Structured Light 3D Tracking System for Measuring Motions in PET Brain Imaging

Patient motion during scanning deteriorates image quality, especially for high resolution PET scanners. A new proposal for a 3D head tracking system for motion correction in high resolution PET brain imaging is set up and demonstrated. A prototype tracking system based on structured light with a DLP projector and a CCD camera is set up on a model of the High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT). Methods to reconstruct 3D point clouds of simple surfaces based on phase-shifting interferometry (PSI) are demonstrated. The projector and camera are calibrated using a simple stereo vision procedure where the projector is treated as a camera. Additionally, the surface reconstructions are corrected for the non-linear projector output prior to image capture. The results are convincing and a first step toward a fully automated tracking system for measuring head motions in PET imaging.