Three dimensional co-registration between a positron emission tracking system and a C-arm x-ray imaging system

Real-time motion tracking is required for accurate delivery of radiation therapy to tumours undergoing motion due to respiration, as well as for the precise guidance, manipulation, and operation of surgical tools or devices used during non-invasive interventional procedures. Positron emission real-time three-dimensional (3D) tracking (PeTrack) is a proposed solution to these problems which is currently being developed at Carleton University. The technique involves the localization and tracking of positron emission fiducial markers which could be implanted into a tumour volume or integrated into a surgical tool or instrument. The research presented here describes the co-registration of the PeTrack localization and tracking system with a C-arm x-ray imaging system capable of 3D cone-beam imaging. This co-registration allows the display of objects tracked in 3D by the PeTrack system on to a 3D reconstructed image.;The results presented in this work show that distortion correction is essential for the acquisition of high quality 3D image reconstructions. The method of x-ray scanner geometric calibration implemented was validated for the the first time with real data. A method of PeTrack geometric calibration was developed and evaluated. A simulation study showed that under ideal conditions the calibration performs exceptionally well. The x-ray and PeTrack geometric calibration were used along with the dual calibration phantom to successfully co-register the two systems. Evaluations of the co-registration exhibited an error of 1.8 +/- 0.2 mm between the location of sources identified on an image and their locations projected on to the image using the two geometric calibrations. A few sources of systematic error are discussed and subject to further investigation.;The acquisition of accurate 3D images from the x-ray imaging system requires: x-ray detector distortion correction, geometric calibration of the C-arm x-ray scanner, and then a method to reconstruct 3D images. PeTrack localization and tracking of positron sources requires a detector system capable of detecting positron sources, and an algorithm which can localize and track positron sources based on the information provided by the detector system. This tracking algorithm has previously been developed. The co-registration of the x-ray imaging system and the PeTrack tracking system requires the geometric calibrations of the PeTrack and the x-ray imaging systems both defined in a common 3D reference frame.