Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31511017›Full record

ArticleBiomedical engineering online2019

Real-time algorithm for Poissonian noise reduction in low-dose fluoroscopy: performance evaluation.

A Sarno, E Andreozzi, D De Caro, G Di Meo, A G M Strollo, M Cesarelli, P Bifulco

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biomedical engineering online, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

A SarnoUniversità di Napoli, "Federico II", dip. di Fisica "E. Pancini" & INFN sez. di Napoli, Via Cintia, 80126, Naples, Italy. sarno@na.infn.it.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3034-7166
E AndreozziDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.
D De CaroDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.
G Di MeoDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.
A G M StrolloDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.
M CesarelliDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.
P BifulcoDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Claudio, 21, 80125, Naples, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQuantum noise intrinsically limits the quality of fluoroscopic images. The lower is the X-ray dose the higher is the noise. Fluoroscopy video processing can enhance image quality and allows further patient's dose lowering. This study aims to assess the performances achieved by a Noise Variance Conditioned Average (NVCA) spatio-temporal filter for real-time denoising of fluoroscopic sequences. The filter is specifically designed for quantum noise suppression and edge preservation. It is an average filter that excludes neighborhood pixel values exceeding noise statistic limits, by means of a threshold which depends on the local noise standard deviation, to preserve the image spatial resolution. The performances were evaluated in terms of contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) increment, image blurring (full width of the half maximum of the line spread function) and computational time. The NVCA filter performances were compared to those achieved by simple moving average filters and the state-of-the-art video denoising block matching-4D (VBM4D) algorithm. The influence of the NVCA filter size and threshold on the final image quality was evaluated too.

resultsFor NVCA filter mask size of 5 × 5 × 5 pixels (the third dimension represents the temporal extent of the filter) and a threshold level equal to 2 times the local noise standard deviation, the NVCA filter achieved a 10% increase of the CNR with respect to the unfiltered sequence, while the VBM4D achieved a 14% increase. In the case of NVCA, the edge blurring did not depend on the speed of the moving objects; on the other hand, the spatial resolution worsened of about 2.2 times by doubling the objects speed with VBM4D. The NVCA mask size and the local noise-threshold level are critical for final image quality. The computational time of the NVCA filter was found to be just few percentages of that required for the VBM4D filter.

conclusionsThe NVCA filter obtained a better image quality compared to simple moving average filters, and a lower but comparable quality when compared with the VBM4D filter. The NVCA filter showed to preserve edge sharpness, in particular in the case of moving objects (performing even better than VBM4D). The simplicity of the NVCA filter and its low computational burden make this filter suitable for real-time video processing and its hardware implementation is ready to be included in future fluoroscopy devices, offering further lowering of patient's X-ray dose.

Indexed as

AlgorithmsFluoroscopyRadiation DosageSignal-To-Noise RatioImage EnhancementPhantoms, ImagingPoisson DistributionTime FactorsFluoroscopyNVCAQuantum noiseReal-time processingVBM4DVideo denoisingX-ray dose reduction

Identifiers

PMID31511017
PMCPMC6737613

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.