Regularized Iterative Weighted Filtered Back-Projection for Few-View Data Photoacoustic Imaging

Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging noninvasive imaging technique with great potential for a wide range of biomedical imaging applications. However, with few-view data the filtered back-projection method will create streak artifacts. In this study, the regularized iterative weighted filtered back-projection method was applied to our photoacoustic imaging of the optical absorption in phantom from few-view data. This method is based on iterative application of a nonexact 2DFBP. By adding a regularization operation in the iterative loop, the streak artifacts have been reduced to a great extent and the convergence properties of the iterative scheme have been improved. Results of numerical simulations demonstrated that the proposed method was superior to the iterative FBP method in terms of both accuracy and robustness to noise. The quantitative image evaluation studies have shown that the proposed method outperforms conventional iterative methods.