The parallel implementation of a backpropagation neural network and its applicability to SPECT image reconstruction

The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), in particular a backpropagation ANN, to improve the speed and quality of the reconstruction of three-dimensional SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) images. In addition, since the processing elements (PE)s in each layer of an ANN are independent of each other, the speed and efficiency of the neural network architecture could be better optimized by implementing the ANN on a massively parallel computer. The specific goals of this research were: to implement a fully interconnected backpropagation neural network on a serial computer and a SIMD parallel computer, to identify any reduction in the time required to train these networks on the parallel machine versus the serial machine, to determine if these neural networks can learn to recognize SPECT data by training them on a section of an actual SPECT image, and to determine from the knowledge obtained in this research if full SPECT image reconstruction by an ANN implemented on a parallel computer is feasible both in time required to train the network, and in quality of the images reconstructed.