Background and objective: Tomographic sequences of biomedical images are commonly used to achieve a three-dimensional visualization of the human anatomy. In some cases, the number of images contained in the sequence is limited, e.g., in low-dose computed tomography acquired on neonatal patients, resulting in a coarse and inaccurate 3D reconstruction.
Methods: In this paper, volumetric image interpolation methods, devised to increase the axial resolution of tomographic sequences and achieve a refined 3D reconstruction, are proposed and compared. The techniques taken into consideration are based on motion-compensated frame-interpolation concepts, which have been developed for video applications, mainly frame-rate conversion.
Results: The performance of the proposed methods is quantitatively assessed by using sequences with a simulated low axial resolution obtained from the decimation of standard high-resolution computed tomography sequences. Real data with an actual low axial resolution have been used as well for a qualitative evaluation of the proposed methods.
Conclusions: The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed methods enable an effective slice interpolation and that the achievable 3D models clearly benefit from the increased axial resolution.
Keywords: 3D reconstruction; Biomedical image sequences; Computer tomography; Optical flow; Registration; Volumetric interpolation.
Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.