[en] In this paper, we propose a new reconstruction algorithm based on MAP (maximum a posteriori probability) estimation principle for emission tomography. To improve noise suppression properties of the conventional ML-EM (maximum likelihood expectation maximization) algorithm, direct three-dimensional reconstruction that utilizes intensity correlations between adjacent transaxial slices is introduced. Moreover, to avoid oversmoothing of edges, a priori knowledge of RI (radioisotope) distribution is represented by using a doubly-stochastic image model called the compound Gauss-Markov random field. The a posteriori probability is maximized by using the iterative GEM (generalized EM) algorithm. Computer simulation results are shown to demonstrate validity of the proposed algorithm. (author)