3D image reconstruction for PET by multi-slice rebinning and axial filtering

Multislice rebinning with axial filter is a novel approach that attempts to achieve the geometrical accuracy of the fully 3-D approach with the simplicity and modest amount of computation of the single-slice rebinning approach. The first step (multislice rebinning) involves rebinning of coincidence lines into a stack of 2-D sinograms, where multiple sinograms are incremented for each oblique coincidence line. This operation is followed by an axial filtering operation, either before or after slice-by-slice reconstruction, to reduce the blurring in the axial direction. Tests with simulated and experimental data indicate that the method has better geometrical accuracy than single-slice rebinning, at the cost of only a modest increase in computation.<>