Upper bounds for quantization errors in digital subtraction angiography
Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) is a technique used for enhancement of small details in angiogram imaging systems. In this approach, X-ray images of a subject, after injection, are subtracted from a reference X-ray image, taken from the same subject before injection. Due to the exponential absorption property of X-rays; effects of small details at different depth appear differently on X-ray images. Consequently, image subtraction cannot be employed on the original images without any adjustment or modification. Proper modification, in this case, is to use some form of logarithmic operation on images before subtraction. In medical imaging systems, the system designer has a choice to implement this logarithmic operation in the analog domain, before digitization of the video signal, or in the digital domain after analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) of the original video signal. In this paper, the difference between these two approaches is studied and upper bounds for quantization error in both cases are calculated. Based on this study, the best approach for utilization of the logarithmic function is proposed. The overall effects of these two approaches on the inherent signal noise are also addressed.
quantization error digital subtraction angiography medical imaging system