Usefulness of a Metal Artifact Reduction Algorithm in Digital Tomosynthesis Using a Combination of Hybrid Generative Adversarial Networks

In this study, a novel combination of hybrid generative adversarial networks (GANs) comprising cycle-consistent GAN, pix2pix, and (mask pyramid network) MPN (CGpM-metal artifact reduction [MAR]), was developed using projection data to reduce metal artifacts and the radiation dose during digital tomosynthesis. The CGpM-MAR algorithm was compared with the conventional filtered back projection (FBP) without MAR, FBP with MAR, and convolutional neural network MAR. The MAR rates were compared using the artifact index (AI) and Gumbel distribution of the largest variation analysis using a prosthesis phantom at various radiation doses. The novel CGpM-MAR yielded an adequately effective overall performance in terms of AI. The resulting images yielded good results independently of the type of metal used in the prosthesis phantom (p < 0.05) and good artifact removal at 55% radiation-dose reduction. Furthermore, the CGpM-MAR represented the minimum in the model with the largest variation at 55% radiation-dose reduction. Regarding the AI and Gumbel distribution analysis, the novel CGpM-MAR yielded superior MAR when compared with the conventional reconstruction algorithms with and without MAR at 55% radiation-dose reduction and presented features most similar to the reference FBP. CGpM-MAR presents a promising method for metal artifact and radiation-dose reduction in clinical practice.