Non-rigid summing of gated PET via optical flow

A method for summing together datasets from gated cardiac PET acquisitions is described. Optical flow techniques are used to accurately model non-rigid motion present during the cardiac cycle so that a one-to-one mapping is found between each voxel of two gated volumes. Using this mapping, image summing can take place, producing a composite dataset with improved statistics and reduced motion-induced blur. Results using data from a gated cardiac study on a dog are presented.