Tri-Energy CBCT: Advancing Three-Material Decomposition with One-Step Inversion

Dual-energy cone-beam computed tomography has grown in popularity as an imaging modality due to its increased image quality compared to the standard single-energy. However, dual-energy imaging has not been successful in decomposing three materials. This report presents the potential of tri-energy cone-beam computed tomography for three-material decomposition using a one-step inversion algorithm for image reconstruction and material decomposition. The majority of the work done for this study consisted of developing the one-step inversion algorithm, as well as determining the correct filters to produce the low, middle, and high mean energy x-ray spectra needed for tri-energy imaging. Both the simulated and real scans employed the same phantom setup: water containing calcium and iodine inserts. The results indicate that one-step inversion has the potential to perform a higher quality three-material decomposition with tri-energy cone-beam computed tomography than what is currently offered by dual-energy. Prospects for future research are discussed in the conclusion.