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Devon J Godfrey

Publications and source records attributed to Devon J Godfrey.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Digital tomosynthesis with an on-board kilovoltage imaging device.

PURPOSE: To generate on-board digital tomosynthesis (DTS) and reference DTS images for three-dimensional image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) as an alternative to conventional portal imaging or on-board cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). METHODS AND MATERIALS: Three clinical cases (prostate, head-and-neck, and liver) were selected to illustrate the capabilities of on-board DTS for IGRT. Corresponding reference DTS images were reconstructed from digitally reconstructed radiographs computed from planning CT image sets. The effect of scan angle on DTS slice thickness was examined by computing the mutual information between coincident CBCT and DTS images, as the DTS scan angle was varied from 0 degrees to 165 degrees . A breath-hold DTS acquisition strategy was implemented to remove respiratory motion artifacts. RESULTS: Digital tomosynthesis slices appeared similar to coincident CBCT planes and yielded substantially more anatomic information than either kilovoltage or megavoltage radiographs. Breath-hold DTS acquisition improved soft-tissue visibility by suppressing respiratory motion. CONCLUSIONS: Improved bony and soft-tissue visibility in DTS images is likely to improve target localization compared with radiographic verification techniques and might allow for daily localization of a soft-tissue target. Breath-hold DTS is a potential alternative to on-board CBCT for sites prone to respiratory motion.

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Optimization of the matrix inversion tomosynthesis (MITS) impulse response and modulation transfer function characteristics for chest imaging.

Matrix inversion tomosynthesis (MITS) uses linear systems theory, along with a priori knowledge of the imaging geometry, to deterministically distinguish between true structure and overlying tomographic blur in a set of conventional tomosynthesis planes. In this paper we examine the effect of total scan angle (ANG), number of input projections (N), and plane separation/number of reconstructed planes (NP) on the MITS impulse response (IR) and modulation transfer function (MTF), with the purpose of optimizing MITS imaging of the chest. MITS IR and MTF data were generated by simulating the imaging of a very thin wire, using various combinations of ANG, N, and NP. Actual tomosynthesis data of an anthropomorphic chest phantom were acquired with a prototype experimental system, using the same imaging parameter combinations as those in the simulations. Thoracic projection data from two human subjects were collected for corroboration of the system response analysis in vivo. Results suggest that ANG=20 degrees, N=71, NP=69 is the optimal combination for MITS chest imaging given the inherent constraints of our prototype system. MITS chest data from human subjects demonstrates that the selected imaging strategy can effectively produce high-quality MITS thoracic images in vivo.

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Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential.

Digital x-ray tomosynthesis is a technique for producing slice images using conventional x-ray systems. It is a refinement of conventional geometric tomography, which has been known since the 1930s. In conventional geometric tomography, the x-ray tube and image receptor move in synchrony on opposite sides of the patient to produce a plane of structures in sharp focus at the plane containing the fulcrum of the motion; all other structures above and below the fulcrum plane are blurred and thus less visible in the resulting image. Tomosynthesis improves upon conventional geometric tomography in that it allows an arbitrary number of in-focus planes to be generated retrospectively from a sequence of projection radiographs that are acquired during a single motion of the x-ray tube. By shifting and adding these projection radiographs, specific planes may be reconstructed. This topical review describes the various reconstruction algorithms used to produce tomosynthesis images, as well as approaches used to minimize the residual blur from out-of-plane structures. Historical background and mathematical details are given for the various approaches described. Approaches for optimizing the tomosynthesis image are given. Applications of tomosynthesis to various clinical tasks, including angiography, chest imaging, mammography, dental imaging and orthopaedic imaging, are also described.

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