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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fenwick, David, NaderiAlizadeh, Navid, Tarokh, Vahid, Felice, Nicholas, Clark, Darin, Rajagopal, Jayasai, Kapadia, Anuj, Wildman-Tobriner, Benjamin, Samei, Ehsan, Abadi, Ehsan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.08763
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author Fenwick, David
NaderiAlizadeh, Navid
Tarokh, Vahid
Felice, Nicholas
Clark, Darin
Rajagopal, Jayasai
Kapadia, Anuj
Wildman-Tobriner, Benjamin
Samei, Ehsan
Abadi, Ehsan
author_facet Fenwick, David
NaderiAlizadeh, Navid
Tarokh, Vahid
Felice, Nicholas
Clark, Darin
Rajagopal, Jayasai
Kapadia, Anuj
Wildman-Tobriner, Benjamin
Samei, Ehsan
Abadi, Ehsan
contents Protocol optimization is critical in Computed Tomography (CT) to achieve high diagnostic image quality while minimizing radiation dose. However, due to the complex interdependencies among CT acquisition and reconstruction parameters, traditional optimization methods rely on exhaustive testing of combinations of these parameters, which is often impractical. This study introduces a novel methodology that combines virtual imaging tools with reinforcement learning to optimize CT protocols more efficiently. Human models with liver lesions were imaged using a validated CT simulator and reconstructed with a novel CT reconstruction toolkit. The optimization parameter space included tube voltage, tube current, reconstruction kernel, slice thickness, and pixel size. The optimization process was performed using a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent, which was trained to maximize an image quality objective, specifically the detectability index (d') of liver lesions in the reconstructed images. Optimization performance was compared against an exhaustive search performed on a supercomputer. The proposed reinforcement learning approach achieved the global maximum d' across test cases while requiring 79.7% fewer steps than the exhaustive search, demonstrating both accuracy and computational efficiency. The proposed framework is flexible and can accommodate various image quality objectives. The findings highlight the potential of integrating virtual imaging tools with reinforcement learning for CT protocol management.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_08763
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Reinforcement Learning-Based Optimization of CT Acquisition and Reconstruction Parameters Through Virtual Imaging Trials
Fenwick, David
NaderiAlizadeh, Navid
Tarokh, Vahid
Felice, Nicholas
Clark, Darin
Rajagopal, Jayasai
Kapadia, Anuj
Wildman-Tobriner, Benjamin
Samei, Ehsan
Abadi, Ehsan
Machine Learning
Protocol optimization is critical in Computed Tomography (CT) to achieve high diagnostic image quality while minimizing radiation dose. However, due to the complex interdependencies among CT acquisition and reconstruction parameters, traditional optimization methods rely on exhaustive testing of combinations of these parameters, which is often impractical. This study introduces a novel methodology that combines virtual imaging tools with reinforcement learning to optimize CT protocols more efficiently. Human models with liver lesions were imaged using a validated CT simulator and reconstructed with a novel CT reconstruction toolkit. The optimization parameter space included tube voltage, tube current, reconstruction kernel, slice thickness, and pixel size. The optimization process was performed using a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent, which was trained to maximize an image quality objective, specifically the detectability index (d') of liver lesions in the reconstructed images. Optimization performance was compared against an exhaustive search performed on a supercomputer. The proposed reinforcement learning approach achieved the global maximum d' across test cases while requiring 79.7% fewer steps than the exhaustive search, demonstrating both accuracy and computational efficiency. The proposed framework is flexible and can accommodate various image quality objectives. The findings highlight the potential of integrating virtual imaging tools with reinforcement learning for CT protocol management.
title Reinforcement Learning-Based Optimization of CT Acquisition and Reconstruction Parameters Through Virtual Imaging Trials
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.08763