Methods and systems for adaptive tomographic imaging

A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method for adaptive imaging, comprising:

• acquiring preliminary projection data by scanning each of one or more views of a subject for a determined preliminary scan interval;
• identifying a region of interest of the subject;
• performing a constrained optimization of a rapidly computable image quality metric using the preliminary projection data for determining an acquisition protocol that improves the image quality metric at the identified region of interest, wherein performing the constrained optimization comprises:
• estimating one or more of a contrast metric and a noise metric associated with the identified region of interest using the preliminary projection data;
• and
• combining the contrast metric and the noise metric for determining the acquisition protocol;
• acquiring target projection data corresponding to at least the identified region of interest using the determined acquisition protocol;
• and
• reconstructing an image of at least the identified region of interest using the target projection data, the preliminary projection data, or a combination thereof.

An nuclear imaging system, comprising:

• one or more detectors configured to move about a subject to acquire projection data from one or more views;
• and
• a controller configured to vary a scan interval for which one or more of the detectors remains at a particular view in the one or more views in response to one or more control signals;
• a computing system coupled to one or more of the detector and the controller, wherein the computing system:
• provides one or more of the control signals to one or more of the detectors to acquire preliminary projection data by scanning each of one or more views of the subject for a determined preliminary scan interval;
• identifies a region of interest of the subject;
• performs a constrained optimization of a rapidly computable image quality metric using the preliminary projection data for determining an acquisition protocol that improves the image quality metric at the identified region of interest, wherein performing the constrained optimization comprises estimating one or more of a contrast metric and a noise metric associated with the identified region of interest using the preliminary projection data and combining the contrast metric and the noise metric for determining the acquisition protocol;
• provides one or more of the control signals to one or more of the detectors to acquire target projection data corresponding to at least the identified region of interest using the determined acquisition protocol;
• and
• reconstructs an image of at least the identified region of interest using the target projection data, the preliminary projection data, or a combination thereof.