Suppression of metal streak artifacts in CT using a MAP reconstruction procedure

Metal implants such as hip prostheses and dental fillings produce streak artifacts in the reconstructed CT images. Due to these streaks, the CT image may not be diagnostically usable. Therefore we propose a reconstruction procedure that diminishes the streak artifacts and that may improve the diagnostic value of the CT. The procedure starts with a MAP reconstruction using an iterative reconstruction algorithm and a multi-modal prior. This produces a streak-free starting image. This starting image will be the basis for a projection completion MAR procedure. The patient results are very promising but further investigation and validation is needed.