SPECT region of interest reconstruction with truncated transmission and emission data.

Purpose: The aim of this article is to propose an exact SPECT region of interest (ROI) reconstruction method using truncated transmission and truncated emission data. Methods: Recently, the authors published two articles in Physics in Medicine and Biology with two results in SPECT ROI emission image reconstruction. The first result states that if the transmission data are truncated but the emission data are not truncated, the emission image can be exactly reconstructed, provided the entire emission image is inside the region where the transmission data are not truncated. The second result states that if the transmission data are not truncated, the emission ROI can be exactly reconstructed with truncated emission data. This article combines these two results and obtains a new result that the emission ROI can be exactly reconstructed if both transmission and emission data are truncated. Results: Computer simulations are performed to verify the proposed ROI image reconstruction algorithm. Conclusions: Exact SPECT ROI image reconstruction is possible using truncated transmission and emission projections with some prior information about the attenuator and the emission distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]