Axially Extended-Volume C-Arm CT Using a Reverse Helical Trajectory in the Interventional Room

C-arm computed tomography (CT) is an innovative technique that enables a C-arm system to generate 3-D images from a set of 2-D X-ray projections. This technique can reduce treatment-related complications and may improve interventional efficacy and safety. However, state-of-the-art C-arm systems rely on a circular short scan for data acquisition, which limits coverage in the axial direction. This limitation was reported as a problem in hepatic vascular interventions. To solve this problem, as well as to further extend the value of C-arm CT, axially extended-volume C-arm CT is needed. For example, such an extension would enable imaging the full aorta, the peripheral arteries or the spine in the interventional room, which is currently not feasible. In this paper, we demonstrate that performing long object imaging using a reverse helix is feasible in the interventional room. This demonstration involved developing a novel calibration method, assessing geometric repeatability, implementing a reconstruction method that applies to real reverse helical data, and quantitatively evaluating image quality. Our results show that: 1) the reverse helical trajectory can be implemented and reliably repeated on a multiaxis C-arm system; and 2) a long volume can be reconstructed with satisfactory image quality using reverse helical data.