# Metal artefact reduction on CT

**URL:** <https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731>\
**Category:** Support\
**Tags:** segmentation\
**Created:** [July 25, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731 "2020-07-25T20:29:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kt297](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@kt297](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/kt297)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/1 "2020-07-25T20:29:18Z")

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Hi,

I am trying to segment bone with a metal prosthesis. Is there a plugin that will do this and remove the metal at the same time as segmenting the bone?

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**Author:** ![timeanddoctor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/timeanddoctor/32/5839_2.png) [@timeanddoctor](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/timeanddoctor)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/2 "2020-07-26T03:07:44Z")

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you can use the segment editor to deal with it.

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**Author:** ![kt297](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@kt297](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/kt297)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 9:04am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/3 "2020-07-26T09:04:29Z")

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Thanks,

Is there a tutorial on how to do this?

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**Author:** ![timeanddoctor](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/timeanddoctor/32/5839_2.png) [@timeanddoctor](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/timeanddoctor)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 10:43am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/4 "2020-07-26T10:43:36Z")

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[https://www.slicer.org/wiki/Documentation/4.10/Training#Segmentation\_for\_3D\_printing](https://www.slicer.org/wiki/Documentation/4.10/Training#Segmentation_for_3D_printing)

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**Author:** ![lassoan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/lassoan/32/13_2.png) [@lassoan](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/lassoan)\
**Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/5 "2020-07-26T15:32:32Z")

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I agree that for Segment Editor is a good tool for **manual** removal of metal artefacts. You can find some more background information and detailed description of segmentation related modules and links to tutorials here: [https://slicer.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user\_guide/image\_segmentation.html](https://slicer.readthedocs.io/en/latest/user_guide/image_segmentation.html)

In Segment Editor, you can get initial segmentation using Threshold effect (that creates a segment that contains what you need and as small artifact as possible), apply a little Smoothing to make 3D reconstruction faster, enable “Show 3D” and use Scissors tool to cut off artefacts, then apply Smoothing to make the cut surfaces smoother.

@timeanddoctor do you have a workflow that you find that usually works well for you?

For **automatic** removal/reduction of artefacts the most effective tools are implemented in the CT scanner and workstation, as they require special image acquisition protocols and 3D reconstruction techniques. If the image is already reconstructed into a 3D volume then there is no generally applicable artefact removal method, but you can still develop techniques that work for certain kind of images. If you post a few screenshots then we might be able to give more specific advice.

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**Author:** ![philippe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@philippe](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/philippe)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 9:33am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/6 "2022-06-17T09:33:01Z")

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hello,

I came around this old post searching for a way to do it in slicer.  
Depending on your image, you can try wxdicom:

> **[Machine Intelligence Laboratory](https://mi.eng.cam.ac.uk/Main/GMT_wxDicom)**
>
> The Machine Intelligence Laboratory is part of the Information Engineering Division of the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK.

It has filters specifically targetting metal artefacts. It may be better than a direct segmentation (the metal stays there but the radial artefacts are largely removed).  
It looks like these filters are not implemented in slicer tough ??

Thanks  
Philippe

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**Author:** ![pieper](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/discourse.slicer.org/pieper/32/8_2.png) [@pieper](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/pieper)\
**Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 12:01pm UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/7 "2022-06-17T12:01:23Z")

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The wxDicom filters look nice, but it’s not clear if the source code is available and if so what license it is released under. You could experiment with the executables and if it’s promising you may want to contact the author.

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**Author:** ![philippe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f14d63/32.png) [@philippe](https://discourse.slicer.org/u/philippe)\
**Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 6:33am UTC](https://discourse.slicer.org/t/metal-artefact-reduction-on-ct/12731/8 "2022-06-20T06:33:37Z")

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Hello,

I don’t know about the source code either but I guess it is published algorithms.  
On the trials we did, it seemed to work pretty well.

However, the post was mainly to provide information to people that would look for the same info (what is out there, in slicer or not) and possibly trigger an updated reaction. I have no urgent need to have it implemented in slicer (it is fine for us to use it as wxdicom).

Thanks  
Philippe