System and method for using multiple collimation data for tomography

1. A method of imaging a subject using tomographic imaging, the method comprising:

obtaining a measurement of the subject;

generating a projector function using the obtained measurement;

modifying the generated projector function based on an a priori image of the subject;

reconstructing an image of the subject using the modified projector function.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said generating a projector function comprises generating a line projector function using coincidence collimation.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

generating the a priori image using a cone-surface projector function.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said generating a projector function comprises generating a cone-surface projector function using Compton kinematics collimation.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

generating the a priori image using a line projector function.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the projector function is generated using positron emission tomography (PET);

wherein the a priori image is generated using a modality other than PET.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generated projector function provides one of high-resolution signals and low-resolution signals;

wherein the a priori image is generated using a projector function providing the other of high-resolution signals and low-resolution signals.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein said obtaining a measurement comprises:

producing at least one photon interaction in at least one detector;

for each of the at least one photon interactions, determining a position and energy.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said modifying the generated projector function comprises:

reweighting the generated projector function based on probabilities provided from the a priori image.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein said modifying the generated projector function comprises:

multiplying the generated projector function by the a priori image.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

filtering the a priori image prior to said modifying.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

filtering the reconstructed image.

13. A system for tomographic imaging, comprising:

a plurality of detectors disposed with respect to a subject to obtain measurement data;

an image generator coupled to said plurality of detectors for reconstructing an image based on the obtained measurement data;

a source of an a priori image of the subject;

wherein said image generator is configured to generate a projector function using the obtained measurement data, modify the generated projector function using the a priori image, and reconstruct the image using the modified projector function.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of said plurality of detectors comprises said source of an a priori image.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the generated projector function is generated by one of Compton kinematics collimation and coincidence collimation;

wherein said source of an a priori image provides the a priori image by the other of Compton kinematics collimation and coincidence collimation.

16. The system of claim 13 , wherein said source of an a priori image uses a modality other than PET.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein said source of an a priori image comprises detectors having at different resolution than said plurality of detectors.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein said plurality of detectors comprise 3-D PET detectors.

19. The system of claim 13 , wherein said image generator comprises a computing device.

20. An image generator comprising: a computing device configured to perform the method of claim 1 .

21. An apparatus for controlling a computing device comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-readable instructions that, when read, cause a computer to perform the method of claim 1 .

22. An article comprising: a substrate bearing a printed image produced by the method of claim 1 .