Bayesian Maximum-A-Posteriori Approach with Global and Local Regularization to Image Reconstruction Problem in Medical Emission Tomography

The Bayesian approach Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) provides a common basis for developing statistical methods for solving ill-posed image reconstruction problems. MAP solutions are dependent on a priori model. Approaches developed in literature are based on prior models that describe the properties of the expected image rather than the properties of the studied object. In this paper, such models have been analyzed and it is shown that they lead to global regularization of the solution. Prior models that are based on the properties of the object under study are developed and conditions for local and global regularization are obtained. A new reconstruction algorithm has been developed based on the method of local statistical regularization. Algorithms with global and local regularization were compared in numerical simulations. The simulations were performed close to the real oncologic single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) study. It is shown that the approach with local regularization produces more accurate images of ‘hot spots’, which is especially important to tumor diagnostics in nuclear oncology.