Abstract

An optical system for real-time reconstruction of computed tomography (CT) images was previously described.¹ The system implements the filtered backprojection algorithm using a heterodyne space-integrating acoustooptic convolver for the filtering operation and an incoherent optical system for the backprojection operation. The first images reconstructed using this system are presented. These images represent the first video-rate CT reconstructions ever produced. Performance of the present system as well as a discussion of the general issue of image quality in realtime CT are presented. Alternative approaches to implementing the filtering operation are also described. The talk concludes with a discussion of the potential applications of real-time CT in medical diagnosis, industrial inspection, and as an analytic technique for the study of dynamic processes.

© 1986 Optical Society of America