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

Publication ,  Journal Article
Dobbins, JT; Godfrey, DJ
Published in: Phys Med Biol
October 7, 2003

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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Published In

Phys Med Biol

DOI

ISSN

0031-9155

Publication Date

October 7, 2003

Volume

48

Issue

19

Start / End Page

R65 / 106

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tooth
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Review Literature as Topic
  • Radiography, Thoracic
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Radiographic Image Enhancement
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Mammography
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
 

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Dobbins, J. T., & Godfrey, D. J. (2003). Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential. Phys Med Biol, 48(19), R65-106. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/48/19/r01
Dobbins, James T., and Devon J. Godfrey. “Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential.Phys Med Biol 48, no. 19 (October 7, 2003): R65-106. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/48/19/r01.
Dobbins JT, Godfrey DJ. Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential. Phys Med Biol. 2003 Oct 7;48(19):R65-106.
Dobbins, James T., and Devon J. Godfrey. “Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential.Phys Med Biol, vol. 48, no. 19, Oct. 2003, pp. R65-106. Pubmed, doi:10.1088/0031-9155/48/19/r01.
Dobbins JT, Godfrey DJ. Digital x-ray tomosynthesis: current state of the art and clinical potential. Phys Med Biol. 2003 Oct 7;48(19):R65-106.
Journal cover image

Published In

Phys Med Biol

DOI

ISSN

0031-9155

Publication Date

October 7, 2003

Volume

48

Issue

19

Start / End Page

R65 / 106

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tooth
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Review Literature as Topic
  • Radiography, Thoracic
  • Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Radiographic Image Enhancement
  • Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
  • Mammography
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional