Sparsity constrained split feasibility for dose-volume constraints in inverse planning of intensity-modulated photon or proton therapy

A split feasibility formulation for the inverse problem of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning with dose-volume constraints (DVCs) included in the planning algorithm is presented. It involves a new type of sparsity constraint that enables the inclusion of a percentage-violation constraint in the model problem and its handling by continuous (as opposed to integer) … Read more

Can linear superiorization be useful for linear optimization problems?

Linear superiorization considers linear programming problems but instead of attempting to solve them with linear optimization methods it employs perturbation resilient feasibility-seeking algorithms and steers them toward reduced (not necessarily minimal) target function values. The two questions that we set out to explore experimentally are (i) Does linear superiorization provide a feasible point whose linear … Read more

Linear superiorization for infeasible linear programming

Linear superiorization (abbreviated: LinSup) considers linear programming (LP) problems wherein the constraints as well as the objective function are linear. It allows to steer the iterates of a feasibility-seeking iterative process toward feasible points that have lower (not necessarily minimal) values of the objective function than points that would have been reached by the same … Read more

The implicit convex feasibility problem and its application to adaptive image denoising

The implicit convex feasibility problem attempts to find a point in the intersection of a finite family of convex sets, some of which are not explicitly determined but may vary. We develop simultaneous and sequential projection methods capable of handling such problems and demonstrate their applicability to image denoising in a specific medical imaging situation. … Read more

New Douglas-Rachford algorithmic structures and their convergence analyses

In this paper we study new algorithmic structures with Douglas- Rachford (DR) operators to solve convex feasibility problems. We propose to embed the basic two-set-DR algorithmic operator into the String-Averaging Projections (SAP) and into the Block-Iterative Pro- jection (BIP) algorithmic structures, thereby creating new DR algo- rithmic schemes that include the recently proposed cyclic Douglas- … Read more

Techniques in Iterative Proton CT Image Reconstruction

This is a review paper on some of the physics, modeling, and iterative algorithms in proton computed tomography (pCT) image reconstruction. The primary challenge in pCT image reconstruction lies in the degraded spatial resolution resulting from multiple Coulomb scattering within the imaged object. Analytical models such as the most likely path (MLP) have been proposed … Read more

Bounded perturbation resilience of projected scaled gradient methods

We investigate projected scaled gradient (PSG) methods for convex minimization problems. These methods perform a descent step along a diagonally scaled gradient direction followed by a feasibility regaining step via orthogonal projection onto the constraint set. This constitutes a generalized algorithmic structure that encompasses as special cases the gradient projection method, the projected Newton method, … Read more

Weak and Strong Superiorization: Between Feasibility-Seeking and Minimization

We review the superiorization methodology, which can be thought of, in some cases, as lying between feasibility-seeking and constrained minimization. It is not quite trying to solve the full fledged constrained minimization problem; rather, the task is to find a feasible point which is superior (with respect to an objective function value) to one returned … Read more

Projection Methods: An Annotated Bibliography of Books and Reviews

Projections onto sets are used in a wide variety of methods in optimization theory but not every method that uses projections really belongs to the class of projection methods as we mean it here. Here projection methods are iterative algorithms that use projections onto sets while relying on the general principle that when a family … Read more

Strict Fejér Monotonicity by Superiorization of Feasibility-Seeking Projection Methods

We consider the superiorization methodology, which can be thought of as lying between feasibility-seeking and constrained minimization. It is not quite trying to solve the full fledged constrained minimization problem; rather, the task is to find a feasible point which is superior (with respect to the objective function value) to one returned by a feasibility-seeking … Read more