Spherical CNN for Medical Imaging Applications: Importance of Equivariance in image reconstruction and denoising

This work highlights the significance of equivariant networks as efficient and high-performance approaches for tomography applications. Our study builds upon the limitations of conventional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), which have shown promise in post-processing various medical imaging systems. However, the efficiency of conventional CNNs heavily relies on an undiminished and proper training set. To tackle this issue, in this study, we introduce an equivariant network, aiming to reduce CNN’s dependency on specific training sets. We evaluate the efficacy of equivariant spherical CNNs (SCNNs) for 2- and 3-dimensional medical imaging problems. Our results demonstrate superior quality and computational efficiency of SCNNs in denoising and reconstructing benchmark problems. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach to employ SCNNs as a complement to conventional image reconstruction tools, enhancing the outcomes while reducing reliance on the training set. Across all cases, we observe a significant decrease in computational costs while maintaining the same or higher quality of image processing using SCNNs compared to CNNs. Additionally, we explore the potential of this network for broader tomography applications, particularly those requiring omnidirectional representation.