Statistical image reconstruction with beam-hardening compensation for X-ray CT by a calibration step (2DIterBH).

Background: The beam-hardening effect due to the polychromatic nature of the X-ray spectra results in two main artifacts in CT images: cupping in homogeneous areas and dark bands between dense parts in heterogeneous samples. Post-processing methods have been proposed in the literature to compensate for these artifacts, but these methods may introduce additional noise in low-dose acquisitions. Iterative methods are an alternative to compensate noise and beam-hardening artifacts simultaneously. However, they usually rely on the knowledge of the spectrum or the selection of empirical parameters.

Purpose: We propose an iterative reconstruction method with beam hardening compensation for small animal scanners that is robust against low-dose acquisitions and that does not require knowledge of the spectrum, overcoming the limitations of current beam-hardening correction algorithms.

Methods: The proposed method includes an empirical characterization of the beam-hardening function based on a simple phantom in a polychromatic statistical reconstruction method. Evaluation was carried out on simulated data with different noise levels and step angles and on limited-view rodent data acquired with the ARGUS/CT system.

Results: Results in small animal studies showed a proper correction of the beam-hardening artifacts in the whole sample, independently of the quantity of bone present on each slice. The proposed approach also reduced noise in the low-dose acquisitions and reduced streaks in the limited-view acquisitions.

Conclusions: Using an empirical model for the beam-hardening effect, obtained through calibration, in an iterative reconstruction method enables a robust correction of beam-hardening artifacts in low-dose small animal studies independently of the bone distribution.