Computed tomography (CT) has become an important technique for analyzing the inner structures of material, biological and energy fields. However, there are often challenges in the practical application of CT due to insufficient data. For example, the maximum rotation angle of the sample stage is limited by sample space or image reconstruction from the limited number of views required to reduce the X-ray dose delivered to the sample. Therefore, it is difficult to acquire CT images with complete data. In this work, an iterative reconstruction algorithm based on the minimization of the image total variation (TV) has been utilized to develop equally sloped tomography (EST), and the reconstruction was carried out from limited-angle, few-view and noisy data. A synchrotron CT experiment on hydroxyapatite was also carried out to demonstrate the ability of the TV-EST algorithm. The results indicated that the new TV-EST algorithm was capable of achieving high-quality reconstructions from projections with insufficient data.
Supporting information
 | Moving Picture Experts Group (MPG) video file https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057751700100X/hf5332sup1.mpg Movie S1: Three-dimensional volume renderings of hydroxyapatite reconstructed results from projections with angle ranges of -65 deg to +65 deg of the TV-EST algorithm, in which the boundaries of the object are clearly visible. |
 | Moving Picture Experts Group (MPG) video file https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057751700100X/hf5332sup2.mpg Movie S2: 3D volume renderings of hydroxyapatite reconstructed results from projections with angle ranges of -65 deg to +65 deg of the EST algorithm. |
 | Moving Picture Experts Group (MPG) video file https://doi.org/10.1107/S160057751700100X/hf5332sup3.mpg Movie S3: 3D volume renderings of hydroxyapatite reconstructed results from projections with angle ranges of -65 deg to +65 deg of the FBP algorithm; compared with Movie S1, there are obvious deficiencies in Movie S3. |