STS-MIP: a new reconstruction technique for CT of the chest.

The authors present sliding thin-slab maximum intensity projection (STS-MIP) as a technique for improved visualization of blood vessels and airways from rapidly acquired thin-section CT data. The STS-MIP reconstructions can be computed rapidly and without operator intervention directly from the transaxial sections. The resulting images retain the high contrast resolution of thin-section (1-3 mm) CT while providing vascular or airway visibility within a sequence of overlapping thin-slabs (3-10 mm). Examples are presented of pulmonary vessels and airways derived from spiral CT and of pulmonary vessels and coronary arteries derived from electron-beam CT.