3D directional gradient L0 norm minimization guided limited-view reconstruction in a dual-panel positron emission mammography

Dual-panel PET is often used for local organ imaging, especially breast imaging, due to its simple structure, high sensitivity, good in-plane resolution, and straightforward fusion with other imaging modalities. Nevertheless, because of data loss caused by the dual-panel structure, using conventional image reconstruction methods results in limited-view artifacts and low image quality in dual-panel positron emission mammography (PEM), which may seriously affect the diagnosis. To mitigate the limited-view artifacts in the dual-panel PEM, we propose a 3D directional gradient L0 norm minimization (3D-DL0) guided reconstruction method. The detailed derivation and reasonable simplification of the 3D-DL0 algorithm are given first. Using this algorithm, we then obtain a prior image with edge recovery but contrast loss. To limit the solution space, the 3D-DL0 prior is introduced into the Maximum a Posteriori reconstruction. Meanwhile, a space-invariant point spread function is also implemented to restore image contrast and boundaries. Finally, the reconstructed images with limited-view artifact suppression are obtained. The proposed method was evaluated using the data acquired from physical phantoms and patients with breast tumors on a commercial dual-panel PET system. The qualitative and quantitative studies for phantom data and the blind reader study for clinical data show that the proposed method is more effective in reaching a balance between artifact elimination and image contrast improvement compared with various limited-view reconstruction methods. In addition, the iteration process of the method is proved convergent numerically. The image quality improvement confirms the potential value of the proposed reconstruction algorithm to address the limited-view problem, and thus improve diagnostic accuracy in dual-panel PEM imaging. •Combination of 3D directional gradient L0 norm and PSF under MAP framework for limited-view problem of dual-panel PEM.•Calculation process is derived and simplified according to dual-panel spatial resolution characteristics.•Experiments on both phantoms and patients are conducted for evaluation.•Convergence of the strategy is confirmed experimentally.