Leonid Kunyansky

Mathematics of thermoacoustic tomography

The paper presents a survey of mathematical problems, techniques, and challenges arising in the Thermoacoustic (also called Photoacoustic or Optoacoustic) Tomography.

Explicit inversion formulae for the spherical mean Radon transform

We derive explicit formulae for the reconstruction of a function from its integrals over a family of spheres, or for the inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform. Such formulae are important for problems of thermo- and photo-acoustic tomography. A closed-form inversion formula of a filtrationbackprojection type is found for the case when the centres of the integration spheres lie on a sphere in R n surrounding the support of the unknown function.

A new SPECT reconstruction algorithm based on the Novikov explicit inversion formula

We present a new reconstruction algorithm for single-photon emission computed tomography. The algorithm is based on the Novikov explicit inversion formula for the attenuated Radon transform with non-uniform attenuation. Our reconstruction technique can be viewed as a generalization of both the filtered backprojection algorithm and the Tretiak-Metz algorithm. We test the performance of the present algorithm in a variety of numerical experiments. Our numerical examples show that the algorithm is capable of accurate image reconstruction even in the case of strongly non-uniform attenuation coefficient, similar to that occurring in a human thorax.

A series solution and a fast algorithm for the inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform

An explicit series solution is proposed for the inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform. Such an inversion is required in problems of thermo- and photo-acoustic tomography. Closed-form inversion formulae are currently known only for the case when the centres of the integration spheres lie on a sphere surrounding the support of the unknown function, or on certain unbounded surfaces. Our approach results in an explicit series solution for any closed measuring surface surrounding a region for which the eigenfunctions of the Dirichlet Laplacian are explicitly known—such as, for example, cube, finite cylinder, half-sphere etc. In addition, we present a fast reconstruction algorithm applicable in the case when the detectors (the centres of the integration spheres) lie on a surface of a cube. This algorithm reconstructs 3D images thousands times faster than backprojection-type methods.

Surface scattering in three dimensions: an accelerated high-order solver

We present a new algorithm for the numerical solution of problems of acoustic scattering by surfaces in three–dimensional space. This algorithm evaluates scattered fields through fast, high–order, accurate solution of the corresponding boundary integral equation. The high–order accuracy of our solver is achieved through use of partitions of unityI together with analytical resolution of kernel singularities. The acceleration, in turn, results from use of high–order equivalent source approximations, which allow for fast evaluation of non–adjacent interactions by means of the three–dimensional fast Fourier transform (FFT). Our acceleration scheme has dramatically lower memory requirements and yields much higher accuracy than existing FFT–accelerated techniques. The present algorithm computes one matrix–vector multiply in O(N6/5logN) to O(N4/3logN) operations (depending on the geometric characteristics of the scattering surface), it exhibits super–algebraic convergence, and it does not suffer from accuracy breakdowns of any kind. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method through a variety of examples. In particular, we show that the present algorithm can evaluate accurately, on a personal computer, scattering from bodies of acoustical sizes (ka) of several hundreds.

Synthetic focusing in ultrasound modulated tomography

Several hybrid tomographic methods utilizing ultrasound modulation have been introduced lately. Success of these methods hinges on the feasibility of focusing ultrasound waves at an arbitrary point of interest. Such a focusing, however, is difficult to achieve in practice. We thus propose a way to avoid the use of focused waves through the so called synthetic focusing, i.e. by the reconstruction of the would-be response to the focused modulation from the measurements corresponding to realistic unfocused waves. Examples of reconstructions from simulated data are provided. This non-technical paper describes only the general concept, while technical details will appear elsewhere.

Spectral properties of high contrast band-gap materials and operators on graphs

The theory of classical waves in periodic high contrast photonic and acoustic media leads to the spectral problem - Δu= λ∈u, where the dielectric constant ∈(x) is a periodic function which assumes a large value ∈ near a periodic graph Σ in R^2 and is equal to 1 otherwise. Existence and locations of spectral gaps are of primary interest. The high contrast asymptotics naturally leads to pseudodifferential operators of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann type on graphs and on more general structures. Spectra of these operators are studied numerically and analytically. New spectral effects are discovered, among them the “almost discreteness” of the spectrum for a disconnected graph and the existence of “almost localized” waves in some connected purely periodic structures.

Reconstruction of a function from its spherical (circular) means with the centers lying on the surface of certain polygons and polyhedra

We present explicit filtration/backprojection-type formulae for the inversion of the spherical (circular) mean transform with the centers lying on the boundary of some polyhedra (or polygons, in 2D). The formulae are derived using the double-layer potentials for the wave equation, for domains with certain symmetries. The formulae are valid for a rectangle and certain triangles in 2D, and for a cuboid, certain right prisms and a certain pyramid in 3D. All the present inversion formulae yield exact reconstruction within the domain surrounded by the acquisition surface even in the presence of exterior sources.

Differential operators on graphs and photonic crystals

Studying classical wave propagation in periodic high contrast photonic and acoustic media naturally leads to the following spectral problem: −Δu=λεu, where ε(x) (the dielectric constant) is a periodic function that assumes a large value ε near a periodic graph Σ in R2 and is equal to 1 otherwise. High contrast regimes lead to appearence of pseudo-differential operators of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann type on graphs. The paper contains a technique of approximating these pseudo-differential spectral problems by much simpler differential ones that can sometimes be resolved analytically. Numerical experiments show amazing agreement between the spectra of the pseudo-differential and differential problems.

Thermoacoustic tomography with detectors on an open curve: an efficient reconstruction algorithm

Practical applications of thermoacoustic tomography require numerical inversion of the spherical mean Radon transform with the centers of integration spheres occupying an open surface. A solution of this problem is needed (both in 2D and in 3D) because frequently the region of interest cannot be completely surrounded by the detectors, as happens, for example, in breast imaging. We present an efficient numerical algorithm for solving this problem in 2D (similar methods are applicable in the 3D case). Our method is based on the numerical approximation of plane waves by certain single-layer potentials related to the acquisition geometry. After the densities of these potentials have been precomputed, each subsequent image reconstruction has the complexity of the regular filtration backprojection algorithm for the classical Radon transform. The performance of the method is demonstrated in several numerical examples: one can see that the algorithm produces very accurate reconstructions if the data are accurate and sufficiently well sampled; on the other hand, it is sufficiently stable with respect to noise in the data.