descriptors to cope with changes in the environment and viewpoints. Additionally, an attention mechanism is used to eliminate noise and redundant information. Compared to traditional methods that use tensor splicing for feature fusion, we introduced matrix orthogonal decomposition to eliminate redundant information. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed architecture outperformed NetVLAD, CosPlace, ConvAP, and other methods. On the Pittsburgh and MSLS datasets, which contained significant viewpoint and illumination variations, our method achieved 92.5% and 86.5% Recall@1, respectively. We also achieved good performances-80.6% and 43.2%-on the SPED and NordLand datasets, respectively, which have more extreme illumination and appearance variations.