System and method for improving the quality of images produced by CT scanners operating on low power

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown one preferred embodiment of the present invention that uses image processing to reduce noise in computer tomography (CT) images 160 produced by a low-powered computed tomography scanner 105. This scanner may be installed in a rural clinic or a truck mounted portable unit which may be moved to various sites including military battlefields, sites of outdoor sporting events and archaeological sites. In these environments, the images produced by-low-powered CT scanning are much noiser than those produced under optimal conditions.

A physical object (typically a medical patient) 120 is scanned by the CT scanner 105, collecting projection data 170, from which is created a set of low power 2D CT images 160. This process of creating the images 160 is known as image reconstruction from projections.

The CT images 160 contain cross-sectional details of the scene that was scanned, which typically includes the patient 120,