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Joscha Maier

Publications and source records attributed to Joscha Maier.

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Differentiable Jitter Correction using Deep Learning-based Image Quality Metric for Phase-Contrast Micro-CT

This paper proposes a fully differentiable jitter correction method for X-ray phase-contrast micro computed tomography using a deep learning-based image quality metric that estimates and compensates per-projection rigid jitter directly from the acquired projection data, without a pre-scan motion-free reference. The approach builds on a gradient-based auto-focus strategy adapted to parallel-beam geometry. A set of candidate objective functions is benchmarked in a controlled study, and the sensitivity of the visual information fidelity (VIF) metric to the jitter artifact is verified with the target phase-contrast data. To operate without a clean reference, a compact 3D convolutional neural network is trained to predict the VIF score from a single corrupted volume. A spatially selective total variation penalty applied exclusively to the image background is introduced to penalize spurious high-frequency structures that otherwise emerge during optimization. Experiments on biological specimens acquired at different synchrotron beamlines are conducted. Evaluation uses jitter motion applied to simulated and experimentally acquired projection data. The result confirms that the integrated pipeline reliably recovers fine structural detail lost due to jitter, with generalization demonstrated across morphologically distinct samples.

cs.CV

Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction of Interventional Tools from Four X-Ray Projections for Tomographic Interventional Guidance

Image guidance for minimally invasive interventions is usually performed by acquiring fluoroscopic images using a C-arm system. However, the projective data provide only limited information about the spatial structure and position of interventional tools such as stents, guide wires or coils. In this work we propose a deep learning-based pipeline for real-time tomographic (four-dimensional) interventional guidance at acceptable dose levels. In the first step, interventional tools are extracted from four cone-beam CT projections using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN). These projections are then reconstructed and fed into a second CNN, which maps this highly undersampled reconstruction to a segmentation of the interventional tools. Our pipeline is capable of reconstructing interventional tools from only four x-ray projections without the need for a patient prior with very high accuracy. Therefore, the proposed approach is capable of overcoming the drawbacks of today's interventional guidance and could enable the development of new minimally invasive radiological interventions by providing full spatiotemporal information about the interventional tools.

physics.med-ph

Robustness Investigation on Deep Learning CT Reconstruction for Real-Time Dose Optimization

In computed tomography (CT), automatic exposure control (AEC) is frequently used to reduce radiation dose exposure to patients. For organ-specific AEC, a preliminary CT reconstruction is necessary to estimate organ shapes for dose optimization, where only a few projections are allowed for real-time reconstruction. In this work, we investigate the performance of automated transform by manifold approximation (AUTOMAP) in such applications. For proof of concept, we investigate its performance on the MNIST dataset first, where the dataset containing all the 10 digits are randomly split into a training set and a test set. We train the AUTOMAP model for image reconstruction from 2 projections or 4 projections directly. The test results demonstrate that AUTOMAP is able to reconstruct most digits well with a false rate of 1.6% and 6.8% respectively. In our subsequent experiment, the MNIST dataset is split in a way that the training set contains 9 digits only while the test set contains the excluded digit only, for instance "2". In the test results, the digit "2"s are falsely predicted as "3" or "5" when using 2 projections for reconstruction, reaching a false rate of 94.4%. For the application in medical images, AUTOMAP is also trained on patients' CT images. The test images reach an average root-mean-square error of 290 HU. Although the coarse body outlines are well reconstructed, some organs are misshaped.

eess.IV