C-arm Tomographic Imaging Technique for Nephrolithiasis and Detection of Kidney Stones

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel C-arm tomographic imaging method for 3D kidney and stone visualization using less than 180° view angle, demonstrating effective detection with low radiation exposure.

Contribution

It introduces a new 3D kidney imaging technique with multiple reconstruction algorithms using limited view angles, enhancing kidney stone detection.

Findings

Effective 3D visualization of kidney stones from limited-angle data

Multiple reconstruction methods successfully generate kidney 3D images

Low radiation exposure with promising detection capabilities

Abstract

In this paper, we investigated a C-arm tomographic technique as a new three dimensional (3D) kidney imaging method for nephrolithiasis and kidney stone detection over view angle less than 180o. Our C-arm tomographic technique provides a series of two dimensional (2D) images with a single scan over 40o view angle. Experimental studies were performed with a kidney phantom that was formed from a pig kidney with two embedded kidney stones. Different reconstruction methods were developed for C-arm tomographic technique to generate 3D kidney information including: point by point back projection (BP), filtered back projection (FBP), simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM). Computer simulation study was also done with simulated 3D spherical object to evaluate the reconstruction results. Preliminary results demonstrated the capability of our C-arm tomographic technique to generate 3D kidney information for kidney stone detection with low exposure of radiation. The kidney stones are visible on reconstructed planes with identifiable shapes and sizes.