Basic Definition:
Binning is the process of grouping MxN blocks of voxels in an image to produce a lower resolution image of fewer, but larger, voxels with higher flux and signal-to-noise ratio. Most commonly, M=N. A binning of 1×1 is the same as no binning. For example, a 4000X4000 pixel detector at bin 1×1 would take a 16MP (megapixel) image; at bin 2×2 would produce a 4MP image, with 4 times the flux at each pixel; and at bin 4×4 a 1MP image, with 16 times the flux at each pixel. The primary tradeoff with higher levels of binning is reduced image resolution.
More Information:
- Ghani MU, Zhou Z, Ren L, Li Y, Zheng B, Yang K, Liu H. Investigation of spatial resolution characteristics of an in vivo micro computed tomography system. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res A. 2016 Jan 21;807:129-136. doi: 10.1016/j.nima.2015.11.007. PMID: 26640309; PMCID: PMC4668590.
- Irie, M.S., Spin-Neto, R., Borges, J.S. et al. Effect of data binning and frame averaging for micro-CT image acquisition on the morphometric outcome of bone repair assessment. Sci Rep 12, 1424 (2022). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-05459-6