Physics-informed 4D X-ray image reconstruction from ultra-sparse spatiotemporal data
This work addresses the challenge of sparse data in 4D X-ray imaging for researchers studying fast dynamic processes like fluid dynamics, though it appears incremental as it builds on existing AI-physics hybrid methods.
The paper tackles the problem of reconstructing 4D X-ray images from ultra-sparse spatiotemporal data, which is ill-posed for classical methods, by introducing 4D-PIONIX, a physics-informed deep learning method that incorporates a full physical model. The approach successfully retrieves 4D information from simulated binary droplet collisions, demonstrating its potential for fluid dynamics and other rapid processes.
The unprecedented X-ray flux density provided by modern X-ray sources offers new spatiotemporal possibilities for X-ray imaging of fast dynamic processes. Approaches to exploit such possibilities often result in either i) a limited number of projections or spatial information due to limited scanning speed, as in time-resolved tomography, or ii) a limited number of time points, as in stroboscopic imaging, making the reconstruction problem ill-posed and unlikely to be solved by classical reconstruction approaches. 4D reconstruction from such data requires sample priors, which can be included via deep learning (DL). State-of-the-art 4D reconstruction methods for X-ray imaging combine the power of AI and the physics of X-ray propagation to tackle the challenge of sparse views. However, most approaches do not constrain the physics of the studied process, i.e., a full physical model. Here we present 4D physics-informed optimized neural implicit X-ray imaging (4D-PIONIX), a novel physics-informed 4D X-ray image reconstruction method combining the full physical model and a state-of-the-art DL-based reconstruction method for 4D X-ray imaging from sparse views. We demonstrate and evaluate the potential of our approach by retrieving 4D information from ultra-sparse spatiotemporal acquisitions of simulated binary droplet collisions, a relevant fluid dynamic process. We envision that this work will open new spatiotemporal possibilities for various 4D X-ray imaging modalities, such as time-resolved X-ray tomography and more novel sparse acquisition approaches like X-ray multi-projection imaging, which will pave the way for investigations of various rapid 4D dynamics, such as fluid dynamics and composite testing.