Variable-length correlation method for the correction of body motions and heart creep in the SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging

Body motion and heart upward creep are among the most frequent sources of artifacts in the single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of nuclear medicine. This paper provides a new method for automatic correction of such motions. Under the formulation of a variable length correlation, abrupt body motions, gradual body motions, and heart upward creep are corrected in sequential passes. An affine transformation is used to compensate for changes in heart appearance caused by varying view angles in image acquisition. Additionally, a method is proposed for automatic exclusion of non-cardiac organs. The effectiveness of the method has been demonstrated with experimental results.