BIOMEDICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND CONTROL, vol.48, pp.26-34, 2019 (SCI-Expanded)
Purpose: Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) has recently proved promising in producing three-dimensional (3D) images of a breast. Algebraic reconstruction technique (ART), which is one of the most frequently used iterative image reconstruction techniques, has been proposed to provide satisfactory images of the breast in detecting masses and micro-calcifications. However, the greatest limitation of DBT imaging is the level of radiation dose due to the very sensitive nature of the breast. Recently, the effect of total variation (TV) minimization to enhance the image quality and to reduce the noise has been investigated in DBT imaging. Studies dealing with 3D TV minimization with ART have attracted increasing attention in the field of image reconstruction. This work investigates if iterative reconstruction techniques applied without and with TV (ART and ART + TV3D) can help reduce the level of dose in DBT imaging.