In recent years, new x-ray radiographic systems based on large area flat panel technology have revolutionized our capability to produce digital x-ray radiographic images. However, these active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI) are extraordinarily expensive compared to the systems they are replacing. Thus there is a clear need for a low cost digital imaging system for general applications in radiology. Different approaches have been considered to make lower cost xray imaging devices for digital radiography, including: reducing the cost of existing flat panel systems, scanned projection x-ray, an approach based on computed radiography (CR) technology, and optically demagnified x-ray screen/camera systems. All of these approaches are quite expensive and none have the image quality of AMFPIs. We have identified a new approach - the X-ray Light Valve (XLV). It combines three well-established technologies: an a- Se layer to convert x-rays to image charge, a liquid crystal (LC) cell, and a scanned digital readout. This device achieves our goal of immediate readout with image quality comparable to an AMFPI, while keeping costs low. The XLV system has been shown to have all the properties required for general radiography.

In this study, we report a multi-beam x-ray imaging system that can generate a scanning x-ray beam to image an object from multiple projection angles without mechanical motion. The key part of this imaging system is a multi-beam field emission x-ray (MBFEX) source which comprises a linear array of gated electron emitting pixels. The pixels are individually addressable via a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor) based electronic circuit. The device can provide a tube current of 0.1-1 mA at 40 kVp with less than 300 μm focal spot size from each of the emitting pixels. Multilayer images of different phantoms were reconstructed to demonstrate its potential applications in tomographic imaging. Since no mechanical motion is needed and the electronic switching time is generally negligible the MBFEX system has the potential to simplify the system design and lead to a fast data acquisition for tomographic imaging.

The need to assure the image quality of digital systems for mammography screening applications is now widely recognized. One approach is embodied in Part B of the European Protocol for the Quality Control of the Physical and Technical Aspects of Mammography Screening (EPQCM), which prescribes criteria for several interconnected image quality metrics. The focus of this study is on the "threshold contrast visibility" (TCV) protocol (section 2.4.1 of the EPQCM), in which human observers score images of a CDMAM or similar 4-AFC phantom. This section of the EPQCM currently omits many critical experimental details, which must be gleaned from ancillary documents. Given these, the purpose of this study is to quantify the effects of several remaining experimental variables, including phantom design, and the methods used for scoring and analysis, on the measured results. Preliminary studies of two CDMAM version 3.4 (CDMAM 3.4) phantoms have revealed a 17% difference in TCV when averaged over all target diameters from 0.1 to 2.0 mm. This indicates phantom variability may affect results at some sites. More importantly, we have shown that the current CDMAM phantom design, methods for scoring, and analysis, substantially limit the ability to measure system performance accurately and precisely. An improved phantom design has been shown to avoid these limitations. Viewing environment and presentation context affect the performance and efficiency of visual scoring of phantom images. An automated display tool has been developed that isolates individual 4-AFC targets of CDMAM phantom images, automatically optimizes window/level, and automatically records observers' scores. While not substantially changing TCV, the tool has increased scoring efficiency while mitigating several of the limitations associated with unassisted visual scoring. For example, learning bias and navigational issues are completely avoided. Ultimately, software-based ideal observer scoring will likely prove to be a better approach. Statistical-decision-theory-based (SDT) analysis has been shown to mitigate limitations associated with the current CDMAM phantom and the ad hoc nearest-neighbor correcting (NNC) scoring method. NNC analysis is sensitive to the degree of incomplete scoring (stopping criteria). However, SDT substantially mitigates this problem, using all of the available data to derive thresholds that are more interpretable. Bootstrap sampling was used to provide an estimate of the standard error for SDT analysis. In conclusion, the current EPQCM section 2.4.1 protocol fails to measure TCV accurately and precisely enough to qualify digital mammography systems. This paper presents a series of recommendations that supplement section 2.4.1 of the EPQCM and that provide a stable and accurate measure of TCV.

European Guidelines for quality control in digital mammography specify minimum and achievable standards of image quality in terms of threshold contrast, based on readings of images of the CDMAM test object by human observers. However this is time-consuming and has large inter-observer error. To overcome these problems a software program (CDCOM) is available to automatically read CDMAM images, but the optimal method of interpreting the output is not defined. This study evaluates methods of determining threshold contrast from the program, and compares these to human readings for a variety of mammography systems. The methods considered are (A) simple thresholding (B) psychometric curve fitting (C) smoothing and interpolation and (D) smoothing and psychometric curve fitting. Each method leads to similar threshold contrasts but with different reproducibility. Method (A) had relatively poor reproducibility with a standard error in threshold contrast of 18.1 ± 0.7%. This was reduced to 8.4% by using a contrast-detail curve fitting procedure. Method (D) had the best reproducibility with an error of 6.7%, reducing to 5.1% with curve fitting. A panel of 3 human observers had an error of 4.4% reduced to 2.9 % by curve fitting. All automatic methods led to threshold contrasts that were lower than for humans. The ratio of human to program threshold contrasts varied with detail diameter and was 1.50 ± .04 (sem) at 0.1mm and 1.82 ± .06 at 0.25mm for method (D). There were good correlations between the threshold contrast determined by humans and the automated methods.

This paper will present new anatomically adaptable automatic exposure control (AEC), called Flex-AEC⁺, for amorphous selenium (a-Se) full field digital mammography (FFDM) system. The AEC operation is based on a principle where the imaging chain components are all modelled into the system software. Once the imaging parameters are all known it enables the system to exactly define the tissue composition imaged and utilize exposure parameters optimal for it. Based on the detected object composition together with the other imaging parameters the amount of signal produced by the amorphous selenium flat panel is exactly calculated and the desired dose of the exposure on the detector is thereby reached accurately. The AEC consists of 48 individual detection areas that cover a selenium flat panel area of 100 cm². It is therefore able to measure a well representative sample of the tissue to be exposed and adjust the exposure parameters optimal for the breast tissue composition. Clinical benefits of AEC are found because of fully understanding the behaviour of the x-ray beam together with the calculation models of the AEC. This gives better understanding of breast anatomy in all mammography screening and diagnostic cases, and responses to various tissue compositions by optimizing the image quality and dose. The spectrum of the x-ray radiation changes remarkably when passing through the various materials on its path. Optimal image quality and dose requires anatomically adjusted imaging parameters, which will represent the true breast tissue composition taking account in all different glandular tissue in the breast. Based on the detected object composition together with the other imaging parameters the amount of signal produced by the selenium flat panel is exactly calculated, and the desired image quality and dose is reached accurately.

We use a previously reported, optimized quasi-monochromatic beam technique together with unique complex acquisition trajectories made possible with a novel, dedicated cone-beam transmission computed mammotomography (CmT) system to investigate effects of low dose imaging of pendant, uncompressed breasts. Investigators have used a guideline of dose for CmT type applications as that used for dual-view mammography (4-6 mGy for average breast size). This dose is somewhat arbitrary, and it may be possible to reduce this significantly without sacrificing image quality using our quasi-monochromatic x-ray beam, 3D complex acquisition orbits, and iterative reconstruction techniques. A low-scatter acrylic resolution phantom in various media, a breast phantom with sponge and oil-filled lesions, and a cadaver breast are used to evaluate the effect of lowered dose on resolution and image artifacts. Complex saddle acquisition trajectories (necessary to overcome cone-beam distortion) are carried out for total exposures of 96, 300, and 600 mAs over 240 projections. These exposures relate approximately to 1/10^th, 1/3^rd, and 2/3^rd of the standard dual view mammography dose for an average sized 50% adipose/glandular breast. Iterative reconstruction uses an OSTR algorithm with 0.125 mm³ voxels. Image artifacts increased as dose was reduced but did not appear to greatly degrade image quality except at the lowest contrast tested (1% absolute contrast). As expected, noise increased as dose was reduced. However, this did not appear to affect resolution for rods in air (high contrast), nor rods in oil (20% absolute contrast). Resolution was reduced for rods in water (1% absolute contrast) due to increased prevalence of image artifacts as well as increased noise. Breast phantom imaging of soft lesions in a highly glandular breast (6% absolute contrast) clearly yielded the 60uL and all larger volume lesions. Preliminary biological breast tissue results illustrate excellent subjective image quality at all dose levels tested. Results indicate that our quasi-monochromatic beam together with complex orbit capability and iterative reconstruction has the potential to provide sufficient image quality for practical 3D mammotomography of uncompressed breasts at significantly lower dose than dual view mammography. This is nominally a 2-fold improvement over other approaches using circular orbits and broader spectral x-ray beams. While simple image filtering (post-reconstruction smoothing) could improve noise quality, improvements in image artifact correction and scatter correction are required to more accurately determine the lower limits on dose. A contrast-detail study is also warranted with a greater variety of lesion sizes and contrasts.

Monochromatic X-rays have been proposed for medical imaging, especially in the mammographic energy range. Our previous investigations have shown that the contrast of objects such as lesions or contrast media can be enhanced considerably by using monochromatic X-rays instead of the common polychromatic spectra. Admittedly, only one specific polychromatic spectrum and one monochromatic energy have been compared so far. In this work, we investigated the contrast yielded by a series of different X-ray spectra obtained by varying tube voltage and beam filtering. This resulted in spectra of different mean energies and spectral widths. The objects under examination were aqueous solutions containing different chemical elements such as I, Gd, Dy, Yb, and Bi. A monoenergetic spectrum at 17.5 keV was obtained using a mammographic X-ray tube with a Mo anode and a monochromator equipped with a HOPG crystal. Moreover, we simulated quasi-monoenergetic spectra at different energies and with different widths. As a result, we demonstrated that in many cases spectra with an energetic width of some keV yield an equivalent contrast to monoenergetic radiation at the same energy. Therefore, the advantage in image contrast of monochromatic X-rays at 17.5 keV over narrow-band polychromatic X-ray spectra obtained by appropriate filtering is only slight. Thus, the additional expenditure on a mammography system with HOPG monochromator that can deliver only a small X-ray dose and the unfavorable slot-scan geometry can be avoided. Moreover, we carried out simulations of monochromatic versus polychromatic spectra throughout the whole radiographic energy range. We found advantages in using monochromatic X-rays at higher energies and thicker objects that will justify their application for diagnostic imaging in a number of specific cases.

Measurements and simulations of the signal-difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) and average glandular dose (AGD) have been performed on a photon counting full-field digital mammography system to determine the optimal operating conditions. Several beam qualities were experimentally evaluated by using different combinations of tube voltage, added filters and thickness of BR12 with a tungsten target x-ray tube. The SDNR and AGD were also calculated theoretically for an extended number of operating conditions and a more accurate breast model. As figure of merit for each operating condition, a spectral quantum efficiency (SQE) was calculated as the polychromatic SDNR squared over the optimal monochromatic SDNR squared at the same AGD. The theoretical model agreed within ±4% relative the measured SDNR throughout the evaluated breast thickness (30-70 mm) and tube voltage range (26-38 kV). The optimization was performed with a constant SDNR-rate as compared to using a fixed filter thickness. The optimal combinations of tube voltage-filter material were: 32 kV-Ag, 34 kV-Cd, 36 kV-Sn for a breast thickness of 30, 50 and 70 mm respectively. These K-edge filter materials increased the SQE by less than 4% compared to the optimal Al filtration.

Digital breast tomosynthesis promises solutions to many of the problems associated with projection mammography, including elimination of artifactual densities due to the superposition of normal tissues and increasing the conspicuity of true lesions that would otherwise be masked by superimposed normal tissue. We have investigated tomosynthesis using a digital camera containing 48 photon counting, orientation sensitive, linear detectors which are precisely aligned with the focal spot of the x-ray source. The x-ray source and the digital detectors are scanned in a continuous motion across the object (patient), each linear detector collecting an image at a distinct angle. A preliminary assessment of tomosynthesis image quality has been performed with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Measured values of MTF and NPS appear concordant with theoretical values. The MTF in the scanning direction is dominated by scanning unsharpness and geometric factors, while the NPS is white. The MTF and NPS in the strip direction are somewhat lower than in the scan direction. The NPS of tomographic images show a slight decrease with increasing spatial frequency, related to the sampling and interpolation in the reconstruction process. A phase I clinical trial is ongoing; 9 women have been recruited. Breast positioning is comparable to other imaging systems. The visualization of breast anatomy appears to be superior to screen-film mammography, at the same average glandular dose. Examination of images reconstructed with a sub-sampled set of projection images appears to support the hypothesis that image quality is superior when more projection images are used in the reconstruction.

A new mammography tomosynthesis prototype system that acquires 21 projection images over a 60 degree angular range in approximately 8 seconds has been developed and characterized. Fast imaging sequences are facilitated by a high power tube and generator for faster delivery of the x-ray exposure and a high speed detector read-out. An enhanced a-Si/CsI flat panel digital detector provides greater DQE at low exposure, enabling tomo image sequence acquisitions at total patient dose levels between 150% and 200% of the dose of a standard mammographic view. For clinical scenarios where a single MLO tomographic acquisition per breast may replace the standard CC and MLO views, total tomosynthesis breast dose is comparable to or below the dose in standard mammography. The system supports co-registered acquisition of x-ray tomosynthesis and 3-D ultrasound data sets by incorporating an ultrasound transducer scanning system that flips into position above the compression paddle for the ultrasound exam. Initial images acquired with the system are presented.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a tomographic technique in which individual slices through the breast are reconstructed from x-ray projection images acquired over a limited angular range. In contrast-enhanced DBT (CE-DBT) functional information can be observed by administration of an x-ray contrast agent. We have investigated the technical requirements necessary to quantitatively analyze CE-DBT exams. Using a simplified physiological model, a maximum aerial concentration of approximately 2.2 mg iodine/cm² in a 0.5 cm thick breast lesion is expected when administering 70 ml of 320 mg iodine/ml Visipaque-320^®. This corresponds to a small change in x-ray transmission; up to 5% for a 4 cm thick compressed breast. We have modeled CE-DBT acquisition by simulating Rh target x-ray spectra from 40 to 49 kV. Comparison of attenuation data of our simulated and measured spectra were found to agree well. We investigated the effect of scatter, patient motion and temporal stability of the detector on quantifying iodine uptake. These parameters were evaluated by means of experiments and theoretical modeling.

Breast cancer is a major problem and the most common cancer among women. The nature of conventional mammpgraphy makes it very difficult to distinguish a cancer from overlying breast tissues. Digital Tomosynthesis refers to a three-dimensional imaging technique that allows reconstruction of an arbitrary set of planes in the breast from limited-angle series of projection images as the x-ray source moves. Several tomosynthesis algorithms have been proposed, including Matrix Inversion Tomosynthesis (MITS) and Filtered Back Projection (FBP) that have been investigated in our lab. MITS shows better high frequency response in removing out-of-plane blur, while FBP shows better low frequency noise propertities. This paper presents an effort to combine MITS and FBP for better breast tomosynthesis reconstruction. A high-pass Gaussian filter was designed and applied to three-slice "slabbing" MITS reconstructions. A low-pass Gaussian filter was designed and applied to the FBP reconstructions. A frequency weighting parameter was studied to blend the high-passed MITS with low-passed FBP frequency components. Four different reconstruction methods were investigated and compared with human subject images: 1) MITS blended with Shift-And-Add (SAA), 2) FBP alone, 3) FBP with applied Hamming and Gaussian Filters, and 4) Gaussian Frequency Blending (GFB) of MITS and FBP. Results showed that, compared with FBP, Gaussian Frequency Blending (GFB) has better performance for high frequency content such as better reconstruction of micro-calcifications and removal of high frequency noise. Compared with MITS, GFB showed more low frequency breast tissue content.

Digital breast tomosynthesis is a new technique intended to overcome the limitations of conventional projection mammography by reconstructing slices through the breast from projection views acquired from different angles with respect to the breast. We formulate a general theory of filtered backprojection reconstruction for linear tomosynthesis. The filtering step consists of an MTF inversion filter, a spectral filter, and a slice thickness filter. In this paper the method is applied first to simulated data to understand the basic effects of the various filtering steps. We then demonstrate the impact of the filter functions with simulated projections and with clinical data acquired with a research breast tomosynthesis system.** With this reconstruction method the image quality can be controlled regarding noise and spatial resolution. In a wide range of spatial frequencies the slice thickness can be kept constant and artifacts caused by the incompleteness of the data can be suppressed.

Inverse-geometry CT (IGCT) is a promising new scanning geometry. Employing a scanned-anode x-ray source array the system is expected to provide sub-second volumetric imaging with isotropic resolution and no conebeam effects. Three detector arrays spaced apart laterally can achieve a 50 cm in-plane FOV with a 31 cm source. However, when three separate detector arrays are used, motion artifacts are expected to be different than in conventional CT and need to be assessed. Simulations were performed for two objects representing slow and fast motion as well as periodic and non-periodic motion. The simulations were repeated at different points in the FOV to study motion effects in three regions: 1) the inner 15 cm region which is sampled only by the central detector array, 2) the transition between the inner and outer regions, and 3) the outer region which is sampled by all three detector arrays. 2D simulations assumed 125 "superviews" acquired in step-and-shoot mode over 360 degrees. A gridding algorithm was used to resample the data into parallel rays which were then filtered and backprojected. Artifacts from the inner region are exactly like those that arise in a traditional CT system. The most significant artifacts caused by the multi-detector nature of the system are in the outer region, at the angles where the object sampling transitions between detector arrays. These streaking artifacts are comparable to motion artifacts in conventional CT and can be reduced by increasing the overlap region at the expense of FOV size and SNR uniformity.

In cardiac CT temporal resolution is directly related to the gantry rotation time of 3^rd generation CT scanners. This time cannot be substantially reduced below current standards of 0.33 s - 0.35 s due to mechanical limitations. As an alternative we present a dual source CT (DSCT) system. The system is equipped with two X-ray tubes and two corresponding detectors that are mounted onto the rotating gantry with an angular offset of 90°. Due to the simultaneous data acquisition and the angular offset, complementary quarter-scan data are measured at the same phase in the cardiac cycle. Hence, the exposure time of any image slice is reduced by a factor of two and the temporal resolution is improved by the same factor. In contrast to single source cardiac CT with multi-segment image reconstruction, the temporal resolution does not depend on the heart rate. Since multi-segment reconstruction techniques applied in single source cardiac CT, which limit the table speed, are no longer needed, faster volume coverage in cardiac spiral imaging can be achieved. As a consequence of these concepts, patient dose in cardiac CT can be significantly reduced. ECG correlated image reconstruction is based on 3D backprojection of the Feldkamp type. Data truncation coming from the fact that one detector (A) covers the entire scan field of view (50 cm in diameter), while the other detector (B) is restricted to a smaller, central field of view (26 cm in diameter), has to be treated. We evaluate temporal resolution and dose efficiency by means of phantom scans and computer simulations. We present first patient scans to illustrate the performance of DSCT for ECG correlated cardiac imaging.

We investigate the effect of heart rate on the quality and artifact generation in coronary artery images obtained using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) with the purpose of finding the optimal time resolution for data acquisition. To perform the study, we used the 4D NCAT phantom, a computer model of the normal human anatomy and cardiac and respiratory motions developed in our laboratory. Although capable of being far more realistic, the 4D NCAT cardiac model was originally designed for low-resolution imaging research, and lacked the anatomical detail to be applicable to high-resolution CT. In this work, we updated the cardiac model to include a more detailed anatomy and physiology based on high-resolution clinical gated MSCT data. To demonstrate its utility in high-resolution dynamic CT imaging research, the enhanced 4D NCAT was then used in a pilot simulation study to investigate the effect of heart rate on CT angiography. The 4D NCAT was used to simulate patients with different heart rates (60-120 beats/minute) and with various cardiac plaques of known size and location within the coronary arteries. For each simulated patient, MSCT projection data was generated with data acquisition windows ranging from 100 to 250 ms centered within the quiet phase (mid-diastole) of the heart using an analytical CT projection algorithm. CT images were reconstructed from the projection data, and the contrast of the plaques was then measured to assess the effect of heart rate and to determine the optimal time resolution required for each case. The 4D NCAT phantom with its realistic model for the cardiac motion was found to provide a valuable tool from which to optimize CT cardiac applications. Our results indicate the importance of optimizing the time resolution with regard to heart rate and plaque location for improved CT images at a reduced patient dose.

Coronary artery imaging with multi-slice helical computed tomography is a promising noninvasive imaging technique. The current major issues include the insufficient temporal resolution and large patient dose. We propose an image reconstruction method which provides a solution to both of the problems. The method uses an iterative approach repeating the following four steps until the difference between the two projection data sets falls below a certain criteria in step-4: 1) estimating or updating the cardiac motion vectors, 2) reconstructing the time-resolved 4D dynamic volume images using the motion vectors, 3) calculating the projection data from the current 4D images, 4) comparing them with the measured ones. In this study, we obtain the first estimate of the motion vector. We use the 4D NCAT phantom, a realistic computer model for the human anatomy and cardiac motions, to generate the dynamic fan-beam projection data sets as well to provide a known truth for the motion. Then, the halfscan reconstruction with the sliding time-window technique is used to generate cine images: f(t, r r). Here, we use one heart beat for each position r so that the time information is retained. Next, the magnitude of the first derivative of f(t, r r) with respect to time, i.e., |df/dt|, is calculated and summed over a region-of-interest (ROI), which is called the mean-absolute difference (MAD). The initial estimation of the vector field are obtained using MAD for each ROI. Results of the preliminary study are presented.

Optimal time windowing in cardiac CT reconstruction would permit a reduction of motion artifacts. We used Doppler Tissue Imaging (DTI) in order to acquire the speed and displacement of region of interest in one direction with a high temporal resolution. Applied on different segments of coronary arteries, 3D information is recovered in three quasi orthogonal acquisitions (abdominal, parasternal and apical views). Their reproducibility was carried on five healthy subjects. This experiment will allow finding the best time window for reconstruction. A window of half the rotation time (250ms for our CT) was estimated based on minimization of the motion variation in 3D. Since we obtained a high reproducibility between the two sessions (generally < 2mm) DTI could be an interesting approach to evaluate motion in 3D. This yields more information as compared to 2D data. Future work will require additional acquisitions and experiments in order to analyze more in depth the variability and the influence of the heart rate. The collected data will be used also as input for our motion platform and CT simulation.

In this contribution, we introduce a retrospectively gated cardiac cone-beam reconstruction scheme for continuous circular acquisition with parallel ECG recording. The technique is capable of handling variable angular ranges and enables high resolution 3D and 4D reconstruction of objects covered by the cone at a high temporal resolution. Though the detector coverage of nowadays CT scanners is not large enough to cover the complete human heart, it is sufficient to image smaller objects like conventional stents. We applied the proposed reconstruction method to the visualization of an in-stent re-stenoses phantom covered by a clinical stent, attached to a dynamic heart phantom. The method delivers images of stents in vitro at an excellent visibility and is able to rule out in-stent occlusions.

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) uses the transmission of near-infrared light through tissue to image absorption and scattering. Especially for mammography applications DOT might become of clinical use. In this work we present simulation results on the influence of noise on the detectability of lesions for the Philips mammoscope system. Noise can have a significant impact on the image quality. It can prevent the detection of even high contrast lesions. The influence of noise can be reduced by a proper treatment in the reconstruction algorithm. But it changes also the effective sampling pattern of the imaging system if noisy data are not used (or used with a lower weight). In the case of this optical tomography system this means that lesions are only detectable up to a certain depth. This depth depends on where the signal power gets close to the constant noise floor, and on the volume and contrast of the lesion. Our simulation results show that the detection of lesions with 10 mm diameter and 100% absorption contrast should be possible with the mammoscope system, even in the worst case where the lesion is located in the center of the breast.

Multiphoton optical tomography based on NIR (near-infrared) femtosecond laser pulses provides non-invasive optical sectioning of skin with high spatial intracellular resolution and high tissue penetration. The imaging system DermaInspect was used to perform this technology in clinical studies in vivo on patients with suspicious melanoma. Pigmented cell clusters based on non-linear luminescence were clearly distinguished from non-pigmented cells in the epidermis using the autofluorescence of endogenous fluorophores like NAD(P)H, flavins, keratin, elastin, collagen and melanin. Some of the investigated tissues showed differences in the structure of the epidermal layers and the presence of dendritic cells compared to normal skin. Multiphoton laser microscopy was used to visualize extracellular matrix (ECM) structures of native and tissueengineered heart valves. The quality of the resulting 3-D images allowed an exact differentiation between collagenous and elastic fibers. The analysis of heart valve tissues of patients with cardiomyopathy revealed a dramatic loss of its capability to generate SH (second harmonic), indicating a structural deformation of the collagenous fibers, which was virtually impossible to obtain by routine histological or immunohistological staining. These results indicate that NIR femtosecond laser scanning systems can be employed as novel non-invasive optical technology for 3-D resolved ECM component imaging and in vitro and in vivo tissue diagnosis.

MRI with multiple receiver coils (parallel MRI) has been extensively used to achieve higher spatial and temporal resolution, suppress imaging artifacts, and reduced scan time. A number of techniques have been proposed to reconstruct images from reduced (undersampled) k-space datasets acquired by multiple coils. All the techniques require some type of calibration information to describe image encoding by spatially varying coil sensitivities. This information can be derived from supplementary calibration scans. However, this approach increases scan time and can be erroneous due to patient motion between calibration and imaging scans. Auto-calibrating techniques such as the commonly used GRAPPA, do not require calibration scans and estimate reconstruction coefficients directly from acquired k-space data. GRAPPA typically gives good quality results for low undersampling rates. However, strong noise amplification and non-resolved aliasing artifacts makes the technique less applicable in cases of high undersampling. In this work, we have proposed a novel auto-calibrating technique for image reconstruction from sensitivity encoded MRI data that overcomes limitations of the existing auto-calibrating techniques. In the proposed technique (GARSE), specifics of coil sensitivity representation in the image and k-space domains are utilized in the reconstruction in such a way that more trustworthy reconstruction coefficients can be identified resulting in improved image quality. GARSE reconstruction coefficients are spatially variable and adjusted according to local coil sensitivities characteristics, whereas GRAPPA reconstruction coefficients are spatially invariant and, therefore, sub-optimal. Results from MRI studies of phantoms and humans demonstrate substantial advantages of GARSE in comparison with GRAPPA, especially for high undersampling rates.

Multi-channel acquisition is employed in MRI to decrease total imaging time. In this paper, artifact free images are calculated by utilizing the difference in spatial encoding of the MR signal from neighboring channels. The encoding functions are estimated in the presence of noise and motion. For fMRI studies, the temporal stability of the signal is essential, since neuronal activity in the brain is detected by probing subtle BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent) signal changes. To ensure artifact free noise representation a new type of weight is used. By effectively selecting and eliminating low SNR pixels, increased temporal stability is achieved. Using the parallel imaging method SENSE the proposed method is tested with in-vivo data to ensure noise suppression and demonstrate correct assignment of fMRI activation.

The underlying phenomena in Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) physics, reconstruction, and analysis can be described by their statistics. This paper reports some new developments and focuses on two aspects: (1) new insights into statistical theory of MRI beyond its conclusions, and (2) three new applications of this theory spanned from image analysis to imaging physics. Why MR signals as well as k-space samples are statistically independent? When k-space samples are independent, why pixels in the reconstructed images are correlated? How does this correlation arise? Are spatially asymptotic independence and exponential correlation coefficient consistent? Why the homogeneity and scales can be characterized by stationarity and ergodicity? This paper provides answers to these questions. The first application of statistical theory of MRI is a stochastic model-based image analysis approach. The second application is a sensor array processing approach for detecting distinctive object regions. The third application is the Parallel Magnetic Resonance imaging (P-MRI) which shows by combining statistics of MRI and sensor array processing, P-MRI can be easily formulated. This paper shows that statistical theory of MRI not only provides basis for MR imaging, reconstruction, and analysis, but also offers means to integrate signal processing methods and image processing methods for solving various MRI related problems.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners dedicated to small animal studies have seen a swift development in recent years. Higher spatial resolution, greater sensitivity and faster scanning procedures are the leading factors driving further improvements. The new LabPET^TM system is a second-generation APD-based animal PET scanner that combines avalanche photodiode (APD) technology with a highly integrated, fully digital, parallel electronic architecture. This work reports on the performance characteristics of the LabPET quad detector module, which consists of LYSO/LGSO phoswich assemblies individually coupled to reach-through APDs. Individual crystals 2×2×~10 mm³ in size are optically coupled in pair along one long side to form the phoswich detectors. Although the LYSO and LGSO photopeaks partially overlap, the good energy resolution and decay time difference allow for efficient crystal identification by pulse-shape discrimination. Conventional analog discrimination techniques result in significant misidentification, but advanced digital signal processing methods make it possible to circumvent this limitation, achieving virtually error-free decoding. Timing resolution results of 3.4 ns and 4.5 ns FWHM have been obtained for LYSO and LGSO, respectively, using analog CFD techniques. However, test bench measurements with digital techniques have shown that resolutions in the range of 2 to 4 ns FWHM can be achieved.

Various direct and indirect active matrix flat-panel imagers (AMFPI) are being investigated for x-ray imaging. In both direct AMFPI and indirect AMFPI with avalanche gain, a bias potential up to several thousand volts is required to operate the photoconductor. Under the condition of a large amount of radiation exposure between subsequent readout, a potential >80 V could appear across the amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film transistor (TFT) and cause permanent damage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a simple pixel design for high voltage protection. The pixel electrode acts as an additional gate for the top channel of an a-Si TFT to drain excess image charge from the pixel electrode until an equilibrium is reached where the TFT channel current equals the detector signal current at a predetermined safe maximum value V_Pmax for the pixel potential. This "dual-gate" TFT structure without additional protective device simplifies the TFT array design and improves yield. However special care is required to understand the characteristics of both the top and the bottom gates to ensure sufficient detector dynamic range as well as reliable high voltage protection. A physical model for dual-gate a-Si TFTs was developed and device parameters were determined by fitting the model to measured characteristics from a dual-gate TFT array. Our results showed that compared to the bottom (normal) gate, the protective gate has a shallower transfer characteristics (i.e. channel current as a function of gate voltage) due to a higher density of states in the top interface. Nevertheless it provides adequate protection of the TFT with V_Pmax of ~40 V for typical radiographic exposures.

The most widely used architecture in large-area amorphous silicon (a-Si) flat panel imagers is a passive pixel sensor (PPS), which consists of a detector element and a readout switch. While the PPS has the advantage of being compact and amenable toward high-resolution imaging, reading small PPS output signals requires external column charge amplifiers that produce additional noise and reduce the minimum readable sensor input signal. In contrast, on-pixel amplifiers in a-Si technology reduce readout noise by decoupling off-pixel noise sources, such as external charge amplifier and data line noise, from the sensor input. The off-pixel noise is reduced by the charge gain of the pixel amplifier, allowing for low-noise performance. Theoretical calculations and simulations of gain, linearity, metastability, pixel area requirements and noise indicate the applicability of the amplified a-Si pixel architectures for low-exposure, real-time fluoroscopy. In addition, the detailed noise results allow for the computation of noise performance as a function of transistor dimensions for both amorphous silicon and polysilicon technologies, allowing the designer to choose appropriate device dimensions when designing flat-panel imaging circuits.

The tremendous increase in speed with which the body can now be scanned using multislice CT has improved the diagnostic ability of the modality, especially in time critical applications involving contrast injection. Advances in photodiode and front-end electronics technology now allow a CT detector module to be made that can be tiled in two dimensions. An array of such modules can be used to easily make a CT scanner with hundreds of slices with the promise of scanning whole organs with a single revolution and further improving diagnostic ability. Recently, a back-illuminated photodiode for CT has been developed which has its electrical connections on the underside. With all four sides of the silicon chip free, the photodiodes can be tiled in two dimensions. In addition, improvements in front-end electronics now allow the A/D converters for all photodiode elements to be placed completely behind the photodiode. A prototype detector module has been constructed and tested. Measurements of DQE, MTF, dynamic range and temporal response are presented showing that the module has the same high performance as detectors found in current diagnostic CT scanners. A dynamic range of 250,000:1 at a frame rate of 10,000 fps has been achieved. Alternatively a dynamic range of 1,000,000:1 can be achieved at 2,500 fps. This new compact 2D tiled detector with digital data output can be used as a basic building block for future multislice detection systems enabling larger coverage and the promise of improved diagnostic ability.

Detectors working in photon counting mode offer an interesting alternative to the common charge integrating detectors for computed tomography (CT), because they can potentially measure the energy of every detected X-ray photons and achieve better image contrast sensitivity for a given dose. Unfortunately, most current X-ray detectors suffer from limited count rate capability, due either to a long charge migration time in semiconductor and gas detectors, or to a slow decay time in ceramic scintillators. To overcome these difficulties, we propose to use pixel detectors based on fast light emitting inorganic scintillators individually coupled to avalanche photodiodes with parallel, low-noise, fast digital processing electronics to provide real time single event detection and recording. The proposed detector was investigated with 2 × 2 × 10 mm³ Lu_1.9Y_0.1SiO₅ (LYSO), a fast decay time (40 ns), heavy (7.19 g/cc) scintillator that is also suitable for coincidence detection of annihilation radiation (511 keV) in positron emission tomography (PET). Therefore, the detector characteristics make it a good candidate for implementation in a combined PET/CT dual-modality scanner. Although only coarse spectral analysis is possible in the X-ray energy range, it is demonstrated that appropriate CT images for anatomical localization can be obtained at very low dose in counting mode using a PET/CT simulator set up for small animal imaging. Data are reported on CT image resolution, noise, contrast and dose.

In previous work, we and others have focused the validation of detector models for computational simulations of imaging system performance on matching, to a small difference, specific aspects of the detector's performance, i.e., modulation transfer function or light output. In this work, instead, we selected three parameters that, together, represent a more complete description of the imaging properties of the phosphor screen to be modeled. The three performance parameters are the information or Swank factor determined from pulse-height spectra, the light output (either in absolute or relative scale), and the point-response function. Using this general methodology, we created screen models that exhibit good agreement with recent experimental measurements available in the literature, over a wide x-ray energy range (18-75 keV), and for front- and back-screen configurations. The models are being used in conjunction with MANTIS, a Monte Carlo code for simulating imaging systems that tracks x rays, electrons, and optical photons in the same geometric model, with x-ray and electron physics models from the PENELOPE package, and optical physics models from DETECT-II. This study allows us to incorporate realistic detector models into a detailed and complete Monte Carlo simulation of the entire imaging system, including the object and its absorbed dose map, and the properties of the imaging acquisition.

In this work we study the resolution and noise properties of penalized-likelihood sinogram smoothing and restoration algorithms that we have been developing for preprocessing of computed tomography (CT) data. We have formulated CT sinogram preprocessing as a statistical restoration problem in which the goal is to obtain the best estimate of the line integrals needed for reconstruction from the set of noisy, degraded measurements. The degradations that afflict raw CT data include beam hardening, off-focal radiation, detector afterglow, and electronic crosstalk, among others. We estimate the line integrals by maximizing a roughness-penalized Poisson likelihood-based objective function. The maximization algorithm is based on the separable paraboloidal surrogates strategy and image reconstruction can then proceed by use of existing, non-iterative approaches. In the case of sinogram smoothing, the only degradation modeled directly is noise; the other effects can then be corrected for by standard means. In the case of sinogram restoration, a number of different degradations are included directly in the objective function. We demonstrate that the approaches can correct for sinogram degradations, eliminating the image artifacts caused by beam hardening and off-focal radiation. We also evaluate the local modulation transfer function, local noise power spectrum, and local noise equivalent quanta in a numerical test phantom and find that the proposed approaches outperform standard approaches based on deconvolution and shift-invariant filtration.

The raw data acquired during a computed tomography (CT) scan carry the unwanted traces of a number of adverse effects connected with the measurement setup and the acquisition process. To name a few, these include systematic errors like detector crosstalk and afterglow, fluctuations in tube power during the scan, but also statistical effects like photon noise. Most systematic effects can be cast into a linear model, providing a way for neutralizing the influence of these errors through deconvolution. However, this deconvolution process inevitably increases the image noise content. For low-dose scans, application of some kind of noise suppression algorithm is mandatory, in order to keep its disturbing influence on the reconstructed images in check. Since resolution and noise are antagonizing properties, noise suppression usually has the side effect of decreasing resolution. The interest in finding an algorithm that deals with this quandary in an optimal way is obvious. This work compares three deconvolution/denoising methods, identifying the one that performs best on a set of simulated data. The tested methods of combined sinogram deconvolution/denoising are based on (1) regularized matrix inversion, (2) straight matrix inversion plus adaptive filtering, and (3) deconvolution by a penalized maximum likelihood approach. In-plane and axial noise/resolution measurements identified the penalized maximum-likelihood method as best suited for low-dose applications. The adaptive filter approach performed well, but did not retain as much resolution when going to higher smoothing levels. The analytic deconvolution, however, could not compete against the other two methods.

A cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging system has been developed based on a high-speed flat panel detector specially designed for cone beam CT. This system has shown great potential for early breast cancer detection with high contrast and spatial resolution, and the potential for high-speed dynamic studies. Image lag always plays an important role in cone beam CT imaging by affecting the image quality. This paper investigated the relationship of the image lag with various parameters of this new system, which include frame number, detector mode, frame rate, detector signal strength and kVp value. A simulated breast phantom was designed to demonstrate how image lag causes artifacts in the image and affects the reconstructed linear attenuation coefficient of tumor in different tissues. Experimental results illustrate that lag on this system is less than 3%, and is independent of kVp value and detector mode. When the detector signal strength increases from 10% to 80% saturation, lag decreases by 10%. Lag is also a function of the frame rate increasing by 20% when the frame rate changed from 3.75 fps to 30 fps. Computer simulations reveal that lag on this new system caused less than 6 HU reduction in the CT# for simulated tumors and soft tissue and 20 HU reduction for high contrast objects. This work tells us that lag on this new CBCT system for breast imaging can be ignored. However, when this system is used for dynamic study, which requires a high readout speed from the detector, image lag correction will need to be considered to achieve good image quality.

X-ray cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is of importance in image-guided intervention (IGI) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT). In this paper, we present a cone-beam CT data acquisition system using a GE INNOVA 4100 (GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, Wisconsin) clinical system. This new cone-beam data acquisition mode was developed for research purposes without interfering with any clinical function of the system. It provides us a basic imaging pipeline for more advanced cone-beam data acquisition methods. It also provides us a platform to study and overcome the limiting factors such as cone-beam artifacts and limiting low contrast resolution in current C-arm based cone-beam CT systems. A geometrical calibration method was developed to experimentally determine parameters of the scanning geometry to correct the image reconstruction for geometric non-idealities. Extensive phantom studies and some small animal studies have been conducted to evaluate the performance of our cone-beam CT data acquisition system.

The clinical goal of breast imaging is to detect tumor masses when they are as small as possible, preferably less than 10 mm in diameter. Conventional screen-film mammography is the most effective tool for the early detection of breast cancer currently available. However, conventional mammography has relatively low sensitivity for the detection of small breast cancers (under several millimeters). Specificity and the positive predictive value of mammography remain limited owing to an overlap in the appearance of benign and malignant lesions, and surrounding structure. We propose to address the limitations accompanying conventional mammography by incorporating a cone beam CT reconstruction technique with a recently developed flat panel detector (FPD). We have performed a computer simulation study and preliminary phantom studies to prove the feasibility of developing an FPD-based cone beam CT breast imaging technique for a small size normal breast phantom. In this study, we report the design and construction of a novel FPD-based cone beam breast CT scanner prototype. In addition, we present the results of phantom studies performed on our current FPD-based cone beam CT scanner prototype, which uses the same flat panel detector proposed for the cone beam breast CT scanner prototype, to predict the image performance of the novel cone beam breast CT scanner, while we are completing the construction of the system.

When an imaging task is specified, the design of a cone-beam CT scanner includes specifications of the scanning trajectory and corresponding image reconstruction algorithms, requirements on the detector size, and requirements on the x-ray tubes. Given the limited flat-panel detector readout speed and the need of short scanning time in a clinical setting, the available number of total view angles is normally limited to several hundred. It is known that when all the focal spots are distributed along a circular trajectory, the cone-beam artifacts are present in the reconstructed out-of-plane images when the cone-angle is relatively large. In order to mitigate or eliminate the cone-beam artifacts, the source trajectory should be complete in the sense of satisfying the so-called Tuy data sufficiency condition. However, assuming a constant number of view angles, a complete source trajectory will potentially lead to a lower view sampling rate and cause view aliasing artifacts. Therefore, for a given imaging task and a given total number of view angles, it is important to study the tradeoff between the view sampling rate and the completeness of the scanning source trajectories. In this paper, we numerically and experimentally studied the above tradeoff. Specifically, numerical simulations were conducted to study this tradeoff using three different source trajectories: (1) a circular trajectory, (2) a helical trajectory, and (3) a two-concentric-orthogonal-circle trajectory. A single x-ray tube and a flat panel imager mounted on an optical bench was utilized to experimentally study the tradeoff between the circular source trajectory and the helical source trajectory. For the complete source trajectories, some novel cone-beam image reconstruction algorithms have been utilized to reconstruct images and compare image quality in numerical simulations and benchtop experiments.

We have developed X-ray refraction based computed tomography (CT) which is able to visualize soft tissue in between hard tissue. The experimental system consists of Si(220) diffraction double-crystals called the DEI (diffraction-enhanced imaging) method, object locating in between them and a CCD camera to acquire data of 900 x-ray images. The x-ray energy used was 17.5 keV. The algorithm used to reconstruct CT images has been invented by A. Maksimenko et al.. We successfully visualized calcification and distribution of breast cancer nest which are the inner structure. It has much higher contrast which in comparison with the conventional absorption based CT system.

Vascular disease is a leading cause of death and disability in the western world. Diagnosis and staging of atherosclerosis is a challenge, especially with regards to the identification of plaque vulnerability. We are developing imaging methods based upon MRI and intravascular microcoils. In order to rigorously validate our MRI imaging methods and algorithms, we have developed a new cryo-imaging system that allows one to alternately section and image the block face of tissue. We obtain 3D pathology of vessel segments excised from cadaver and we characterize the tissues of atheroma using episcopic autofluorescence and bright field microscopy images. After embedding the vessel, the block is frozen, and block face microscopic images are taken every 200μm with an image resolution of 30μm×30μm. The series of images is then corrected for uneven illumination, serially registered to one another, and the 3D vessel segment is reconstructed. Some sections are recovered and processed with histological staining for validation. Seven tissue types can be readily identified from the cryo-images: necrotic core, calcification, lipid pool, media, adventitia, fibrosis, thrombus, and normal intima. Since the whole vessel segment is available, we could register 3D data to images from MR, or other modalities, for validation. In addition, visualization tools such as multi-planar reformatting 3D rendering can be used to study 3D plaque morphology, in microscopic detail.

Optical imaging of fluorescent probes is an essential tool for investigation of molecular events in small animals for drug developments. In order to get localization and quantification information of fluorescent labels, CEA-LETI has developed efficient approaches in classical reflectance imaging as well as in diffuse optical tomographic imaging with continuous and temporal signals. This paper presents an overview of the different approaches investigated and their performances. High quality fluorescence reflectance imaging is obtained thanks to the development of an original "multiple wavelengths" system. The uniformity of the excitation light surface area is better than 15%. Combined with the use of adapted fluorescent probes, this system enables an accurate detection of pathological tissues, such as nodules, beneath the animal's observed area. Performances for the detection of ovarian nodules on a nude mouse are shown. In order to investigate deeper inside animals and get 3D localization, diffuse optical tomography systems are being developed for both slab and cylindrical geometries. For these two geometries, our reconstruction algorithms are based on analytical expression of light diffusion. Thanks to an accurate introduction of light/matter interaction process in the algorithms, high quality reconstructions of tumors in mice have been obtained. Reconstruction of lung tumors on mice are presented. By the use of temporal diffuse optical imaging, localization and quantification performances can be improved at the price of a more sophisticated acquisition system and more elaborate information processing methods. Such a system based on a pulsed laser diode and a time correlated single photon counting system has been set up. Performances of this system for localization and quantification of fluorescent probes are presented.

Small animal imaging has recently become an area of increased interest because more human diseases can be modeled in transgenic and knockout rodents. Current micro-CT systems are capable of achieving spatial resolution on the order of 10 μm, giving highly detailed anatomical information. However, the speed of data acquisition of these systems is relatively slow, when compared with clinical CT systems. Dynamic CT perfusion imaging has proven to be a powerful tool clinically in detecting and diagnosing cancer, stroke, pulmonary and ischemic heart diseases. In order to perform this technique in mice and rats, quantitative CT images must be acquired at a rate of at least 1 Hz. Recently, a research pre-clinical CT scanner (eXplore Ultra, GE Healthcare) has been designed specifically for dynamic perfusion imaging in small animals. Using an amorphous silicon flat-panel detector and a clinical slip-ring gantry, this system is capable of acquiring volumetric image data at a rate of 1 Hz, with in-plane resolution of 150 μm, while covering the entire thoracic region of a mouse or whole organs of a rat. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the principal imaging performance of the micro-CT system, in terms of spatial resolution, image uniformity, linearity, dose and voxel noise for the feasibility of imaging mice and rats. Our investigations show that 3D images can be obtained with a limiting spatial resolution of 2.7 line pairs per mm and noise of 42 HU, using an acquisition interval of 8 seconds at an entrance dose of 6.4 cGy.

Certain elements (such as Fe, Cu, Zn, etc.) are vital to the body and an imbalance of such elements can either be a symptom or cause of certain pathologies. Neutron Stimulated Emission Computed Tomography (NSECT) is a spectroscopic imaging technique whereby the body is illuminated via a beam of neutrons causing elemental nuclei to become excited and emit characteristic gamma radiation. Acquiring the gamma energy spectra in a tomographic geometry allows reconstruction of elemental concentration images. Previously we have demonstrated the feasibility of NSECT using first generation CT approaches; while successful, the approach does not scale well and has limited resolution. Additionally, current gamma cameras operate in an energy range too low for NSECT imaging. However, the orbiting Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) captures and images gamma rays over the high-energy range equivalent to NSECT's (3 keV to 17 MeV) by utilizing Collimator-based Fourier transform imaging. A High Purity Germanium (HPGe) detector counts the number of energy events per unit of time, providing spectroscopic data. While a pair of rotating collimators placed in front of the detector modulates the number of gamma events, providing spatial information. Knowledge of the number of energy events at each discrete collimator angle allows for 2D image reconstruction. This method has proven successful at a focus of infinity in the RHESSI application. Our goal is to achieve similar results at a reasonable near-field focus. Here we describe the results of our simulations to implement a rotating modulation collimator (RMC) gamma imager for use in NSECT using simulations in Matlab. To determine feasible collimator setups and the stability of the inverse problem a Matlab environment was created that uses the geometry of the system to generate 1D observation data from 2D images and then to reconstruct 2D images using the MLEM algorithm. Reasonable collimator geometries were determined, successful reconstruction was achieved and the inverse problem was found to be stable.

Regional x-ray exposure management is a class of techniques for x-ray dose reduction and image quality improvement in radiography and fluoroscopy. X-ray intensity is modulated spatially prior to the beam's interaction with the imaged objects for optimal dose efficiency. The optimal intensity field may be determined from the imaged objects' morphology, local dose sensitivities, regions of clinical interest, and expected information. We present the derivation and simulation results for a method for automated feedback-controlled real-time spatial modulation of the x-ray intensity field. The method employs spatial x-ray gating, a technique in which various beam regions are blocked for controlled portions of the frame integration period while the beam intensity is modulated in time. The method promises to provide controllable smooth x-ray intensity fields with precise and sensitive controls operating, if desired, automatically in a feedback loop.

Digital radiographs are currently characterized in terms of a variety of incompatible, vendor-specific dose metrics, which make it difficult for users to monitor receptor dose. AAPM Task Group #116 has been formed to "Standardize an Image Receptor Dose Index for Digital Radiography," prompting the publication of a proposed definition for receptor dose that can be readily implemented on any system that acquires a projection x-ray image and produces a display-ready image.¹ This paper carries that work forward by demonstrating the applicability of that proposal to a range of digital detector types and to a new set of clinical images. Digital receptor dose can be usefully defined for the four ISO beam qualities, in terms of the exposure needed to produce a specified display response in a displayed image, analogous to the ISO speed definition for screen-film images. It requires that the system produce an original image (calibrated in terms of the relationship between system response and exposure for the standard set of x-ray beam qualities defined by ISO-9236-1) and a display-ready image (represented as DICOM GSDF p-values). The receptor dose is computed in terms of the median of pixels in the original image that corresponds to near midrange pixels in the display-ready image. The exposure responses of Gd₂O₂S-, CsI(Tl)-, a-Se-, and BaFBrI-based digital radiography acquisition systems, as well as a commonly used Gd₂O₂S screen-film combination, have been measured for the four ISO beam qualities. The proposed receptor dose metric was computed for a sample of 602 clinical images for which body-part thickness technique factors (kV, mAs, and SID) were known. Analysis of this data demonstrates that the proposed receptor dose can be a useful predictor of exposure adequacy over a wide range of body parts and thickness. In conclusion, the proposed vendor-independent receptor dose metric has been shown to produce consistent results across a representative range of digital receptor technologies for a wide range of clinical images. It has also been shown to produce results that are consistent with existing standards for screen-film technology and thereby provides a measurement capable of bridging the transition to digital imaging.

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of biplane correlation imaging (BCI) using a set of off-angle projections acquired from an anthropomorphic chest phantom. BCI reduces the effect of anatomical noise, which would otherwise impact the detection subtle lesions in planar images. BCI also minimizes the number of false positives (FPs) when used in conjunction with computer aided diagnosis (CAD) applied to a set of coronal chest x-ray projections by eliminating non-correlated nodule candidates. In BCI, two digital images of the chest are acquired within a short time interval from two slightly different posterior projections. The image data are then incorporated into the CAD algorithm in which nodules are detected by examining the geometrical correlation of the detected signals in the two views, thus largely "canceling" the impact of anatomical noise. Seventy-one low exposure posterior projections were acquired of an anthropomorphic chest phantom containing tissue equivalent lesions with small angular separations (0.32 degree) over a range of 20 degrees, [-10°, +10°], along the vertical axis. The data were analyzed to determine the accuracy of the technique as a function of angular separation. The results indicated that the best performance was obtained when the angular separation of the projection pair was greater than 6 degrees. Within the range of optimum angular separation, the number of FPs per image, FPpI, was ~1.1 with average sensitivity around 75% (supported by a grant from the NIH R01CA109074).

Cone beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) enables three-dimensional imaging with isotropic resolution. X-rays scatter estimation is a big challenge for quantitative CBCT imaging of thorax: scatter level is significantly higher on cone beam systems compared to collimated fan beam systems. The effects of this scattered radiation are cupping artifacts, streaks, and quantification inaccuracies. In this paper, an original scatter management process on tomographic projections without supplementary on-line acquisitions is presented. The correction method is based on scatter calibration through off-line acquisitions, combined to an on-line analytical transformation issued from physical equations to adapt calibration to the observed object. Evaluations of the method were performed on an anthropomorphic thorax phantom. First, tomographic acquisitions were performed with a flat panel detector. Reconstructed volume obtained with the proposed scatter correction method has been compared with the one obtained through a classical beam stops method. Secondly, reconstructed volume has been compared with the one obtained through a fan beam system (Philips multi slice CT scanner). The new method provided results in good agreement with the beam stops approach and with the multi slice CT scanner, suppressing cupping artifacts and improving quantification significantly. Compared to the beam stops method, lower X-rays doses (divided by a factor 9) and shorter acquisition times were needed.

Scattered radiation is a major source of artifacts in flat detector based cone-beam computed tomography. In this paper, a novel software-based method for retrospective scatter correction is described and evaluated. The method is based on approximation of the imaged object by a simple geometric model (e.g., a homogeneous water-like ellipsoid) that is estimated from the set of acquired projections. This is achieved by utilizing a numerical optimization procedure to determine the model parameters for which there is maximum correspondence between the measured projections and the projections of the model. Monte-Carlo simulations of this model are used for calculation of scatter estimates for the acquired projections. Finally, using the scatter-corrected projections, tomographic reconstruction is conducted by means of cone-beam filtered back-projection. The correction method is evaluated using simulated and experimentally acquired projection data sets of geometric and physical head phantoms. It is found that the method is able to accurately estimate mean scatter levels in X-ray projections, allowing to significantly reduce scatter-caused artifacts in 3D reconstructed images.

The design principles that drove the development of a new cardiovascular x-ray digital flat panel (DFP) detector system are presented, followed by assessments of imaging and dose performance achieved relative to other state of the art FPD systems. The new system (GE Innova 2100^IQTM) incorporates a new detector with substantially improved DQE at fluoroscopic (73%@1μR) and record (79%@114μR) doses, an x-ray tube with higher continuous fluoro power (3.2kW), a collimator with a wide range of copper spectral filtration (up to 0.9mm), and an improved automatic x-ray exposure management system. The performance of this new system was compared to that of the previous generation GE product (Innova 2000) and to state-of-the art cardiac digital x-ray flat panel systems from two other major manufacturers. Performance was assessed with the industry standard Cardiac X-ray NEMA/SCA&I phantom, and a new moving coronary artery stent (MCAS) phantom, designed to simulate cardiac clinical imaging conditions, composed of an anthropomorphic chest section with stents moving in a manner simulating normal coronary arteries. The NEMA/SCA&I phantom results showed the Innova 2100IQ to exceed or equal the Innova 2000 in all of the performance categories, while operating at 28% lower dose on average, and to exceed the other DFP systems in most of the performance categories. The MCAS phantom tests showed the Innova 2100IQ to be significantly better (p << 0.05) than the Innova 2000, and significantly better than the other DFP systems in most cases at comparable or lower doses, thereby verifying excellent performance against design goals.

The application of high-performance flat-panel detectors (FPDs) to dual-energy (DE) imaging offers the potential for dramatically improved detection and characterization of subtle lesions through reduction of "anatomical noise," with applications ranging from thoracic imaging to image-guided interventions. In this work, we investigate DE imaging performance from first principles of image science to preclinical implementation, including: 1.) generalized task-based formulation of NEQ and detectability as a guide to system optimization; 2.) measurements of imaging performance on a DE imaging benchtop; and 3.) a preclinical system developed in our laboratory for cardiac-gated DE chest imaging in a research cohort of 160 patients. Theoretical and benchtop studies directly guide clinical implementation, including the advantages of double-shot versus single-shot DE imaging, the value of differential added filtration between low- and high-kVp projections, and optimal selection of kVp pairs, filtration, and dose allocation. Evaluation of task-based NEQ indicates that the detectability of subtle lung nodules in double-shot DE imaging can exceed that of single-shot DE imaging by a factor of 4 or greater. Filter materials are investigated that not only harden the high-kVp beam (e.g., Cu or Ag) but also soften the low-kVp beam (e.g., Ce or Gd), leading to significantly increased contrast in DE images. A preclinical imaging system suitable for human studies has been constructed based upon insights gained from these theoretical and experimental studies. An important component of the system is a simple and robust means of cardiac-gated DE image acquisition, implemented here using a fingertip pulse oximeter. Timing schemes that provide cardiac-gated image acquisition on the same or successive heartbeats is described. Preclinical DE images to be acquired under research protocol will afford valuable testing of optimal deployment, facilitate the development of DE CAD, and support comparison of DE diagnostic imaging performance to low-dose CT and radiography.

The detection of coronary calcifications with CT is generally accepted as a useful method for predicting early onset of coronary artery disease. Film-screen X-ray and fluoroscopy have also been shown to have high predictive value for coronary disease diagnosis, but have minimal sensitivity. Recently, flat-panel detectors capable of dual-energy techniques have enabled the separation of soft-tissue and bone from images. Clinical studies report substantially improved sensitivity for the detection of coronary calcifications using these techniques. However, heart motion causes minor artefacts from misregistration of both calcified and soft-tissue structures, resulting in inconsistent detection of calcifications. This research examines whether cardiac gating improves the reliability of calcification detection. Single-energy, gated, and non-gated dual-energy imaging techniques are examined in a dynamic phantom model. A gating system was developed to synchronize two dual-energy exposures to a specified phase of the cardiac cycle. The performance and repeatability of the gating system was validated with the use of a cyclical phantom. An anthropomorphic phantom was developed to simulate both cardiac and soft-tissue motion, and generate ECG-like output signals. The anthropomorphic phantom and motion artefact accuracy was verified by comparison with clinical images of patients with calcifications. The ability of observers to detect calcifications in non-gated, and gated techniques was compared through the use of an ROC experiment. Gating visibly reduces the effect of motion artifacts in the dual-energy images. Without gating, motion artefacts cause greater variability in calcification detection. Comparison of the average area-under-the-curve of the ROC curves show that gating significantly increases the accuracy of calcification detection. The effects of motion and gating on DE cardiac calcification detection have been demonstrated and characterized in a phantom model that mimics the clinical scenario for dual-energy examinations. There exists significant potential for reliable cardiac calcification detection with gated dual-energy radiography.

We present the analysis of the accuracy and precision of dual energy material basis decomposition for the quantification of tissue fat content in computed tomography. We compare the benefits of a pre-reconstruction (sinogram-based) dual energy imaging technique versus a post-reconstruction (image) based dual energy decomposition technique using a numerical simulation. A phantom containing plastics of known composition is measured to validate the technique. The accuracy of the image based dual energy decomposition technique is contingent on the amount of beam hardening encountered in the phantom. The accuracy of the pre-reconstruction dual energy technique depends on how accurately the system spectral response can be modeled. In both cases the precision of the dual energy imaging is determined by the photon flux.

This paper presents a dual-energy imaging technique optimized for contrast-enhanced mammography using a photon counting detector. Each photon pulse is processed separately in the detector and the addition of an electronic threshold near the middle of the energy range of the x-ray spectrum allows discrimination of high and low energy photons. This effectively makes the detector energy sensitive, and allows the acquisition of high- and low-energy images simultaneously. These high- and low-energy images can be combined to dual-energy images where the anatomical clutter has been suppressed. By setting the electronic threshold close to 33.2 keV (the k-edge of iodine) the system is optimized for dual-energy contrast-enhanced imaging of breast tumors. Compared to other approaches, this method not only eliminates the need for separate exposures that might lead to motion artifacts, it also eliminates the otherwise deteriorating overlap between high- and low-energy spectra. We present phantom dual-energy images acquired on a prototype system to illustrate that the technique is already operational, albeit in its infancy. We also present a theoretical estimation of the potential gain in tumor signal-difference-to-noise ratio when using this electronic spectrum-splitting method as opposed to acquiring the high- and low-energy images separately with double exposures with separate x-ray spectra. Assuming ideal energy sensitive photon counting detectors, we arrive at the conclusion that the signal-difference-to-noise ratio could be increased by 145% at constant dose. We also illustrate our results on synthetic images.

This paper describes a system for multi-spectral single-scan lung imaging. The proposed approach relies on a low noise detector sampled at a high rate. The proposed method overcomes limitations of CCD time-and-delay integration slot-scanning systems. The system design and preliminary specifications are described. The results of initial spectral and system simulations in support of system feasibility per the outlined specifications are described. Initial investigations support the potential of the proposed approach to alleviate four shortcomings of the current digital flat-panel approach to chest radiography: (i) by enabling dynamic multi-spectral imaging in a single scan, the approach reduces the time delay between exposures, thus reducing sensitivity to motion; (ii) the approach enables dynamic technique feedback and technique adaptation, eliminating the need for a pre-exposures and reducing the likelihood of poor x-ray techniques in local image areas; (iii) by enabling direct measurement of the scatter field, the proposed method allows further scatter correction resulting in image quality improvements; (iv) finally, full-frame sampling of a digital detector allows imaging of the beam penumbra, thereby reclaiming the detection quantum efficiency loss due to over-collimation in current TDI slot-scanning approach; the resulting DQE potentially exceeds that of flat-panel detectors by a factor up to two.

With growing clinical acceptance of dual-energy chest radiography, there is increased interest in the application of dual-energy techniques to other clinical areas. This paper describes the creation and experimental validation of a poly-energetic signal-propagation model for technique optimization of new dual-energy clinical applications. The model is verified using phantom experiments simulating typical abdominal radiographic applications such as Intravenous Urography (IVU) and the detection of pelvic and sacral bone lesions or kidney stones in the presence of bowel gas. The model is composed of a spectral signal propagation component and an image-processing component. The spectral propagation component accepts detector specifications, X-ray spectra, phantom and imaging geometry as inputs, and outputs the detected signal and estimated noise. The image-processing module performs dual-energy logarithmic subtraction and returns figures-of-merit such as contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), which are evaluated in conjunction with Monte Carlo calculations of dose. Phantoms assembled from acrylic, aluminum, and iodinated contrast-agent filled tubes were imaged using a range of kVp's and dose levels. Simulated and experimental results were compared by dose, clinical suitability, and system limitations in order to yield technique recommendations that optimize one or more figures-of-merit. The model accurately describes phantom images obtained in a low scatter environment. For the visualization of iodinated vessels in the abdomen and the detection of pelvic bone lesions, both simulated and experimental results indicate that dual-energy techniques recommended by the model yield significant improvements in CNR without significant increases in patient dose as compared to conventional techniques. For example the CNR of iodinated vessels can be doubled using two-thirds of the dose of a standard exam. Alternatively, in addition to a standard dose image, the clinician can obtain a dual-energy bone image with greater than 8-fold increase in CNR, with the addition of just 15% higher dose. It is expected that this tool will enable the rapid clinical utilization of new applications of dual-energy radiography.

Light transport in trabecular bone is not well understood despite its clinical interest. Recent experimental studies on optical bone biopsy are lacking models that relate their measurements to the underlying morphology and thus to tissue condition. Laser surgery can also benefit from a better understanding of energy distribution in cancellous bone. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation environment, able to efficiently compute complex geometries and account for refraction and reflection on tissue boundaries has been developed to provide the missing insight. The geometry description is based on a 3D triangle mesh organised in a bounding-volume hierarchy. This efficient structure allows a fast photon-surface intersection test, ensuring a sufficient number of photon paths and thus a good signal-to-noise ratio. The simulation program has been validated against well-known problems of refractive optics and turbid media. This new tool has been applied to a set of numerical phantoms indicating that morphology may have a fundamental impact on long-range light transport. The simulation environment has also been used on high-resolution models of trabecular bone, based on micro-CT scans. Calculation of time resolved signals in transmission and reflectance geometries has been demonstrated, paving the way to numerical evaluation of new minimally invasive diagnostic techniques, and offering a link to evaluation of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in complex heterogeneous geometries. Preliminary experimental results in support of the mentioned effects are presented.

The detection of lesions in conventional mammography is a difficult task, predominantly due to the masking effect of superimposed parenchymal breast patterns. Breast tomosynthesis is a technique that has been proposed to reduce this masking effect, by providing the radiologist with tomographic image slices through the breast. The goal of this research was to investigate the impact of varying x-ray spectra on image quality of breast tomosynthesis using an indirect CsI based detector. The ideal observer SNR was used as a figure-of-merit, under the assumption that the imaging system is linear and shift-invariant. Computations of the ideal observer SNR used a serial cascade model to predict signal and noise propagation through the detector, as well as a model of the lesion detection task in breast imaging. An indirect detector breast tomosynthesis prototype system was modeled which acquires 11 projection views by rotating the x-ray tube over a 50° angular range, with the breast and detector remaining stationary. Specific attention was focused on the impact of electronic noise for indirect detector breast tomosynthesis. Three different target/filters were studied including Mo/Mo, Mo/Rh, and W/Rh. Spectra were scaled to give a total of 2.4 mGy average glandular dose to the breast. It was observed that theW/Rh target/filter exhibited the best performance. In addition, electronic noise was observed to have a moderate effect on the SNR with more impact for thicker breasts and lower kVp settings.

A detailed four-dimensional model of the coronary artery tree has great potential in a wide variety of applications especially in biomedical imaging. We developed a computer generated three-dimensional model for the coronary arterial tree based on two datasets: (1) gated multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) angiographic data obtained from a normal human subject and (2) statistical morphometric data obtained from porcine hearts. The main coronary arteries and heart structures were segmented from the MSCT data to define the initial segments of the vasculature and geometrical details of the boundaries. An iterative rule-based computer generation algorithm was then developed to extend the coronary artery tree beyond the initial segmented branches. The algorithm was governed by the following factors: (1) the statistical morphometric measurements of the connectivities, lengths, and diameters of the arterial segments, (2) repelling forces from other segments and boundaries, and (3) optimality principles to minimize the drag force at each bifurcation in the generated tree. Using this algorithm, the segmented coronary artery tree from the MSCT data was optimally extended to create a 3D computational model of the largest six orders of the coronary arterial tree. The new method for generating the 3D model is effective in imposing the constraints of anatomical and physiological characteristics of coronary vasculature. When combined with the 4D NCAT phantom, a computer model for the human anatomy and cardiac and respiratory motions, the new model will provide a unique tool to study cardiovascular characteristics and diseases through direct and medical imaging simulation studies.

We are developing a breast specific scatter correction method for digital beast tomosynthesis (DBT). The 3D breast volume was initially reconstructed from 15 projection images acquired from a GE prototype tomosynthesis system without correction of scatter. The voxel values were mapped to the tissue compositions using various segmentation schemes. This voxelized digital breast model was entered into a Monte Carlo package simulating the prototype tomosynthesis system. One billion photons were generated from the x-ray source for each projection in the simulation and images of scattered photons were obtained. A primary only projection image was then produced by subtracting the scatter image from the corresponding original projection image which contains contributions from the both primary photons and scatter photons. The scatter free projection images were then used to reconstruct the 3D breast using the same algorithm. Compared with the uncorrected 3D image, the x-ray attenuation coefficients represented by the scatter-corrected 3D image are closer to those derived from the measurement data.

Neutron Stimulated Emission Computed Tomography (NSECT) was evaluated as a potential technique for breast cancer diagnosis. NSECT can form a 3D tomographic image with an elemental (isotopic) spectrum provided at each reconstructed voxel. The target is illuminated (in vivo) by a neutron beam that scatters in-elastically producing characteristic gamma emission that is acquired tomographically with a spectrograph. Images are reconstructed of each element in the acquired spectrum. NSECT imaging was simulated for benign and malignant breast masses. A range of the number of incident neutrons was simulated from 19 million to 500k neutrons. Simulation included all known primary and secondary physical interactions in both the breast as well as in the spectrometer. Characteristic energy spectra were acquired by simulation and were analyzed for statistically significant differences between benign and malignant breasts. For 1 million incident neutrons, there were 61 differences in the spectra that were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Of these, 23 matched known characteristic emission from 6 elements that have been found in the breast (Br, Cs, K, Mn, Rb, Zn). The dose to two breasts was less than 3% of the dose of a 4 view screening mammogram. Increasing the dose to 52% of the mammogram (19 million neutrons) provided 89 significant spectral differences that matched 30 known emissions from 7 elements that have been found in the breast (Br, Co, Cs, K, Mn, Rb, Zn). Decreasing the dose to 1.4% (500K neutrons) eliminated all statistically significant matches to known elements. This study suggests that NSECT may be a viable technique for detecting human breast cancer in vivo at a reduced dose compared to 4 view screening mammography.

Megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) using active matrix flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs) is a promising candidate for providing image guidance in radiation therapy. Unfortunately, the practical clinical implementation of this technique is limited by the relatively low detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of conventional megavoltage AMFPIs. This limitation is due to the modest thickness of the phosphor screen employed to convert incident x-rays to optical photons and the trade-off that exists between phosphor thickness and spatial resolution. Recently, our group has begun pursuing the development of thick crystalline segmented scintillating detectors as x-ray converters for AMFPIs so as to circumvent this limitation. In order to examine the potential of such detectors for providing soft-tissue visualization by means of CBCT at megavoltage energies, a Monte Carlo-based method was used to simulate the acquisition of projection images of a contrast phantom. These images were used to perform CT reconstructions by means of a Feldkamp-based algorithm. In this study, various detector configurations involving CsI and BGO scintillators at thicknesses of 10 mm and 40 mm were evaluated. In addition, since the simulations only considered energy deposition, and did not include optical phenomena, both segmented and non-segmented (continuous) detector configurations were evaluated. For the segmented CsI detectors, septal wall materials with densities lower, equivalent and higher than that of the scintillator were considered. Performance was quantified in terms of the contrast-to-noise ratio obtained for lowcontrast, soft-tissue-equivalent objects (i.e., liver, brain, and breast) embedded in the phantom. The results obtained from these early studies suggest that such segmented converters can provide visualization of soft-tissue contrast in tomographic images at clinically practical doses. It is anticipated that the realization of optimized segmented detector designs will lead to clinically useful megavoltage AMFPIs exhibiting impressive performance.

While full-field digital mammography (FFDM) technology is gaining clinical acceptance, the overwhelming majority (96%) of the installed base of mammography systems are conventional film-screen (FSM) systems. A high performance, and economical digital cassette based product to conveniently upgrade FSM systems to FFDM would accelerate the adoption of FFDM, and make the clinical and technical advantages of FFDM available to a larger population of women. The planned FFDM cassette is based on our commercial Digital Radiography (DR) cassette for 10 cm x 10 cm field-of-view spot imaging and specimen radiography, utilizing a 150 micron columnar CsI(Tl) scintillator and 48 micron active-pixel CMOS sensor modules. Unlike a Computer Radiography (CR) cassette, which requires an external digitizer, our DR cassette transfers acquired images to a display workstation within approximately 5 seconds of exposure, greatly enhancing patient flow. We will present the physical performance of our prototype system against other FFDM systems in clinical use today, using established objective criteria such as the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE), and subjective criteria, such as a contrast-detail (CD-MAM) observer performance study. Driven by the strong demand from the computer industry, CMOS technology is one of the lowest cost, and the most readily accessible technologies available for FFDM today. Recent popular use of CMOS imagers in high-end consumer cameras have also resulted in significant advances in the imaging performance of CMOS sensors against rivaling CCD sensors. This study promises to take advantage of these unique features to develop the first CMOS based FFDM upgrade cassette.

New cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) mammography system designs are presented where the detectors provide high spatial resolution, high sensitivity, low noise, wide dynamic range, negligible lag and high frame rates similar to features required for high performance fluoroscopy detectors. The x-ray detectors consist of a phosphor coupled by a fiber-optic taper to either a high gain image light amplifier (LA) then CCD camera or to an electron multiplying CCD. When a square-array of such detectors is used, a field-of-view (FOV) to 20 x 20 cm can be obtained where the images have pixel-resolution of 100 μm or better. To achieve practical CBCT mammography scan-times, 30 fps may be acquired with quantum limited (noise free) performance below 0.2 μR detector exposure per frame. Because of the flexible voltage controlled gain of the LA's and EMCCDs, large detector dynamic range is also achievable. Features of such detector systems with arrays of either generation 2 (Gen 2) or 3 (Gen 3) LAs optically coupled to CCD cameras or arrays of EMCCDs coupled directly are compared. Quantum accounting analysis is done for a variety of such designs where either the lowest number of information carriers off the LA photo-cathode or electrons released in the EMCCDs per x-ray absorbed in the phosphor are large enough to imply no quantum sink for the design. These new LA- or EMCCD-based systems could lead to vastly improved CBCT mammography, ROI-CT, or fluoroscopy performance compared to systems using flat panels.

Direct conversion flat panel detectors (FPD) often experience a loss of sensitivity to x rays caused by previous exposure of the panel to radiation-a phenomenon known as ghosting. Bulk charge trapping and recombination, collectively referred to as incomplete collection of charges, are one of the major causes of ghosting in FPDs. In our investigation, the effects of incomplete charge collection on the modulation transfer function (MTF) of an a-Se direct conversion FPD were studied. The approach used was to repeatedly ghost the panel by uniformly exposing it to a high dose of radiation to force bulk trapping of charges, measure the MTF of the panel after each exposure, and compare this MTF to that of a non-ghosted panel by taking their ratio. MTF ratios allow us to isolate charge collection dependent components of the MTF from all other components. Our results show that ghosting brings about an increase in the MTF of the panel which we interpret as being due to an increase in the incomplete collection of holes. This involves the recombination of free holes with electrons that were trapped from prior exposures, as well as additional trapping of holes caused by the formation of new radiation induced trap states.

We examined the spatial resolution of a columnar CsI(Tl), single-photon imaging system using an approach that estimates the interaction position to better than the spread of the light distribution. A columnar scintillator was directly coupled to a 512×512 electron multiplying CCD (EMCCD) camera (16 μm pixels) binned at 2×2 to sample at 32 μm pixels. Optical photons from gamma-ray/scintillator interactions are sampled over multiple pixels. Resultant images show clusters of signal at the original interaction site, clusters from Cs and I K x-rays up to several hundred microns away, and clusters from collimator K x-rays. Also evident are depth-of-interaction effects which result in a broadening of the light distribution. These effects result in a degradation of spatial and energy resolution. Cluster pixel data was processed to better estimate the interaction position within the initial interaction cluster. Anger (centroid) estimation of individual gamma-ray events yielded spatial resolutions better than 100 μm; a result previously achievable only with pixellated semiconductor detector arrays. After proper calibration, depth-of-interaction (DOI) effects are corrected by performing maximum-likelihood 3D position and energy estimation of individual gamma-ray interactions.

Digital clinical imaging systems designed for radiography or cone-beam computed-tomography are highly shift-variant. The x-ray cone angle of such systems varies between 0° and 15°, resulting in large variations of the focal spot projection across the image field. Additionally, the variable x-ray beam incidence across the detector field creates a location-dependent asymmetric detector response function. In this paper we propose a practical method for the measurement of the angle of incidence dependent two-dimensional presampled detector response function. We also present a method for the measurement of the source radiance at the center of the detector, and provide a geometric transformation for reprojecting given any location in object space. The measurement procedure involves standard, readily available tools such as a focal-spot/pinhole camera, and an edge. Using the measured data and a model based on smooth functions derived from Monte Carlo simulations we obtain the location-dependent detector response function. In this paper we ignore scatter, therefore the resulting location dependent system response is a function of the focal spot and detector response. The system matrix, a representation of the full deterministic point response of the system for all positions in object space, can then be calculated. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the system matrix are generated and interpreted.

A compact, dual modality computed mammotomography (CmT) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system for dedicated 3D breast imaging is in development. The CmT component utilizes novel, heavy K-edge filtration to practicably narrow the energy spectrum of the cone-shaped x-ray beam incident on the patient's pendant, uncompressed breast. This quasi-monochromatic beam in CmT is expected to improve discrimination of tissue with very similar attenuation coefficients while restraining dose levels to below that of existing dual view mammography. Our previous extensive simulation studies showed the optimal energy range that provides maximum dose efficiency for a 50/50 adipose/glandular breast is in the 35-40keV range. This current study aims to experimentally validate previous simulation results. Here, experimental pre-breast and post-breast collimated x-ray beam spectral measurements are made under tube operating voltages between 40-100kVp using filter materials from Z=13-74, with K-edge values spanning that of Ce (K=40.4keV), and using different attenuating thicknesses of filter material, approximately equivalent to the 200^th and 500^th attenuating value layer (VL) thickness. Ce-filtered post breast spectra for 8cm to 18cm breasts are measured for a range of breast adipose/glandular compositions. Evaluated figures of merit include mean beam energy, spectral full-width at tenth-maximum, beam hardening and dose for the range of breast sizes. Measurements are shown to corroborate the simulations, and both indicate that for a given dose a 200^th VL of Ce filtration may have the most optimal performance in the dedicated mammotomography paradigm.

The risk of radiation exposure is greatest for pediatric patients and, thus, there is a great incentive to reduce the radiation dose used in diagnostic procedures for children to "as low as reasonably achievable" (ALARA). Testing of low-dose protocols presents a dilemma, as it is unethical to repeatedly expose patients to ionizing radiation in order to determine optimum protocols. To overcome this problem, we have developed a computed-radiography (CR) dose-reduction simulation tool that takes existing images and adds synthetic noise to create realistic images that correspond to images generated with lower doses. The objective of our study was to determine the extent to which simulated, low-dose images corresponded with original (non-simulated) low-dose images. To make this determination, we created pneumothoraces of known volumes in five neonate cadavers and obtained images of the neonates at 10 mR, 1 mR and 0.1 mR (as measured at the cassette plate). The 10-mR exposures were considered "relatively-noise-free" images. We used these 10 mR-images and our simulation tool to create simulated 0.1- and 1-mR images. For the simulated and original images, we identified regions of interest (ROI) of the entire chest, free-in-air region, and liver. We compared the means and standard deviations of the ROI grey-scale values of the simulated and original images with paired t tests. We also had observers rate simulated and original images for image quality and for the presence or absence of pneumothoraces. There was no statistically significant difference in grey-scale-value means nor standard deviations between simulated and original entire chest ROI regions. The observer performance suggests that an exposure ≥0.2 mR is required to detect the presence or absence of pneumothoraces. These preliminary results indicate that the use of the simulation tool is promising for achieving ALARA exposures in children.

Fluoroscopic procedures can result in significant radiation exposures to patients. To maximize the patient benefit-to-risk ratio, systems must be designed to produce the highest possible image quality for a given patient exposure, and quality assurance programs must be designed to ensure these standards are maintained. While the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) is often used in radiography to quantify "dose efficiency," attempts to measure the DQE of fluoroscopic systems have produced nonsensical results due to system lag reducing measured noise power spectrum (NPS) values. Methods involving the use of the system temporal modulation transfer function (MTF) have been proposed to remove this effect. However, these methods are not easily implemented in a clinical setting and as a result, the DQE of fluoroscopic systems is rarely measured. We have developed a novel method to measure system temporal MTF using a moving slanted-edge method and acquiring image data while the edge is translated across the detector with constant velocity. Each pixel from a video frame is mapped to a spatiotemporal coordinate based on the distance and time from passage of the edge at that pixel. Using data acquired with both stationary and moving (45 cm/s) edges, we calculate both the spatial and temporal presampling MTF. The method has been demonstrated using a bench-top image-intensifier-based fluoroscopic system using detector exposures representative of clinical procedures. Image data was acquired by digitizing the fluoroscopic video signal. The method was validated by comparison with a direct measure of the optical decay curve of the image intensifier. After correction for the temporal effects of the video integration time, excellent agreement was obtained between the two methods. It is concluded that the moving slanted-edge method provides a practical method for measuring the temporal presampling MTF of a fluoroscopic system.

A novel phantom has been developed to measure the modulation transfer function (MTF) in 3D for x-ray computed tomography. The phantom consists of three tungsten wires, positioned nearly orthogonal to each other. Simultaneous measurements of the MTF are taken at various locations along the three orthogonal reconstructed planes. Our computed mammotomography (CmT) system uses a Varian Paxscan 2520 digital x-ray detector which can be positioned anywhere in ~2pi steradian band and can have arbitrary trajectories. With a half-cone beam geometry and with the phantom positioned near the center of rotation, projection images are acquired over 360 degrees. Various 3D orbits are evaluated including vertical axis of rotation and saddle. Reconstructions were performed using an iterative ordered-subsets transmission algorithm on rebinned projection images, using various numbers of iterations. Rotation of reconstructed slices isolated each wire into its own plane. At various locations along the length of each wire, corresponding MTFs were calculated from 1D line spread functions. Through measurement, accuracy of wire method was verified by comparison of the projection MTFs computed from a wire and a standard edge device. Results indicated minor variations in MTF among the three orthogonal planes, which imply a high degree of uniform sampling in the imaged volume. Findings indicate that the phantom can be used to assess the intrinsic image resolution in 3D as well as potential degradative effects of measurements in various media.

The rapid development of modern multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) scanners has provided imaging systems with cone-beam geometry, sub-millimetre slice thickness, and gantry rotation speeds approaching 0.3 seconds per revolution. Clinical MSCT scanners routinely generate volume data sets yet the methods used to quantify spatial resolution remain relatively unchanged from those used to evaluate single slice scanners. In this paper, we describe a method for quantifying the spatial resolution of an MSCT scanner, with cone-beam, geometry using a sphere phantom. By scanning a Teflon sphere embedded in a uniform silicone cylinder, the plane spread function (PlSF) and modulation transfer function (MTF) may be determined. Furthermore, the spatial resolution in the axial and trans-axial directions may be independently quantified, as well as the effects of Azimuthal blur and spiral scanning. To illustrate the utility of the sphere method, the spatial resolution of two commercially available MSCT scanners was measured.

Sinogram truncation is a common problem in tomographic reconstruction; it occurs when a scanned object or patient extends outside the scan field-of-view. The truncation artifact propagates from the edge of truncation towards the center, resulting in degraded image quality. Several methods have been proposed recently to reconstruct the image artifact-free within the scan FOV; however it is often necessary to recover image outside the scan FOV. We propose a novel truncation correction algorithm that accurately completes unmeasured data outside of the scan field-of-view, which allows us to extend the reconstruction field-of-view. Contrary to 1D extrapolation, we perform interpolation along the so-called sinogram curves. First, we propose an approach to parameterize the family of sinogram curves for efficient sinogram decomposition. Secondly, we propose two ways to estimate the truncated data outside the field-of-view. Both methods are combined for more accurate sinogram completion. Our evaluation shows the validity of our approach. Even objects completely outside the FOV can be accurately reconstructed using the proposed method. The proposed method can be used with any modality where sinogram truncation occurs, such as CT, C-arm, PET/CT, and SPECT.

Usage of the backprojection filtration (BPF) algorithm for reconstructing images from motion-contaminated fan-beam data may result in motion-induced streak artifacts, which appear in the direction of the chords on which images are reconstructed. These streak artifacts, which are most pronounced along chords tangent to the edges of the moving object, may be suppressed by use of the weighted BPF (WBPF) algorithm, which can exploit the inherent redundancies in fan-beam data. More specifically, reconstructions using full-scan and short-scan data can allow for substantial suppression of these streaks, whereas those using reduced-scan data can allow for partial suppression. Since multiple different reconstructions of the same chord can be obtained by varying the amount of redundant data used, we have laid the groundwork for a possible method to characterize the amount of motion encoded within the data used for reconstructing an image on a particular chord. Furthermore, since motion artifacts in WBPF reconstructions using full-scan and short-scan data appear similar to those in corresponding fan-beam filtered backprojection (FFBP) reconstructions for the cases performed in this study, the BPF and WBPF algorithms potentially may be used to arrive at a more fundamental characterization of how motion artifacts appear in FFBP reconstructions.

A formula was recently described by Clackdoyle et. al. for image reconstruction within a region of interest (ROI) from knowledge of its truncated 2D Radon transform. In this work, we present an alternative, simple derivation of the formula by using the well-known relationship between the parallel-beam and fan-beam geometries. Based upon our derivation, the role of parameter t in the formula in ROI-image reconstruction can be clearly identified. We show that the parameter t determines the size of a reconstructible ROI from parallel-beam data containing truncations. Numerical studies were performed to by use of the formula with different t. We show that the formula yields ROI images with smaller sizes and lower quality than does our backprojection filtration algorithm.

Images reconstructed for transmission tomography with iterative Ordered Subsets Maximum Likelihood (OSML) algorithms have a higher signal-to-noise ratio than images reconstructed with filtered back-projection type algorithms. However, a drawback of OSML reconstruction is the requirement that a field-of-view (FOV) has to be reconstructed that covers the whole volume, which contributed to the absorption. In the case of a high resolution reconstruction, this demands a huge number of voxels. This paper presents a solution, how an iterative OSML reconstruction can be limited to a region of interest without loosing the advantages of a OSML reconstruction. Compared with a full FOV OSML reconstruction, the reconstruction speed mainly increases by the number of voxels, which are saved. In addition, less iterations are needed to achieve the same result.

The capabilities of flat panel interventional x-ray systems continue to expand, enabling a broader array of medical applications to be performed in a minimally invasive manner. Although CT is providing pre-operative 3D information, there is a need for 3D imaging of low contrast soft tissue during interventions in a number of areas including neurology, cardiac electro-physiology, and oncology. Unlike CT systems, interventional angiographic x-ray systems provide real-time large field of view 2D imaging, patient access, and flexible gantry positioning enabling interventional procedures. However, relative to CT, these C-arm flat panel systems have additional technical challenges in 3D soft tissue imaging including slower rotation speed, gantry vibration, reduced lateral patient field of view (FOV), and increased scatter. The reduced patient FOV often results in significant data truncation. Reconstruction of truncated (incomplete) data is known an "interior problem", and it is mathematically impossible to obtain an exact reconstruction. Nevertheless, it is an important problem in 3D imaging on a C-arm to address the need to generate a 3D reconstruction representative of the object being imaged with minimal artifacts. In this work we investigate the application of an iterative Maximum Likelihood Transmission (MLTR) algorithm to truncated data. We also consider truncated data with limited views for cardiac imaging where the views are gated by the electrocardiogram(ECG) to combat motion artifacts.

With the introduction of volumetric computed tomography (VCT), many studies have been conducted on the cone beam reconstruction algorithms. Majority of the research efforts was devoted to the reduction of cone beam artifacts by designing special weighting functions that treat the projection samples differently based on their cone angles. The selection of weighting function can be quite complex due to the cone beam helical geometry and is often designed through trial-and-error. In this paper, we present a conjugate backprojection approach (CBA) that is capable of significantly reducing cone beam artifacts without the application of a pre-backprojection weighting function. Our approach utilizes CBA operation which simultaneously backprojects and interpolates conjugate sampling pairs. Unlike the conventional backprojection, the final backprojected value depends not only on the distance of these samples to the point-of-intersection, but also on the cone angles of these samples. Consequently, optimization can be performed on a pixel by pixel basis and is independent of the acquisition protocols, such as helical pitches or acquisition modes. The proposed approach is applicable to cone beam helical as well as step-and-shoot acquisitions. Extensive computer simulation and phantom experiments were conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach. Results have shown that the proposed approach significantly reduces the cone beam artifacts.

We develop a reconstruction algorithm for local cone-beam X-ray tomography for use with generalized scanning trajectories. The algorithm is based upon an extension of a recently-developed chord-based theory for exact conebeam image reconstruction. Being chord-based, it is distinct mathematically and conceptually from conventional local tomography reconstruction algorithms. A computer-simulation study is conducted to demonstrate the algorithm, and compare its performance to an existing algorithm.

A three-dimensional weighted cone beam filtered backprojection (CB-FBP) algorithm (namely 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm) has been proposed to reconstruct images from the projection data acquired along a helical trajectory in angular ranges up to [0, 2π]. However, an over scan is usually employed in the clinic to provide premium image qualities for an accurate diagnosis at the most challenging anatomic structures, such as head, spine and extremities. In an over scan, the corresponding normalized helical pitch is usually smaller than 1:1, under which the projection data acquired along angular range larger than [0, 2π] can be utilized to reconstruct an image. To improve noise characteristics or dose efficiency in an over scan, we extended the 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm to handle helical pitches that are smaller than 1:1, while the algorithm's other advantages, such as reconstruction accuracy and computational efficiency, are maintained. The novelty of the extended 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm is the decomposition of an over scan with an angular range corresponding to [0, 2π + Δβ] (0 < Δβ < 2π) into a union of full scans with an angular range corresponding to [0, 2π]. As a result, the extended 3D weighted function is a weighted sum of all 3D weighting functions corresponding to each overlapped full scan. An experimental evaluation shows that, the extended 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm can significantly improve noise characteristics or dose efficiency of the 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm at helical pitch smaller than 1:1, while its reconstruction accuracy and computational efficiency are maintained. It is imortant to indicate that, the extended 3D weighting function is still applied on projection data before 3D backporjection, resulting in the computational efficiency of the extended 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm comparable to that of the 3D weighted CB-FBP algorithm. It is believed that, such an efficient CB reconstruction algorithm that can provide premium image qualities at low helical pitches will find its extensive applications in CT medical imaging.

In this work, we investigate exact image reconstruction within a 3D region of interest from data acquired with a circle-arc trajectory. In particular, the data may contain both longitudinal and transverse truncations. This work may find applications in lung or heart imaging using a C-arm scanner. When the arc portion of the trajectory is posterior or anterior to the patient, exact images within the lung or heart region can be reconstructed from truncated data.

Image reconstruction from few-view CT is of interest because of the potential to reduce scanning time and radiation dose. The challenge of few-view CT for image reconstruction is essentially a problem of interpolation from under-sampled data. Recently, a new algorithm for inverting the Fourier transform from under-sampled data has been developed by Candes et al. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory , 52 489 (2006). This algorithm can be directly applied to image reconstruction in 2D parallel-beam CT because of the central slice theorem. This article presents a discussion of the new algorithm, showing examples for different degrees of under-sampling.

A new reconstruction algorithm for Radon data is introduced. We call the new algorithm OPED as it is based on Orthogonal Polynomial Expansion on the Disk. OPED is fundamentally different from the filtered back projection (FBP) method. It allows one to use fan beam geometry directly without any additional procedures such as interpolation or rebinning. It reconstructs high degree polynomials exactly and works for smooth functions without the assumption that functions are band- limited. Our initial tests indicate that the algorithm is stable, provides high resolution images, and has a small global error. Working with the geometry specified by the algorithm and a new mask, OPED could also lead to a reconstruction method that works with reduced x-ray dose (see the paper by Tischenko et al in these proceedings).

In order to obtain accurate quantitative results, flat panel detectors require specific calibration and correction of acquisitions. Main artefacts are due to bad pixels, variations of photodiodes characteristics and inhomogeneity of X-rays sensitivity of the scintillator layer. Other limitations for quantification are the non-linearity of the detector due to charge trapping in the transistors and the scattering generated inside the detector, called detector scattering. Based on physical models of artefacts generation, this paper presents an unified framework for the calibration and correction of these artefacts. The following specific algorithms have been developed to correct them. A new method for correction of deviation to linearity is based on the comparison between experimental and simulated data. A method of detector scattering correction is performed in two steps: off-line characterization of detector scattering by considering its spatial distribution through a convolution model and on-line correction based on a deconvolution approach. Radiographic results on an anthropomorphic thorax phantom imaged with a flat panel detector, that convert X-rays into visible light using scintillator coupled to an amorphous silicon transistor frame for photons to electrons conversion, demonstrate that experimental X-rays attenuation images are significantly improved qualitatively and quantitatively by applying non-linearity correction and detector scattering correction. Results obtained on tomographic reconstructions from pre-processed acquisitions of the phantom are in very good agreement with expected attenuation coefficients values obtained with a multi-slice CT scanner. Thus, this paper demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed pre-processings to perform accurate quantification on radiographies and tomographies.

The purpose of this study is to characterize a newly built flat panel detector (FPD)-based cone beam CT (CBCT) prototype for dynamic imaging. A CBCT prototype has been designed and constructed by completely modifying a GE HiSpeed Advantage (HSA) CT gantry, incorporating a newly acquired large size real-time FPD (Varian PaxScan 4030CB), a new x-ray generator and a dual focal spot angiography x-ray tube that allows the full coverage of the detector. During data acquisition, the x-ray tube and the FPD can be rotated on the gantry over Nx360 degrees due to integrated slip ring technology with the rotation speed of one second/revolution. With a single scan time of up to 40 seconds , multiple sets of reconstructions can be performed for dynamic studies. The upgrade of this system has been completed. The prototype was used for a series of preliminary phantom studies: different sizes of breast phantoms, a Humanoid chest phantom and scatter correction studies. The results of the phantom studies demonstrate that good image quality can be achieved with this newly built prototype.

The new Multi-View Reconstruction (MVR) method for generating 3D vascular images was evaluated experimentally. The MVR method requires only a few digital subtraction angiographic (DSA) projections to reconstruct the 3D model of the vessel object compared to 180 or more projections for standard CBCT. Full micro-CBCT datasets of a contrast filled carotid vessel phantom were obtained using a Microangiography (MA) detector. From these datasets, a few projections were selected for use in the MVR technique. Similar projection views were also obtained using a standard x-ray image intensifier (II) system. A comparison of the 2D views of the MVRs (MA and II derived) with reference micro-CBCT data, demonstrated best agreement with the MA MVRs, especially at the curved part of the phantom. Additionally, the full 3D MVRs were compared with the full micro-CBCT 3D reconstruction resulting for the phantom with the smallest diameter (0.75 mm) vessel, in a mean centerline deviation from the micro-CBCT derived reconstructions of 29 μm for the MA MVR and 48 μm for the II MVR. The comparison implies that an MVR may be substituted for a full micro-CBCT scan for evaluating vessel segments with consequent substantial savings in patient exposure and contrast media injection yet without substantial loss in 3D image content. If a high resolution system with MA detector is used, the improved resolution could be well suited for endovascular image guided interventions where visualization of only a small field of view (FOV) is required.

Most approaches to 3D x-ray imaging geometry calibration use some well-defined calibration phantom containing point markers. The calibration aims at minimizing the so-called re-projection error, i.e., the error between the detected marker locations in the acquired projection image and the projected marker locations based on the phantom model and the current estimate of the imaging geometry. The phantoms that are being employed consist usually of spherical markers arranged in some spatial pattern. One widely used phantom type consists of spherical markers in a helical arrangement. We present a framework that establishes a good intuitive understanding of the calibration problem, and allows to evaluate the performance of different phantom designs. It is based on a linear approximation of the error propagation between parameters of the imaging geometry, a projection alignment error (which is not identical to the re-projection error), and the "backprojection misalignment", which ultimately dictates 3D image quality. This methodology enables us to characterize the statistics of the parameters describing the imaging geometry, based on simple assumptions on "measurement noise", i.e., phantom and pre-processing accuracy. We also characterize the 3D misalignment in the backprojection (which is used in the 3D reconstruction), which directly impacts 3D image quality. In a comparison of different phantom designs -using backprojection misalignment as a metric- a "candy cane" phantom was found to give superior performance. The presented approach gives many useful intuitive insights into the calibration problem and its key properties. It can also be leveraged, e.g., for an easy implementation of a fast and robust calibration algorithm.

In Computed Tomography (CT), the image quality sensitively depends on the accuracy of the X-ray projection signal, which is acquired by a two-dimensional array of pixel cells in the detector. If the signal of X-ray photons is spread out to neighboring pixels (crosstalk), a decrease of spatial resolution may result. Moreover, streak and ring artifacts may emerge. Deploying system simulations for state-of-the-art CT detector configurations, we characterize origin and appearance of these artifacts in the reconstructed CT images for different scenarios. A uniform pixel-to-pixel crosstalk results in a loss of spatial resolution only. The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) is attenuated, without affecting the limiting resolution, which is defined as the first zero of the MTF. Additional streak and ring artifacts appear, if the pixel-to-pixel crosstalk is non-uniform. Parallel to the system simulations we developed an analytical model. The model explains resolution loss and artifact level using the first and second derivative of the X-ray profile acquired by the detector. Simulations and analytical model are in agreement to each other. We discuss the perceptibility of ring and streak artifacts within noisy images if no crosstalk correction is applied.

Multislice CT with a larger number of detector rows has recently become the mainstream. As a result, scanning with a thin slice thickness is more frequently performed. However, a large number of obvious raster-type artifacts occur when X-ray absorption in the lateral direction is extremely high, such as in the shoulder and the pelvis. There are two methods to solve this problem. In one method, X-ray output is modulated during rotation so that the exposure dose is increased in regions with high X-ray absorption and reduced in regions with low X-ray absorption. In the other method, regions that are responsible for artifacts are filter-processed using image processing to minimize artifacts. From the viewpoints of image quality and exposure dose, we have evaluated a method we have developed that combines X-ray modulation technology (X-ray Modulation) and artifact elimination processing (Boost3D). An acrylic elliptical phantom was used for evaluation. Assuming a constant image SD level, it was found that the exposure dose can be reduced by approximately 25% with the combined use of X-ray Modulation and Boost3D.

One of the most important advantages of the novel multi slice CT (MSCT) with increased number of slices is the ability to reduce the scan time. However, does the increased number of slices in the MSCT enforce us to reduce the pitch, in order to avoid windmill artifacts, hence preventing us from decreasing the scan time? In this work we address this issue along with other aspects of the windmill artifacts. We study the dependence of the windmill artifacts, their strength and frequency, on the number of slices and on the pitch. The study demonstrates, that when retaining constant bed speed while increasing the number of slices, the intensity of the windmill artifacts is reduced significantly. Images of scans performed with the same pitch, yet with various number of slices are compared. It is observed, that the intensity of the windmill artifacts is similar, independent of the number of slices. The frequency of the artifacts however, increases with the number of slices. The study concludes that updating a clinical protocol performed with a low number of slices MSCT, to a similar protocol performed with high number of slices MSCT, the same pitch can be used attaining better IQ. Scanning with the same pitch using wider coverage enables an advantageous shorter scan time in novel MSCT.

We have developed an amplitude correlated (AC) 4-dimensional cone beam CT (4D-CBCT) imaging technique on the Varian cone beam CT system. We use the Varian Real-time Positioning Monitoring (RPM) system to synchronize the recording of the respiratory motion and the 4D-CBCT imaging. The projection data of the same amplitude in respiratory motion are used to reconstruct an image of the corresponding amplitude in RPM. In the absence of hysteresis of respiratory motion, we can utilize the two CBCT projections in the same breathing cycle: one in the inspiration to expiration and one in the expiration to inspiration to improve the signal to noise ratio, reduce the aliasing due to insufficient sampling in the angular direction.

We developed and evaluated a prototype flat-panel detector based Volume CT (fpVCT) scanner. The fpVCT scanner consists of a Varian 4030CB a-Si flat-panel detector mounted in a multi slice CT-gantry (Siemens Medical Solutions). It provides a 25 cm field of view with 18 cm z-coverage at the isocenter. In addition to the standard tomographic scanning, fpVCT allows two new scan modes: (1) fluoroscopic imaging from any arbitrary rotation angle, and (2) continuous, time-resolved tomographic scanning of a dynamically changing viewing volume. Fluoroscopic imaging is feasible by modifying the standard CT gantry so that the imaging chain can be oriented along any user-selected rotation angle. Scanning with a stationary gantry, after it has been oriented, is equivalent to a conventional fluoroscopic examination. This scan mode enables combined use of high-resolution tomography and real-time fluoroscopy with a clinically usable field of view in the z direction. The second scan mode allows continuous observation of a timeevolving process such as perfusion. The gantry can be continuously rotated for up to 80 sec, with the rotation time ranging from 3 to 20 sec, to gather projection images of a dynamic process. The projection data, that provides a temporal log of the viewing volume, is then converted into multiple image stacks that capture the temporal evolution of a dynamic process. Studies using phantoms, ex vivo specimens, and live animals have confirmed that these new scanning modes are clinically usable and offer a unique view of the anatomy and physiology that heretofore has not been feasible using static CT scanning. At the current level of image quality and temporal resolution, several clinical applications such a dynamic angiography, tumor enhancement pattern and vascularity studies, organ perfusion, and interventional applications are in reach.

The physical performance of two flat panel detectors (FPD) has been evaluated using a standard x-ray beam quality set by IEC, namely RQA5. The FPDs evaluated in this study are based on an amorphous silicon photodiode array that is coupled to a thallium-doped Cesium Iodide scintillator and to a thin film transistor (TFT) array. One detector is the PaxScan 2520 that is designed for fluoro imaging, and has a small dynamic range and a large image lag. The other detector is the PaxScan 4030CB that is designed for cone beam CT, and has a large dynamic range (>16-bit), a reduced image lag and many imaging modes. Varian Medical Systems manufactured both detectors. The linearity of the FPDs was investigated by using an ionization chamber and aluminum filtration in order to obtain the beam quality. Since the FPDs are used in fluoroscopic mode, image lag of the FPD was measured in order to investigate its effect on this study, especially its effect on DQE. The spatial resolution of the FPDs was determined by obtaining the pre-sampling modulation transfer function for each detector. A sharp edge was used in accordance to IEC 62220-1. Next, the Normalized Noise Power Spectrum (NNPS) was calculated for various exposures levels at RQA5 radiation quality. Finally, the DQE of each FPD was obtained with a modified version of the international standard set by IEC 62220-1. The results show that the physical performance in DQE and MTF of the PaxScan 4030CB is superior to that of PaxScan2520.

The amount of x-ray radiation currently applied in CT practice is not utilized optimally. A portion of radiation traversing the patient is either not detected at all or is used ineffectively. The reason lies partly in the reconstruction algorithms and partly in the geometry of the CT scanners designed specifically for these algorithms. In fact, the reconstruction methods widely used in CT are intended to invert the data that correspond to ideal straight lines. However, the collection of such data is often not accurate due to likely movement of the source/detector system of the scanner in the time interval during which all the detectors are read. In this paper, a new design of the scanner geometry is proposed that is immune to the movement of the CT system and will collect all radiation traversing the patient. The proposed scanning design has a potential to reduce the patient dose by a factor of two. Furthermore, it can be used with the existing reconstruction algorithm and it is particularly suitable for OPED, a new robust reconstruction algorithm.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how tissue x-ray attenuation coefficients, and their uncertainties, vary with x-ray tube voltage in different sized patients. Anthropomorphic phantoms (newborn, 10 year old, adult) were scanned a GE LightSpeed scanner at four x-ray tube voltages. Measurements were made of tissue attenuation in the head, chest and abdomen regions, as well as the corresponding noise values. Tissue signal to noise ratios (SNR) were obtained by dividing the average attenuation coefficient by the corresponding standard deviation. Soft tissue attenuation coefficients, relative to water, showed little variation with patient location or x-ray voltage (< 0.5%), but increasing the x-ray tube voltage from 80 to 140 kV reduced bone x-ray attenuation by ~14%. All tissues except adult bone showed a reduction of noise with increasing x-ray tube voltage (kV); the noise was found to be proportional to kVⁿ and the average value of n for all tissues was -1.19 ± 0.57. In pediatric patients at a constant x-ray tube voltage, SNR values were approximately independent of the body region, but the adult abdomen soft tissue SNR values were ~40% lower than the adult head. SNR values in the newborn were more than double the corresponding SNR soft tissue values in adults. SNR values for lung and bone were generally lower than those for soft tissues. For soft tissues, increasing the x-ray tube voltage from 80 to 140 kV increased the SNR by an average of ~90%. Data in this paper can be used to help design CT imaging protocols that take into account patient size and diagnostic imaging task.

Dual-energy contrast enhanced digital mammography (DE-CEDM), which is based upon the digital subtraction of low/high-energy image pairs acquired before/after the administration of contrast agents, may provide physicians physiologic and morphologic information of breast lesions and help characterize their probability of malignancy. This paper proposes to use only one pair of post-contrast low / high-energy images to obtain digitally subtracted dual-energy contrast-enhanced images with an optimal weighting factor deduced from simulated characteristics of the imaging chain. Based upon our previous CEDM framework, quantitative characteristics of the materials and imaging components in the x-ray imaging chain, including x-ray tube (tungsten) spectrum, filters, breast tissues / lesions, contrast agents (non-ionized iodine solution), and selenium detector, were systemically modeled. Using the base-material (polyethylene-PMMA) decomposition method based on entrance low / high-energy x-ray spectra and breast thickness, the optimal weighting factor was calculated to cancel the contrast between fatty and glandular tissues while enhancing the contrast of iodized lesions. By contrast, previous work determined the optimal weighting factor through either a calibration step or through acquisition of a pre-contrast low/high-energy image pair. Computer simulations were conducted to determine weighting factors, lesions' contrast signal values, and dose levels as functions of x-ray techniques and breast thicknesses. Phantom and clinical feasibility studies were performed on a modified Selenia full field digital mammography system to verify the proposed method and computer-simulated results. The resultant conclusions from the computer simulations and phantom/clinical feasibility studies will be used in the upcoming clinical study.

This paper describes a method for single exposure contrast-enhanced dual-energy imaging of tumors utilizing a scanned multi-slit system for digital mammography. This photon counting system employs an array of silicon strip detectors in an edge-on geometry. In the multi-slit setup, the line detectors and pre-collimator slits are aligned orthogonal to the scan direction. This geometry is advantageous to dual-energy imaging, since it allows differential filtering of the x-ray beam in the pre-collimator slits. A high-energy image is constructed from those lines where the filter material has been chosen to harden the x-ray beam and the low-energy image from the lines with a filter producing softer beams. Both images are obtained in the same scan, eliminating the need to change tube voltages and anode materials and minimizing the risk of motion artifacts. The method is illustrated on a purpose-built phantom and logarithmic subtraction of the images produces images essentially free of anatomical clutter with the contrast-enhanced targets clearly visible.

Cone-beam breast computed tomography (CB Breast CT) can easily detect micro-calcifications and distinguish fat and glandular tissues from normal breast tissue. However, it may be a challenging task for CB Breast CT to distinguish benign from malignant tumors because of the subtle difference in x-ray attenuation. Due to the use of polyenergetic x-ray source, the x-ray and tissue interaction exhibits energy-dependent attenuation behavior, a phenomenon that, to date, has not been used for breast tissue characterization. We will exploit this spectral nature by equipping our CB Breast CT with dual-spectral imaging. The dual-spectral cone-beam scanning produces two spectral image datasets, from which we propose a nonlinear dual-spectral image fusion scheme to combine them into a single dataset, thereby incorporating the spectral information. In implementation, we will perform dual-spectral image fusion through a bi-variable polynomial that can be established by applying dual-spectral imaging to a reference material (with eight different thicknesses). From the fused dataset, we can reconstruct a volume, called a reference-equivalent volume or a fusion volume. By selecting the benign tissue as a reference material, we obtain a benign-equivalent volume. Likewise, we obtain a malignant-equivalent volume as well. In the pursuit of the discrimination of benign versus malignant tissues in a breast image, we perform intra-image as well as inter-image processing. The intra-image processing is an intensity transformation imposed only to a tomographic breast image itself, while the inter-image processing is exerted on two tomographic images extracted from two volumes. The nonlinear fusion scheme possesses these properties: 1) no noise magnification; 2) no feature dimensionality problem, and 3) drastic enhancement among specific features offered by nonlinear mapping. Its disadvantage lies in the possible misinterpretation resulting from nonlinear mapping.

In this paper, we aim at a polychromatic physics model of dual-energy medical x-ray imaging and present a corresponding computation method, which includes two steps: first, bd(s, theta), i.e. the parameter used for expressing the component of Compton scatter, and bp(s, theta), i.e. the parameter used for expressing the component of Photoemission Effect, are decided by solving a nonlinear equation system; then a FBP ( Filtered Back Projection ) algorithm is used to reconstruct the decomposition images from the sinograms of bp(s, theta) and bp(s, theta). It is noticed that the first step is the most time-consuming, so it is very important to find out a high-speed and effective iteration computation method. In this paper, we propose a Newton iteration method with an effective estimation strategy of initial value for quickly solving the nonlinear equation system. A CT simulation experiment was implemented to validate the effectiveness of the whole procedure.

Dual-energy X-ray imaging is an important method of medical imaging, capable of not only obtaining spatial information of imaging object but also disclosing its chemical components, and has many applications in clinic. The current computation methods of dual-energy imaging are still based on the model of mono-energy spectrum imaging with some linear calibration, while they are incapable to reflect correctly the physical characteristics of dual-energy imaging and obstruct deeper research in this field. The article presents a new medical X-ray imaging model in accordance with physics of imaging and its corresponding computational method. The computation process includes two steps: first, to compute two attenuation parameters that have clear physical meaning: equivalent electron density and attenuation parameter of photoemission; then to compute the components of high- and low-density mass through a group of simple equation with two variables. Experiments showed that such method has quite a satisfactory precision in theory, that is, the solutions of parameters under different exposure voltages and thickness of tissue for several main tissues of human body are much low in deviations, whose quotient of standard deviation divided by mean are mostly under 0.1%, and at most 0.32%. The method provides not only a new computational way for dual-energy X-ray imaging, but also a feasible analysis for its nature. In addition, the method can be used to linearly rectify data of dual-energy CT and analyze the chemical component of reconstructed object by means of parameters clear in physics.

A scintillator type Flat Panel Detector (FPD)¹ has a good noise performance especially in Fluoroscopic images because of high DQE. Almost same dose as I.I. and CCD system is accepted in clinical use. According to the clinical study, the dose in fluoroscopy will be decreased if we can reduce the line noise coming from gate line of the Thin Film Transistor (TFT). The purpose of this study is to detect and reduce this line noise from the fluoroscopic images making it possible to perform a lower dose of fluoroscopy imaging. We detected the line noise by acquiring a dark image (without exposure) and then comparing the average of the line data along to the gate line to the neighborhood lines. We have applied this method to the dark area taken by the collimator of the Lucite phantom image and detected it. The detected line will be compensated by interpolation with neighborhood lines. The FPD of our system² has a big detecting area (40cm x 30cm) and a zoom mode is selected in fluoroscopy because the doctor is watching an edge of the guide-wire and a contrast medium. The collimated area of the detector is displayed in a monitor after the zooming process and we can take a collimated dark area for detecting the line noise. As we applied this method to the dark image (1024pixels x 1024lines) including 54 lines with noise, we can improve 10% of SD. Visible line noise of chest phantom image was reduced with this method. It will help to lower the fluoroscopy dose.

Amorphous silicon photodiodes are increasingly being used as fundamental components in digital diagnostic medical imaging system including large area chest radiography, mammography and real time fluoroscopy. The intrinsic a-Si:H material (i-a-Si:H), commonly deposited by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD), is well known to suffer from both light and bias stress induced instabilities over time that can result in an increase in dark current and a decrease in photoconductivity. In contrast, research in Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition (HWCVD) indicates that a-Si:H films grown by HWCVD can have superior physical and electronic properties to those grown by PECVD. In this research, we report on the material properties and stability of i-a-Si:H material by comparing the photoconductivity degradation of the HWCVD and PECVD films over time. Then, we discuss the p-i-n diode fabrication process and examine the leakage and photo-current degradation in the HWCVD and PECVD photodiode structures over time via bias and time stress measurements. Also, we investigate the quantum efficiency degradation over time in a-Si:H p-i-n detectors grown by PECVD.

Noise characteristics of the backlit, pin photodiode arrays having different vertical structures were studied. We showed that in many cases, the non-optical crosstalk between adjacent elements determines the noise performance and detectivity of the array pixels. For the arrays with the structure described in our recent works, the crosstalk always remained well below 0.01%, which allowed reaching the minimum noise level of ~ 10^-15 A/&sqrt;Hz determined by the thermal noise. In contrast, for the arrays built applying conventional structures the crosstalk was two orders of magnitude higher, which noticeably decreased the sensitivity of the pixels increasing their noise and switching their operation towards background-limited performance. The background signal originated from the non-optical crosstalk and produced a noise level significantly higher that the thermal noise. We also compared the temperature coefficients for different arrays. For the structures with improved electrical crosstalk, the measured value of the shunt resistance temperature coefficient was typically below 8 %/C and the responsivity temperature coefficient value did not exceed +0.02%/C within the spectral range from 450 through 800 nm. The advantages and drawbacks of application of the reported in this work photodiode arrays in high quality imaging systems are discussed.

CsBr phosphor ceramics doped with different luminescence center such as In₂O₃, Eu₂O₃, EuCl₃, SmCl₃, TbCl₃, GdCl₃ or NdCl₃ as a candidate of a new photosimulable phosphor for medical x-ray imaging sensor are prepared using a conventional ceramic fabrication process. It is found that x-ray-irradiated Eu-doped CsBr (CsBr:Eu) exhibits intense photostimulated luminescence (PSL). The peak wavelength of the PSL emission and stimulation spectra of CsBr:Eu phosphor ceramic sample is 450 nm and 690 nm, respectively. The dependence of PSL properties on preparing conditions of phosphor ceramic samples, such as Eu concentration, sintering temperature and sintering time, is studied and the optimum preparing condition is also studied. It is found that the PSL intensity of CsBr:Eu phosphor ceramics fabricated under optimum preparation condition is higher than that of commercially available imaging plate (IP) using BafBr:Eu. The image quality of the IP using CsBr:Eu phosphor film is better than that of commercially available IP.

Scintillators are the backbone of high-energy radiation detection devices. Most scintillators are based on inorganic crystals that have applications in medical radiography, nuclear medicine, security inspection, dosimetry, and high-energy physics. In this paper, we present a new type of scintillator that is based on glass ceramics (composites of glasses and crystals). These scintillators are made from Eu²⁺-activated fluorozirconate glasses that are co-doped with Ba²⁺, La³⁺, Al³⁺, Na⁺, and Cl^-. Subsequent heat treatment of the glasses forms BaCl₂ nano-crystals (10-20 nm in size) that are embedded in the glass matrix. The resulting scintillators are transparent, efficient, inexpensive to fabricate, and easy to scale up. The physical structure and x-ray imaging performance of these glass-ceramic scintillators are presented, and an application of these materials to micro-computed tomography is demonstrated. Our study suggests that these glass-ceramic scintillators have high potential for medical x-ray imaging.

We investigated the energy-dependent scintillation intensity of Eu-doped fluorozirconate glass-ceramic x-ray detectors in the energy range from 6 to 20 keV. The experiments were performed at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. The glass ceramics are based on Eu-doped fluorozirconate glasses, which were additionally doped with chlorine to initiate the nucleation of BaCl₂ nanocrystals therein. The x-ray excited scintillation is mainly due to the 5d-4f transition of Eu²⁺ embedded in the BaCl₂ nanocrystals; Eu²⁺ in the glass does not luminesce. Upon appropriate annealing the nanocrystals grow and undergo a phase transition from a hexagonal to an orthorhombic phase of BaCl₂. The scintillation intensity is investigated as a function of the x-ray energy as well as of the particle size and structure of the embedded nanoparticles. The scintillation intensity versus x-ray energy dependence shows that the intensity is inversely proportional to the photoelectric absorption of the material, i.e. the more photoelectric absorption the less scintillation.

In this paper, we investigated electrical characteristics of the X-ray detector of mercuric iodide (HgI₂) film fabricated by PIB(Particle-In-Binder) Method with thicknesses ranging from approximately 200μm to 240μm. In the present study, using I-V measurements, their electrical properties such as leakage current, X-ray sensitivity, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR),were investigated. The results of our study can be useful in the future design and optimization of direct active-matrix flat-panel detectors (AMFPD) for various digital X-ray imaging modalities.

Digital mammography is advancing into an arena where analog has long been the gold standard. Direct digital systems may not be the favored solution for a particular site while computed radiography (CR) mammography, remains unproven worldwide. This pilot study responds to the growing desire to acquire and display digital mammographic images by exploring the acceptability of CR mammography. Images representing a range of breast tissue types were collected from 49 subjects (17 screening; 32 diagnostic) at four clinical sites. Comparison views were collected on the same breast, under the same compression, using automatic exposure control on state-of-the-art film systems followed by CR. CR images were processed and printed to a mammography printer for hard copy feature comparison. Each image pair in the study was evaluated according to 13 image quality attributes covering noise, contrast, sharpness, and image quality in the overall captured images as well as in each of several particular breast regions (periphery and skin-line, parenchyma and fatty tissue). A rating scale from 1 to 5 was used (strong preference for film=1, strong preference for CR=5). Twelve experienced mammographers at four clinical sites scored a subset of the 49 cases for a total of 64 image pair readings. There were 64 ratings for each of 13 image quality attributes for all cases and, an additional series of scores (four or five attribute ratings) for each abnormality in the category of mass, architectural distortion and microcalcification, for a total of 1069 scores. Based on the pilot study results, it was suggested that CR was equivalent or preferred to conventional screen-film for overall image quality (38% scored 3; 46% scored >3), image contrast (27% scored 3; 59% scored >3) and sharpness (28% scored 3; 50% scored >3). No preference was found when assessing noise. This pilot study also suggested that diagnostic quality was maintained in assessing abnormalities for attributes necessary to evaluate masses and microcalcifications as compared to screen-film.

An observer study was conducted to compare the diagnostic quality of human-subject images obtained using a-Se (amorphous selenium) and CsI(Tl) (thalium-doped cesium iodide) flat-panel detectors. Each detector was attached to an X-ray source and gantry equipment of similar configuration and was installed in a university hospital radiology department in X-ray rooms within close proximity. One hundred image pairs that represent a stratified sampling of exam types were acquired. For a particular subject, image pairs were captured of the same body part and projection, using each of the two detectors. The images comprising a pair were captured within a few minutes of each other. Using manual exposure methods, the images were captured with technique factors that correspond to average exposure levels equivalent to approximately a 400-speed screen-film system. Raw image data from both digital radiography systems was stored to a research workstation. To achieve images having the same appearance, the same image-processing software was used to render the data from both systems, although different parameters were used in the frequency processing to account for the different MTF and noise properties of the CsI(Tl) and a-Se detectors. The processed images were evaluated by radiologists who used a research workstation that was equipped with a 3 MP flat-panel monitor, and software to facilitate the image comparisons. Radiologists used subjective rank-order criteria to evaluate overall diagnostic quality and preference. Radiologists' ratings indicate that both detectors produce images that have comparable satisfactory diagnostic quality for images captured using exposure technique factors that correspond to a 400-speed screen-film system, but the CsI(Tl) detector produces significantly higher preference, especially for larger and denser exam types.

A convolution model of scatter that is adaptable to rapid simulation and correction algorithms is tested against the measured scatter profiles. In the simple case of a uniform acrylic sheet, the convolution approach yields about 10% absolute agreement with the measured scatter profile. However, significant qualitative differences are demonstrated for phantoms with non-uniform thickness or composition. For example, the scatter profile is dependent on a bone's vertical position in the phantom whereas the primary is unchanged. Similarly, a cusp shape in the scatter profile observed near the abrupt edge of an acrylic sheet is not produced in the convolution model. An alternate approach that calculates the scatter as a 3D integral over the object volume can reproduce this behavior.

To investigate how the radiation dose level affects the detection of microcalcifications (MCs) in cone beam breast CT (CBCT), simulated MCs were embedded in simulated breast tissue and imaged with an experimental CBCT system. The system employs a 30 x 40 cm² a-Si/CsI based flat panel detector with a pixel size of 194 microns. Three 5 x 5 clusters of simulated calcifications (212-224, 250-280, and 300-355 μm) were embedded in a stack of 11 cm diameter lunch meat and positioned at the center of each slice of lunch meat. 300 projection images over 360 degrees were acquired in the non-binning mode at various dose levels (4.2, 6, 12, 18, and 24 mGy) three times, and were reconstructed with the Feldkamp algorithm. After that, 767 x 767 x 9 volume data were extracted from the fifteen reconstructed images for each size group, resulting in 45 CBCT MC phantom images. An observer experiment was performed by counting the number of visible MCs for each MC phantom image. The phantom images were displayed on a review workstation with a 1600 x 1200 CRT monitor and reviewed by six readers independently. The order of the images was randomized for each reader. The ratios of the visible MCs were averaged over all readers and plotted as a function of the dose level. The CNR was calculated for each MC size and each doe level as well. The results showed that the performance of the reconstructed images acquired with 4.2 mGy was similar to the images acquired with 6 mGy, and the images acquired with 18 mGy performed similarly to those acquired with 24 mGy.

We developed and investigated a scanning sampled measurement (SSM) technique for scatter measurement and correction in cone beam breast CT imaging. A cylindrical polypropylene phantom (water equivalent) was mounted on a rotating table in a stationary gantry experimental cone beam breast CT imaging system. A 2-D array of lead beads, with the beads set apart about ~1 cm from each other and slightly tilted vertically, was placed between the object and x-ray source. A series of projection images were acquired as the phantom is rotated 1 degree per projection view and the lead beads array shifted vertically from one projection view to the next. A series of lead bars were also placed at the phantom edge to produce better scatter estimation across the phantom edges. Image signals in the lead beads/bars shadow were used to obtain sampled scatter measurements which were then interpolated to form an estimated scatter distribution across the projection images. The image data behind the lead bead/bar shadows were restored by interpolating image data from two adjacent projection views to form beam-block free projection images. The estimated scatter distribution was then subtracted from the corresponding restored projection image to obtain the scatter removed projection images. Our preliminary experiment has demonstrated that it is feasible to implement SSM technique for scatter estimation and correction for cone beam breast CT imaging. Scatter correction was successfully performed on all projection images using scatter distribution interpolated from SSM and restored projection image data. The resultant scatter corrected projection image data resulted in elevated CT number and largely reduced the cupping effects.

This paper presents a systematic assessment of scattered radiation in flat-detector based cone-beam CT. The analysis is based on simulated scatter projections of voxelized CT images of different body regions allowing to accurately quantify scattered radiation of realistic and clinically relevant patient geometries. Using analytically computed primary projection data of high spatial resolution in combination with Monte-Carlo simulated scattered radiation, practically noise-free reference data sets are computed with and without inclusion of scatter. The impact of scatter is studied both in the projection data and in the reconstructed volume for the head, thorax, and pelvis regions. Currently available anti-scatter grid geometries do not sufficiently compensate scatter induced cupping and streak artifacts, requiring additional software-based scatter correction. The required accuracy of scatter compensation approaches increases with increasing patient size.

In this work, we investigated the effects of scattered radiation and beam quality on the low contrast performance relevant to cone beam breast CT imaging. For experiments, we used our benchtop conebeam CT system and constructed a phantom consisting of simulated fat and soft tissues. We varied the field of view (FOV) along the z direction to observe its effect on scattered radiation. The beam quality was altered by varying the tube voltage from 50 to 100 kV. We computed the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) from reconstructed images and normalized it to the square root of dose measured at the center of the phantom. The results were used as the figure of merit (FOM). The effect of the beam quality on the scatter to primary ratio (SPR) had minimal impact and the SPR was primarily dominated by the FOV. In the central section of the phantom, increasing the FOV from 4 to 16 cm resulted in drop of CNR in the order of 15-20% at any given kVp setting. For a given FOV, the beam quality had insignificant effect on the FOM in the central section of the phantom. In the peripheral section, a 10 % drop in FOM was observed when the kVp setting was increased from 50 to 100. At lower kVp values, the primary x-ray transmission through the thicker parts of the phantom was severely reduced. Under such circumstances, ring artifacts were observed due to imperfect flat field correction at very low signal intensities. Higher kVp settings and higher SPRs helped to increase the signal intensity in highly attenuating regions and suppressed the ring artifacts.

A dual modality SPECT/CT computed mammotomography (CmT) system for dedicated functional/structural breast imaging is under development. In simultaneous, dual-modality imaging, contamination of the transmission (x-ray) image by emission photons from the uncompressed, pendant breast and torso is an important consideration in the design of hybrid imaging hardware. The lack of a collimator on the transmission image detector implies increased geometric efficiency of primary and scattered emission photons from the breast and neighboring torso region that potentially increase transmission image noise. This study investigates the nature and extent of this cross contamination. Projection and tomographic x-ray images are obtained with and without emission activity in a realistic anthropomorphic torso and various breast phantoms, and also with and without lead shielding on the torso for a variety of x-ray exposure times. Results for emission-source contamination of transmission images are quantified in terms of a mean and standard deviation of regions of interest. There was an observed trend of increased contamination with increasing emission radioactivity in the projection images when the x-ray detector was located immediately beneath the torso phantom, but no discernible effect when the detector was lateral to (and beneath) the torso. Torso shielding mitigated this contamination somewhat. Indeed, in reconstructed CmT data, there was both a decrease in SNR and concomitant decrease in mean attenuation coefficient with increasing emission radioactivity contamination. These results are consistent with the expected increased noise due to a uniform emission irradiation of the detector and hence the resulting apparent increase in detected x-ray transmission events (which yield a lower reconstructed attenuation coefficient value). Despite the emission contamination in both projection and reconstructed images, the contamination is uncorrelated, and indeed no reconstruction artifacts were observed under the various measured conditions. This indicates that a simple contamination correction may be possible to the projection data prior to reconstruction.

In contrast to the narrow fan of clinical Computed Tomography (CT) scanners, Cone Beam scanners irradiate a much larger proportion of the object, which causes additional X-ray scattering. The most obvious scatter artefact is that the middle area of the object becomes darker than the outer area, as the density in the middle of the object is underestimated (cupping). Methods for estimating scatter were investigated that can be applied to each single projection without requiring a preliminary reconstruction. Scatter reduction by the Uniform Scatter Fraction method was implemented in the Varian CBCT software version 2.0. This scatter correction method is recommended for full fan scans using air norm. However, this method did not sufficiently correct artefacts in half fan scans and was not sufficiently robust if used in combination with a Single Norm. Therefore, a physical scatter model was developed that estimates scatter for each projection using the attenuation profile of the object. This model relied on laboratory experiments in which scatter kernels were measured for Plexiglas plates of varying thicknesses. Preliminary results suggest that this kernel model may solve the shortcomings of the Uniform Scatter Fraction model.

Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulation of chest x-ray imaging systems has hitherto been performed using anthropomorphic phantoms with too large (3 mm) voxel sizes. The aim for this work was to develop and use a Monte Carlo computer program to compute projection x-ray images of a high-resolution anthropomorphic voxel phantom for visual clinical image quality evaluation and dose-optimization. An Alderson anthropomorphic chest phantom was imaged in a CT-scanner and reconstructed with isotropic voxels of 0.7 mm. The phantom was segmented and included in a Monte Carlo computer program using the collision density estimator to derive the energies imparted to the detector per unit area of each pixel by scattered photons. The image due to primary photons was calculated analytically including a pre-calculated detector response function. Attenuation and scatter of x-rays in the phantom, grid and image detector was considered. Imaging conditions (tube voltage, anti-scatter device) were varied and the images compared to a real computed radiography (Fuji FCR 9501) image. Four imaging systems were simulated (two tube voltages 81 kV and 141 kV using either a grid with ratio 10 or a 30 cm air gap). The effect of scattered radiation on the visibility of thoracic vertebrae against the heart and lungs is demonstrated. The simplicity in changing the imaging conditions will allow us not only to produce images of existing imaging systems, but also of hypothetical, future imaging systems. We conclude that the calculated images of the high-resolution voxel phantom are suitable for human detection experiments of low-contrast lesions.

Scattered radiation plays a significant role in mammographic imaging, with scatter fractions over 50% for larger, denser breasts. For screen-film systems, scatter primarily affects the image contrast, reducing the conspicuity of subtle lesions. While digital systems can overcome contrast degradation, they remain susceptible to scatter's impact on the image resolution and noise. To better understand this impact, we have created a Monte Carlo model of a mammographic imaging system adaptable for different imaging situations. This model flags primary and scatter photons and therefore can produce primary-only, scatter-only, or primary plus scatter images. Resolution was assessed using the edge technique to compute the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF). The MTF of a selenium detector imaged with a 28 kVp Mo/Mo beam filtered through a 6 cm heterogeneous breast was 0.81, 0.0002, and 0.65 at 5 mm^-1 for the primary beam, scatter-only, and primary plus scatter beam, respectively. Noise was measured from flat-field images via the noise power spectrum (NNPS). The NNPS-exposure product using the same imaging conditions was 1.5 x 10^-5 mm²x mR, 1.6 x 10^-5 mm²x mR, and 1.9 x 10^-5 mm²x mR at 5 mm^-1 for the primary, scatter, and primary plus scatter beam, respectively. The results show that scatter led to a notable low-frequency drop in the MTF and an increased magnitude of the NNPS-exposure product. (This work was supported in part by USAMRMC W81XWH-04-1-0323.)

This work compares the detector performances of the recent Kodak Min-R EV 190/Min-R EV and current Kodak Min-R 2190/Min-R 2000 mammography screen-film combinations with the Kodak CR 850M system using the new EHR-M and standard HR plates. Basic image quality parameters (MTF, NNPS and DQE) were evaluated according to ISO 9236-3 conditions (i.e. 28 kV; Mo/Mo; HVL = 0.64 mm eq. Al) at an entrance air kerma level of 60 μGy. Compared with the Min-R 2000, the Kodak Min-R EV screen-film system has a higher contrast and an intrinsically lower noise level, leading to a better DQE. Due to a lower noise level, the new EHR-M plate improves the DQE of the CR system, in comparison with the use of the standard HR plate (30 % improvement) in a mammography cassette. Compared with the CR plates, screen-film systems still permit to resolve finer details and have a significantly higher DQE for all spatial frequencies.

A multimodality platform (CT, PET, Radiotherapy) has been developed in order to move phantoms (maximum weight: 70kg). This allows the study of the influence of motion on image quality. The translation system (160 mm in the z axis, maximal speed of 50 mm × s^-1) was controlled by a computer via a NI Motion Controller PCI 7344 (National Instrument, TX, USA). As an initial experiment, an anthropomorphic cardiac CT phantom (QRM, Moehrendorf, Germany) was moved linearly with speeds of 5, 10 and 20 mm × s^-1. Acquisitions were done on a Siemens Somatom Volume Zoom CT Scanner. To compare dynamic and static images, mutual information, correlation coefficient, standard deviation, volume computation and radiologist scoring were conducted. The mean position error of the platform was 0.1mm ± 0.04. Automatic evaluation of the image quality and/or the blurring is not easy. As predicted, we found an increase in artifacts with the speed of the phantom. The platform allows us to simulate physiological motions (respiratory and cardiac) in order to study their real influence on image quality and to correct them. We can already produce z axis physiological motion with the platform. More degrees of freedom (y and z rotations, x and y translations) will be added to improve the simulation of physiological motions.

For decades, the antero-posterior (AP) projection of the thoracic spine has represented a substantial challenge. Patient thickness varies substantially along the cranio-caudal axis resulting in images that are too dark for the upper vertebrae and too light, or with excessive quantum mottle, towards the 9th to 12th thoracic vertebra. The anode heel affect is a well known phenomenon, however there is a paucity of reports demonstrating its exploitation in clinical departments for optimising images. The current work, using an adult, tissue-equivalent anthropomorphic phantom, explores if appropriate positioning ofthe anode can improve image quality for thoracic spine radiology. At each of 5 kVps (70, 81, 90, 102, 109) thirty AP thoracic spine images were produced, 15 with the anode end of the tube towards the cranial part of the phantom and 15 with the anode end of the tube facing caudally. Visual grading analysis of the resultant images demonstrated significant improvements in overall image quality and visualisation of specific anatomical features for the cranially facing anode compared with the alternative position, which were most pronounced for the 1st to 4th and 9th to 12th vertebrae. These improvements were evident at 70, 81 and 90 kVp, but not for the higher beam energies. The results demonstrate that correct positioning of the X-ray tube can improve image quality for thoracic radiology at specific tube potentials. Further work is ongoing to investigate whether this easy to implement and cost-free technique can be employed for other examinations.

In flat-panel detector-based cone-beam CT breast imaging (CBCTBI), scatter is an important factor that degrades image quality. It has been shown that despite the use of a large air gap, scatter still causes problems when imaging a large breast phantom with our CBCTBI prototype. The SPR at the center region near the chest wall of a C-cup phantom is about 0.5, and this value goes up to 0.9 for the D-cup phantom. As a result, the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) distortion and reduced contrast were obvious in the reconstruction slices. To conquer the scattering problem, the beam-stop array (BSA) algorithm was presented in previous papers by our group. Since the breast is nearly axially symmetric, only one or two more projections for scatter images are required for the BSA algorithm. Therefore, the angular interpolation part in the algorithm could be simplified. The accuracy of the BSA algorithm is evaluated with a water phantom and the error of LAC reconstruction is proven to be less than 2%. The results of a C-cup phantom study shows that the LAC distortion in CBCT breast imaging could be corrected, and the CNR of target tumors is increased by a small amount. The number of sampled scattering patterns for CBCTBI is also discussed. The results showed that the BSA algorithm worked well for our CBCTBI prototype system. It could remove the scatter efficiently and improve the image quality.

Two mechanisms for MTF dependence on incident x-ray angle are demonstrated by an experimental technique that separates the two phenomena. The dominant effect is that travel of x-ray photons through the scintillator at non-normal incidence involves an in-plane component. This mechanism leads to a significant but deterministic blurring of the incident image, but has no effect on the noise transfer characteristics of the detector. A secondary effect is that at large angles to the surface normal, x-ray-to-optical conversion occurs at positions in the scintillator further away from the photodiode surface. This leads to a small net decrease in MTF and NPS at angles above 60 degrees. The deterministic character of the angular dependence of gain, MTF and NPS leads to the conclusion that sufficient angular range can be supported by this detector construction. Excellent functionality in the context of tomography is expected.

Dose and image quality assessment in computed tomography (CT) are almost affected by the vast variety of CT scanners (axial CT, spiral CT, low-multislice CT (2-16), high-multislice CT (32-64)) and imaging protocols in use. Very poor information is at the moment available on 64 slices CT scanners. Aim of this work is to assess image quality related to patient dose indexes and to investigate the achievable dose reduction for a commercially available 64 slices CT scanner. CT dose indexes (weighted computed tomography dose index, CTDI_w and Dose Length Product, DLP) were measured with a standard CT phantom for the main protocols in use (head, chest, abdomen and pelvis) and compared with the values displayed by the scanner itself. The differences were always below 7%. All the indexes were below the Diagnostic Reference Levels defined by the European Council Directive 97/42. Effective doses were measured for each protocol with thermoluminescent dosimeters inserted in an anthropomorphic Alderson Rando phantom and compared with the same values computed by the ImPACT CT Patient Dosimetry Calculator software code and corrected by a factor taking in account the number of slices (from 16 to 64). The differences were always below 25%. The effective doses range from 1.5 mSv (head) to 21.8 mSv (abdomen). The dose reduction system of the scanner was assessed comparing the effective dose measured for a standard phantom-man (a cylinder phantom, 32 cm in diameter) to the mean dose evaluated on 46 patients. The standard phantom was considered as no dose reduction reference. The dose reduction factor range from 16% to 78% (mean of 46%) for all protocols, from 29% to 78% (mean of 55%) for chest protocol, from 16% to 76% (mean of 42%) for abdomen protocol. The possibility of a further dose reduction was investigated measuring image quality (spatial resolution, contrast and noise) as a function of CTDI_w. This curve shows a quite flat trend decreasing the dose approximately to 90% and a sharp fall below that value. A significant decrease in the effective dose to the patient, around 40%, was found; image quality analysis shows a further 10% dose reduction possibility.

A novel noise power spectrum (NPS) measurement method for medical liquid crystal display (LCD) was developed. A uniform image displayed on an LCD was imaged with a high-resolution single-lens reflex type digital camera (D70, Nikon) equipped with a close-up lens. In order to avoid significant errors (frequency leakages) caused by strong periodic components of the pixel structures, noise profile data was processed by periodic components subtraction, and NPS was calculated from the processed profile with fast Fourie transformation (FFT). Horizontal NPS at the center of display area was measured up to the 10 times of Nyquist frequency. Actual measurements were performed with various models of monochrome two million and three million pixel LCDs to investigate difference of conventional method and our proposed method. Resultant NPS obtained from the conventional method with simple FFT included significant errors over the whole frequency ranges. In contrast, our proposed method could compensate most of those errors. Resultant NPS of our method indicated clearly the difference of noise property between three displays we measured, which corresponded to the visual evaluation for them. In conclusion, our method is very useful for evaluation of noise properties of medical LCD due to the good accuracy and reproducibility.

This study describes an effective method for verifying the line spread function (LSF) and point spread function (PSF) measured in computed tomography (CT). The CT image of an assumed object-function was calculated using LSF or PSF based on a model to understand spatial resolution in the imaging system. Validities of LSF and PSF were confirmed by comparing the calculated image with the scanned image of the phantom corresponding to the object-function. Differences between the scanned and calculated images depended on accuracies of LSF and PSF used in the calculations. First, we measured LSF in our scanner, and derived the two-dimensional PSF in the scan-plane from LSF. Second, we scanned the phantom including uniform cylindrical objects parallel to the long axis of a patient's body (z-direction). Scanned images of such a phantom were characterized according to spatial resolution in the scan-plane, and didn't depend on spatial resolution in the z-direction. Third, images were calculated by two-dimensionally convolving the object-function with PSF, which object-function was determined to correspond to the phantom. Calculated images agreed with scanned images, confirming validities of PSF and LSF. On the other hand, we obtained another LSF with an inappropriate manner, and calculated images as mentioned above. On this case, the calculated images did not agree with the scanned images, indicating the inaccuracy of LSF. We could verify LSFs and PSFs for three types of reconstruction kernels. When one obtains LSF, PSF or MTF, verification using the proposed method is recommended.

In a typical indirect flat-panel digital radiography detector, a phosphor screen is coupled to an a-Si:H imaging array, whose pixels comprise an a-Si:H photodiode and an a-Si:H TFT switch. This two-dimensional array is fabricated on a thin glass substrate that usually contains a rather high concentration of heavy elements such as barium. In previous system performance analyses, only the effect of K-fluorescence reabsorption in the phosphor screen was included. The effect of K-fluorescence from heavy elements in the glass substrate of the array was not taken into account. This K-fluorescence may be excited directly by primary x-rays that penetrate the overlying phosphor and interact in the glass, or by K-fluorescence x-rays that escape from the phosphor into the glass. In this paper, we extend the parallel-cascaded linear systems model to include the effect of K-fluorescence from heavy elements in the glass substrate. As an example, the MTF, NPS, and DQE of an indirect flat-panel imager consisting of a Gd₂O₂S:Tb phosphor screen and an a-Si:H photodiode/TFT array fabricated on a glass substrate containing barium, are calculated. Degradations in MTF and DQE as a result of the K-fluorescence from the substrate are presented and discussed.

An X-ray tube spectra measuring method is presented in this paper. The measurement is accomplished by reconstruction from attenuation data based on a nine-parameter tungsten anode X-ray spectral model. The proposed model is derived from a physical basis and composed of three parts: bremsstrahlung spectra, photoemission attenuation by X- ray tube inherent and added filter, characteristic radiations denoted by four Dirac delta functions. Firstly, for simplicity, the four characteristic radiations of the spectra model are merged into two according to a reasonable hypothesis. Secondly, the spectra reconstruction based on the modified model is carried out by calculating the model parameters from measured attenuation data. To further improve stability, two kinds of materials are used as the attenuators. Experiments show that this method can reach high precision and is insensitive to the noise in measured attenuation data. From the 10 measured attenuation data (7 from Al, and 3 from Copper) with 5% Poisson noise added, the precision of the reconstructed spectra can reach 98.56% for the 70kVp X-ray tube with tiny characteristic radiation, and 98.24% for the 120kVp X-ray tube with characteristic radiation. Spectrum is the characteristic of X- ray tube and widely used for many purposes. In engineering, the spectrum is mostly reconstructed from attenuation data, which is an ill-posed problem in mathematics. The method we presented with the features of including characteristic radiation, insensitive to noise and demanding fewer attenuation data will help to solve this problem perfectly.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the theoretically achievable spatial resolution is characterized by the extent of k-space used for image reconstruction, which is inversely proportional to the pixel size. Therefore, spatial resolution increases with the extent of k-space sampled. Whereas the visible resolution is characterized by the object size at which the object of interest is visually separable from the background. Since noise in MRI data is "white" (uniformly distributed across the k-space), sampling more k-space results in adding more noise to the image. This can result in the decrease of the object visibility with increase in the spatial resolution. Hence, it is important to choose the right spatial resolution to view the object of interest. In this paper, we present a theoretical relationship between the visibility of vessel detail in magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and also the probability of projection of vessels in the minimum intensity projection (MinIP) and maximum intensity projection (MIP) images as a function of spatial resolution. This theory lays a foundation for determining the extent of k-space that should be used for image reconstruction to visually identify a particular vessel/anatomic detail of interest. The theory is validated using imaging studies and it is demonstrated that the vessel information displayed in MRA as well as projection images can be maximized for a particular anatomic detail of interest by optimal choice of spatial resolution.

A new microangiographic system (MA) integrated into a c-arm gantry has been developed allowing precise placement of a MA at the exact same angle as the standard x-ray image intensifier (II) with unchanged source and object position. The MA can also be arbitrarily moved about the object and easily moved into the field of view (FOV) in front of the lower resolution II when higher resolution angiographic sequences are needed. The benefits of this new system are illustrated in a neurovascular study, where a rabbit is injected with contrast media for varying oblique angles. Digital subtraction angiographic (DSA) images were obtained and compared using both the MA and II detectors for the same projection view. Vessels imaged with the MA appear sharper with smaller vessels visualized. Visualization of ~100 μm vessels was possible with the MA whereas not with the II. Further, the MA could better resolve vessel overlap. Contrast to noise ratios (CNR) were calculated for vessels of varying sizes for the MA versus the II and were found to be similar for large vessels, approximately double for medium vessels, and infinitely better for the smallest vessels. In addition, a 3D reconstruction of selected vessel segments was performed, using multiple (three) projections at oblique angles, for each detector. This new MA/II integrated system should lead to improved diagnosis and image guidance of neurovascular interventions by enabling initial guidance with the low resolution large FOV II combined with use of the high resolution MA during critical parts of diagnostic and interventional procedures.

A stationary x-ray source for tomographic medical imaging is being developed. The source is based upon a matrix addressable array of microfabricated cold cathodes. The characteristics of the x-ray source for breast imaging applications are being quantified. Emission currents exceeding 300 mA from 1 sqmm cathodes have been observed and currents exceeding 100 mA are now routine. X-ray focal spots on the order of 0.2 mm in diameter have been produced with currents of 25 mA @ 25 kV dc.

We devised two kinds of new methods for accurate measurement of the image signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in parallel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because image noise of the parallel MRI was not spatially constant. Using the first (Consecutive) method, more than fifty consecutive scans of the uniform phantom were obtained with identical scan parameters. Then the SNRs in each pixel were calculated from the ratio of mean signal intensity to the standard deviation of the time domain on a pixel-by-pixel. With the second (Remove) method, the phantom was removed after the first scan, and the second scan was done with identical parameters and the RF coil loading device. The SNRs in each pixel were then obtained from the ratio of the signal intensity of the first scan to the second scan (w/o phantom) image which was multiplied by the square root of 2/pi and filtered by the running mean (7 by 7 pixels). Moreover, actual geometry factors were calculated from image SNRs of parallel and no parallel MRI. The image SNR and actual geometry factor of parallel MRI with the Consecutive method agreed with that of the Remove method. The SNRs of the no parallel MRI with the above two methods conformed with that of the conventional SNR method (NEMA standard). Both new methods make it possible to obtain a more detailed determination of SNR in parallel MRI, and to calculate the actual geometry factor.

Parallel MRI (pMRI) is a way to increase the speed of the MRI acquisition by combining data obtained simultaneously from several receiver coils with distinct spatial sensitivities. The measured data contains additional information about the position of the signal with respect to data obtained by a standard, uniform sensitivity coil. The idea is to speed up the acquisition by sampling more sparsely in the k-space and to compensate the data loss using the additional information obtained by a higher number of receiver coils. Most parallel reconstruction methods work in image domain and estimate the reconstruction transformation independently in each pixel. We propose an algorithm that uses B-spline functions to approximate the reconstruction map which reduces the number of parameters to estimate and makes the reconstruction faster and less sensitive to noise. The proposed method is tested on both phantom and in vivo images. The results are compared with commercial implementation of GRAPPA and SENSE algorithms in terms of time complexity and quality of the reconstruction.

In recent years, the X-ray refraction contrast was widely developed and applied in different fields of science which deal with the nondestructive observation methods. As it follows from the name, the refraction contrast is the distribution of the X-ray intensity dependent on the deflection angle of the X-ray beam. This property of the contrast provides certain advantages over other contrasts such as absorption and phase-shift. The refraction contrast can show tiny details of the inner structure which are invisible in other types of the X-ray imaging techniques. Another advantage of the X-ray refraction contrast is the sensitivity to the low Z materials. This property of the refraction contrast may be of great importance in the medical applications of the X-ray. The advantages provided by the refraction contrast allow one to expect the same advantages of the computed tomography (CT) from the refraction contrast. Therefore this report is dedicated to the realization of the refraction-based CT. It describes the theoretical background of the problem, experimental realization of the method and actual results of the reconstruction of the breast cancer sample. The experimental data were acquired using X-ray synchrotron source at Photon Factory (KEK, Japan). The energy of used in the experiment was 11.7keV. The spatial resolution of the reconstructed images is about 20 microns.

In this paper, we report our experience in looking for effective autofocus functions for automatic image acquisition in ImmunoFluorescence Assay (IFA). We propose to use two functions that greatly improve the performance with respect to functions commonly proposed in the literature. The first function is based on the image histogram and it is suited to in the coarse phase of autofocus, when the z-axis steps are larger to speedup the identification of the interval where lies the focus position. The second function is a popular autofocus function properly modified to compensate the effects of photo-bleaching. It is best suited to be used in the other phases of the autofocus process when smaller steps are taken to precisely identify the focus position. Effectiveness of the proposed functions has been assessed on real images both quantitatively and qualitatively, confirming that they allow obtaining a high quality images, in most cases better than those manually acquired.

Magnetic resonance (MR) image reconstruction has reached a bottleneck where further speed improvement from the algorithmic perspective is difficult. However, some clinical practices such as real-time surgery monitoring demand faster reconstruction than what is currently available. For such dynamic imaging applications, radial sampling in k-space (i.e. projection acquisition) recently revives due to fast image acquisition, relatively good signal-to-noise ratio, and better resistance to motion artifacts, as compared with the conventional Cartesian scan. Concurrently, using the graphic processing unit (GPU) to improve algorithm performance has become increasingly popular. In this paper, an efficient GPU implementation of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) will first be described in detail, since the FFT is an important part of virtually all MR image reconstruction algorithms. Then, we evaluate the speed and image quality for the GPU implementation of two reconstruction algorithms that are suited for projection acquisition. The first algorithm is the look-up table based gridding algorithm. The second one is the filtered backprojection method which is widely used in computed tomography. Our results show that the GPU implementation is up to 100 times faster than a conventional CPU implementation with comparable image quality.

The emergence of compact optical spectral imaging technologies has motivated the study of their use in a variety of applications, including medical diagnosis and monitoring. In particular, large format CCD focal planes in conjunction with spectrally tunable devices offer enhanced spatial information together with visible and near infrared (NIR) spectroscopic data for the passive, noninvasive, measurement of human skin and near surface tissue characteristics. One such spectral imaging system was recently developed by mating a Liquid Crystal Tunable Filter (LCTF) together with a 2048x2048 silicon CCD focal plane. This system is capable of collecting more than 30 co-registered spectral images spaced every 10 nanometers and spanning 400 to 720 nanometers. This system combines the potential of near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy with the high spatial resolution of traditional optical imaging techniques. Spectral images were acquired of portions of the hands and arms of several test subjects with a variety of features observable. The observations were collected in a "light box" under controlled illumination conditions. Images of a diffuse reflectance standard and instrument dark frames were collected to allow conversion of the raw images to spectral reflectance images. This paper presents examples of the spectral images collected, instrument characteristics and performance, and results of analysis algorithms applied to the data. Results also are shown for a new algorithm extracting the saturated oxygen hemoglobin fraction from these data.

Signal from fat is normally removed from MR images either by fat separation techniques that distinguish water from fat signal after the data has been received, or by fat suppression techniques that prevent the fat signal from being received. Most approaches to fat separation are variations on Dixon imaging. The primary downside to Dixon imaging is the requirement for multiple images with stationary anatomy, often with specific TEs. An alternate approach is to take only one image, estimate phase errors to correct for inhomogeneity or other effects, and then separate the water and fat using the known phase shift. This has shown promise in previously published work, but the water and fat signals were always perpendicular, requiring a fixed TE. We consider the possibility of separation from a single, phase-corrected image with an arbitrary angle between water and fat signals. We note that a change of basis will separate water and fat signals into two images with additive zero-mean Gaussian noise. However, as the angle between water and fat nears pi or 0, the noise power in the separated images increases rapidly. We discuss techniques for reducing this noise magnification.

A number of non invasive methods have been developed to characterize parameters in near-surface skin tissue; however, the work has usually been concerned with using either spectral or spatial information. This motivated our study in which both spatial and spectral data are used to extract features for characterizing the spatial distribution of near-surface oxygen saturation. This paper addresses combined physical and statistical models to retrieve the ratio of oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin in tissues from data collected by an imaging spectrometer. To retrieve the oxygen saturation fraction from the data, algorithms from the literature using two or three wavelengths were compared to our new algorithm using the many more wavelengths (25 to 60) available in imaging spectrometer data, and noise reduction achieved through principal component transformations. In addition to the analysis of experimental spectral imagery, an oxygen saturation phantom of size 128x128 pixels was simulated. In the forward process, a reflectance image was constructed from an assumed oxygen saturation map and the absorption coefficients of oxy- hemoglobin, deoxy-hemoglobin, melanin and other chromophores. The reflectance data have 60 bands spanning 400 nm to 990 nm with 10 nm intervals in the spectral dimension. Varying amounts of white Gaussian noise was added to the reflectance data to simulate measurement errors in an actual experiment. In the backward process, an oxygen saturation image was reconstructed by applying the algorithm to study the effect of measurement error on the retrieved saturation fraction. The resultant images were evaluated by their mean squared error.

Low energy (LE) collimator is generally used in I-123 SPECT imaging. However, the septal penetration and scattering of photons emitted with energy above 159 keV will affect the image contrast and quantitative accuracy of images. To reduce this effect, medium energy (ME) collimator has been used with the cost of lower counting statistics and spatial resolution. The effects of collimator dependency on the quantitative accuracy of attenuation corrected (AC) I-123 SPECT images using X-ray-based attenuation map was investigated. Both brain and heart/thorax phantoms were used to evaluate different degree of attenuation effect between brain and thorax. Experiments were performed at different target-to-background ratios to simulate different object contrast. Both photopeak and scatter projections were collected for dual-energy window scatter correction (SC). Images were reconstructed and compared using different reconstruction methods, which included FBP (filtered backprojection), and OSEM (ordered subset expectation maximization) without corrections, with AC, with SC, and with AC and SC. In both phantom studies, the image contrast and quantitative accuracy were both improved with the use of CT-based transmission map for AC. The image contrast provided by ME collimator was better than that of LE collimator, especially in the region with void activity of thorax phantom. From the results of phantom studies, medium energy collimator with CT-based transmission map showed improvements in image contrast and quantitative accuracy of I-123 SPECT images.

Discrete Tomography (DT) deals with the reconstruction of an image from its projections when this image is known to have only a small number of gray values. The knowledge of the discrete set of gray values can significantly reduce the number of projections required for a high-quality reconstruction. In this paper, a feasibility study is presented of the application of discrete tomography to micro-CT data from a mouse leg as to study the structural properties of the trabecular bone. The set of gray values is restricted to only three values, for the air background, the soft tissue background, and the trabecular bone structure. Reconstructions of the trabecular bone structure are usually obtained by computing a continuous reconstruction. To extract morphometric information from the reconstruction, the image must be segmented into the different tissue types, which is commonly done by thresholding. In the DT approach such a segmentation step is no longer necessary, as the reconstruction already contains a single gray value for each tissue type. Our results show that by using discrete tomography, a much better reconstruction of the trabecular bone structure can be obtained than by thresholding a continuous reconstruction from the same number of projections.

A new micro scanner CT for small animals - based on a couple of parallel quasi-monochromatic X-ray beams with different energies selectable - is under development. The aim of the study is the in vivo imaging of the tumor neo-angiogenesis pattern in an earlier diagnostic phase and the analysis of cancer growth and metastasis development in different tumor types on mice. As previously demonstrated¹, the imaging system based on dual energy quasi- monochromatic X-ray beams provides higher sensitivity in detecting low concentrations of iodine contrast medium if compared to traditional polychromatic X-ray equipment. The K-edge dual energy radiology is a realistic candidate to recognize tumor neo- angiogenesis process in a very earlier stage, in which conventional systems are very poor in sensitivity. Moreover, the capability to select the energy of quasi-monochromatic beams enables the use of the Multi-Energy Quasi-Monochromatic technique. Tuning properly the energies allows maximizing the difference between linear absorption coefficients of healthy and pathological tissues increasing the contrast of pathologies. In order to optimize the contrast with this technique, one should know the X-ray energy regions where the absorption of healthy and pathological tissues eventually differs and that for each type of tumor under study. For this reason, the systematic X-ray characterization of many types of healthy and neoplastic human and mice tissues is in progress. The goal of this work is to obtain a catalog of liner attenuation coefficients of a variety of pathological tissues for respect to the healthy ones, finding any energy windows of radiological differentiation. In this paper, the theoretical methods are presented with development works and preliminary results.

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in studying the propagation of polarized light in randomly scattering media. This paper presents a novel approach for cell and tissue imaging by using full Stokes imaging and for its improved diagnostics by using artificial neural networks (ANNs). Phantom experiments have been conducted using a prototyped Stokes polarization imaging device. Several types of phantoms, consisting of polystyrene latex spheres in various diameters, were prepared to simulate different conditions of epidermal layer of skin. Several sets of four images that contain not only the intensity, but also the polarization information were taken for analysis. Wavelet transforms are first applied to the Stokes components for initial feature analysis and extraction. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are then used to extract diagnostic features for improved classification and prediction. The experimental results show that the classification performance using Stokes images is significantly improved over that using the intensity image only.

Purpose: To compare two detector systems - one based on the charge-coupled device (CCD) and image amplifier, the other based on a-Si/CsI flat panel, for cone beam computed-tomography (CT) imaging of small animals. A high resolution, high framing rate detector system for the cone beam CT imaging of small animals was developed. The system consists of a 2048×3072×12 bit CCD optically coupled to an image amplifier and an x-ray phosphor screen. The CCD has an intrinsic pixel size of 12 μm but the effective pixel size can be adjusted through the magnification adjustment of the optical coupling systems. The system is used in conjunction with an x-ray source and a rotating stage for holding and rotating the scanned object in the cone beam CT imaging experiments. The advantages of the system include but are not limited to the ability to adjust the effective pixel size and to achieve extremely high spatial resolution and temporal resolution. However, the need to use optical coupling compromises the detective quanta efficiency (DQE) of the system. In this paper, the imaging characteristics of the system were presented and compared with those of an a- Si/CsI flat-panel detector system.

The behavior of a Maximum Likelihood reconstruction algorithm applied to circular cone-beam CT data is examined. In a simulation study, it is shown that unacceptable artifacts appear, if a constant initial image is used. A start image that incorporates the borders of the reconstructed object correctly improves the situation, but artifacts remain that degrade the image quality. If the initial image is generated from a low-dose helical pre-scan, a cone-beam artifact free image is achieved.

The noise of low-dose computed tomography (CT) sinogram follows approximately a Gaussian distribution with nonlinear dependence between the sample mean and variance. The noise is statistically uncorrelated among detector bins at any view angle. However the correlation coefficient matrix of data signal indicates a strong signal correlation among neighboring views. Based on above observations, Karhunen-Loeve (KL) transform can be used to de-correlate the signal among the neighboring views. In each KL component, a penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) objective function can be constructed and optimal sinogram can be estimated by minimizing the objective function, followed by filtered backprojection (FBP) for CT image reconstruction. In this work, we compared the KL-PWLS method with an iterative image reconstruction algorithm, which uses the Gauss-Seidel iterative calculation to minimize the PWLS objective function in image domain. We also compared the KL-PWLS with an iterative sinogram smoothing algorithm, which uses the iterated conditional mode calculation to minimize the PWLS objective function in sinogram space, followed by FBP for image reconstruction. Phantom experiments show a comparable performance of these three PWLS methods in suppressing the noise-induced artifacts and preserving resolution in reconstructed images. Computer simulation concurs with the phantom experiments in terms of noise-resolution tradeoff and detectability in low contrast environment. The KL-PWLS noise reduction may have the advantage in computation for low-dose CT imaging, especially for dynamic high-resolution studies.

In this paper, a Feldkamp-type approximate algorithm is proposed for helical multislice Computed Tomography (CT) image reconstruction. For a planar transversal reconstruction slice under consideration, the algorithm adopts a set of scanning data samples such that all points of the planar plane satisfy Tuy's exact reconstruction condition and, therefore, have potential to be exactly reconstructed. This can provide a practically feasible compromise between image quality and computation efficiency in the reconstruction. Simulation results can show advantages of this algorithm in reduction of artifacts and improvement of computational efficiency in comparison with the existing algorithms.

Digital tomosynthesis mammography (DTM) is a promising approach to breast cancer detection. DTM can provide 3D structural information of the breast tissue by reconstructing the imaged volume from 2D projections acquired at different angles in a limited angular range. In this work, we investigate the application of the Simultaneous Algebraic Reconstruction Technique (SART) to this limited-angle cone-beam tomographic problem. A second generation GE prototype tomosynthesis mammography system was used in this study. Projection-view images of different breast phantoms were acquired from 21 angles in 3° increments over a ±30° angular range. The digital detector is stationary during image acquisition. We used an ACR phantom and two additional phantoms to evaluate the image quality and reconstruction artifacts. The Back-Projection (BP) method was also implemented for comparison to SART. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), line profile of features and an artifact spread function (ASF) were used to quantitatively evaluate the reconstruction results. Preliminary results show that both BP and SART can separate superimposed phantom structures along the Z direction, but SART is more effective in improving the conspicuity of tissue-mimicking details and suppressing interplane blurring. For the phantoms with homogeneous background, the BP method resulted in less noisy reconstruction and higher CNR values for masses than SART, but SART provided greater enhancement in the contrast of calcification clusters and the edge sharpness of masses and fibrils. It was shown that acceptable reconstruction can be achieved by SART after only one iteration.

This paper presents a new method for exponential Radon transform inversion based on the harmonic analysis of the Euclidean motion group of the plane. The proposed inversion method is based on the observation that the exponential Radon transform can be modified to obtain a new transform, defined as the modified exponential Radon transform, that can be expressed as a convolution on the Euclidean motion group. The convolution representation of the modified exponential Radon transform is block diagonalized in the Euclidean motion group Fourier domain. Further analysis of the block diagonal representation provides a class of relationships between the spherical harmonic decompositions of the Fourier transforms of the function and its exponential Radon trans-form. The block diagonal representation provides a method to simultaneously compute all these relationships. The proposed algorithm is implemented using the fast implementation of the Euclidean motion group Fourier transform and its performances is demonstrated in numerical simulations.

Image reconstruction from truncated tomographic data is an important practical problem in CT in order to reduce the X-ray dose and to improve the resolution. The main problem with the Radon Transform is that in 2D the inversion formula globally depends upon line integrals of the object function. The standard Filtered Backprojection algorithm (FBP) does not allow any type of truncation. A typical strategy is to extrapolate the truncated projections with a smooth 1D function in order to reduce the discontinuity artefacts. The low-frequency artifact reduction however, severely depends upon the width of the extrapolation, which is unknown in practice. In this paper we develop a modified ConTraSPECT-type method for specific use on truncated 2D CT-data, when only a local area (ROI) is to be imaged. The algorithm describes the shape and structure of the region surrounding the ROI by a specific object with only few parameters, in this paper a uniform ellipse. The parameters of this ellipse are optimized by minimizing the Helgason-Ludwig consistency conditions for the sinogram completed with Radon data of the ellipse. Simulations show that the MSE of the reconstructions is reduced significantly, depending on the type of truncation.

This paper presents an alternative formulation for the cone-beam projections given an arbitrary source trajectory and detector orientation. This formulation leads to a new inversion formula. As a special case, the inversion formula for the spiral source trajectory is derived.

Near-field coded aperture imaging is known to have superior image resolution and count sensitivity over conventional parallel-hole collimated nuclear imaging. There have been several studies in image reconstruction for two-dimensional planar objects using the coded aperture imaging technology. However, coded aperture imaging for three-dimensional (3D) objects has not been extensively investigated. In this paper, a 3D reconstruction method for near-field coded aperture imaging is presented. We first introduce the "out-of-focus" correction factor into the generic expectation maximization (EM) algorithm for 3D near-field coded aperture images with the assumption that the photon emissions of coded aperture projections follow the Poisson statistics. The ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) method is then adapted for full 3D coded aperture image reconstruction. A 3D capillary tube phantom filled with ^99mTc radioactive solution was used to evaluate the performance of our methods. A dual-head SPECT camera, one head quipped with a coded aperture module and the other with a parallel-hole collimator, was utilized for image acquisitions. Images were reconstructed using the modified EM and OSEM methods associated with the depth-dependent out-of-focus correction. The preliminary phantom results showed that our methods may have potential of reconstructing 3D near-field coded aperture images and also providing superior image resolution as compared to conventional parallel-hole collimated images.

Helical computed tomography (HCT) has several advantages over conventional step-and-shoot CT for imaging a relatively large object, especially for dynamic studies. However, HCT may increase X-ray exposure significantly to the patient. This work aims to reduce the radiation by lowering the X-ray tube current (mA) and filtering the low-mA (or dose) sinogram noise. Based on the noise properties of HCT sinogram, a three-dimensional (3D) penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) objective function was constructed and an optimal sinogram was estimated by minimizing the objective function. To consider the difference of signal correlation among different direction of the HCT sinogram, an anisotropic Markov random filed (MRF) Gibbs function was designed as the penalty. The minimization of the objection function was performed by iterative Gauss-Seidel updating strategy. The effectiveness of the 3D-PWLS sinogram smoothing for low-dose HCT was demonstrated by a 3D Shepp-Logan head phantom study. Comparison studies with our previously developed KL domain PWLS sinogram smoothing algorithm indicate that the KL+2D-PWLS algorithm shows better performance on in-plane noise-resolution trade-off while the 3D-PLWS shows better performance on z-axis noise-resolution trade-off. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) studies by using channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) shows that 3D-PWLS and KL+2DPWLS algorithms have similar performance on detectability in low-contrast environment.

Maximum a posteriori (MAP) reconstruction makes use of an anatomical prior from CT or MRI imaging to enforce smoothness of reconstructed PET images while preserving anatomical edges. The tendency of this technique to smooth parts of the image between anatomical boundaries may reduce the detectability of functional lesions if, as is commonly the case, the edges of these lesions do not conform to anatomical boundaries. We have investigated the use of a functional prior in addition to an anatomical prior to improve the detection and quantification of lesions in PET imaging. We introduce a new parameter, Q, which controls the weight, β, of the functional prior on a spatially-variant basis, to enable a reduction of the smoothing effect in regions containing lesions. Such regions constitute the functional prior. They can be defined, for example, by applying a threshold to a preliminary reconstructed PET image. They are quarantined from the smoothing of the standard MAP algorithm, and subjected to a lesser degree of smoothing as determined by the combined effects of Q and β. We call this dual-prior technique quarantine MAP reconstruction (QMAP). Thus the method alters the degree of smoothing in specific parts of the image with the aim of enhancing lesion detectability. We have compared the QMAP algorithm in computer simulations with standard One-Step-Late (OSL) MAP reconstruction and OSL-MAP with CT prior information. QMAP provided better lesion contrast than the other algorithms, without altering the properties of other parts of the image.

Phase-contrast imaging uses the phase coefficient rather than the attenuation coefficient alone to image objects. Consequently, it may resolve some structures that have similar attenuation coefficients but different phase coefficients as their surroundings. Phase contrast imaging is also an edge-enhanced imaging technique. With this method, the boundary of inside small structures could be easily determined. In this paper, the possibility of incorporating the phase contrast in-line method into the current cone beam CT (CBCT) system was explored. Starting from the interference formula of in-line holography, some mathematical assumptions were made and thus, the terms in the interference formula could be approximately expressed as a line integral that is the requirement for all CBCT algorithms. So, the CBCT reconstruction algorithms, such as the FDK algorithm could be applied for the in-line holographic projections, with some mathematical imperfection. A point x-ray source and a high-resolution detector were assumed for computer simulation. The reconstructions for cone-beam CT imaging were studied. The results showed that all the lesions in the numerical phantom could be observed with an enhanced edge. However, due to the edge-enhancement nature of the inline holographic projection, the reconstructed images had obvious streak artifacts and numerical errors. The image quality could be improved by using a hamming window during the filtering process. In the presence of noise, the reconstructions from the in-line holographic projections showed clearer edges than the normal CT reconstructions did. Finally it was qualitatively illustrated that small cone angle and weak attenuation were preferred in this method.

Flat panel detector based cone beam breast imaging CT can provide 3-D image of the scanned breast with 3-D isotropic spatial resolution, overcoming the disadvantage of the superimposition of structure associated with X-ray projection mammography that makes a small carcinoma (a few millimeters in size) difficult to detect when it is occult or in dense breast, which leads to a high false-positive biopsy rate. Circular scan CBBCT is the most desirable mode due to its simple geometrical configuration and potential applications in functional imaging. Only circular scan, however, can't provide the sufficient information for nearly exact reconstruction, and thus resulting in the reconstructed image artifacts, such as density drop and geometrical deformation when the cone angle becomes large. In order to combat this drawback, a circle plus sparse helical line scan scheme is proposed. Computer simulation on mathematic breast phantom testifies the practical feasibility of the new scheme and correction of those artifacts to a certain degree.

The Mojette transform is an exact discrete version of the Radon transform that can be exactly implemented from the discrete object with its associated geometry. This exact method requires a very large set of projections that will not be acquired. Then, the goal of this paper is to show how the Mojette projections set can be interpolated to enlarge the set of projections. The second part of the paper is devoted to recall the sampling geometry both of the reconstructed image and the projections. The third part of the paper presents two Mojette reconstruction algorithms: an exact backprojection filtering Mojette scheme which needs a (large) finite number of projections and its equivalent FBP-Mojette method. The fourth section presents an angular interpolation method used to generate a suitable set of projections from the known information. The reconstruction results given by this new set of angles used with the two reconstruction methods presented are given and discussed. The quality assessement of the reconstruction algoritms in the case of an insufficient number of projections is done using synthetic phantoms.

Both flat-panel detectors and cylindrical detectors have been used in CT systems for data acquisition. The cylindrical detector generally offers a sampling of a transverse image plane more uniformly than does a flat-panel detector. However, in the longitudinal dimension, the cylindrical and flat-panel detectors offer similar sampling of the image space. In this work, we investigate a detector of spherical shape, which can yield uniform sampling of the 3D image space because the solid angle subtended by each individual detector bin remains unchanged. We have extended the backprojection-filtration (BPF) algorithm, which we have developed previously for cone-beam CT, to reconstruct images in cone-beam CT with a spherical detector. We also conduct computer-simulation studies to validate the extended BPF algorithm. Quantitative results in these numerical studies indicate that accurate images can be obtained from data acquired with a spherical detector by use of our extended BPF cone-beam algorithms.

The effect of random coincidences estimation methods on the quantitative accuracy of iterative and analytic reconstruction methods to determine myocardial blood flow (MBF) in PET studies using H₂ ¹⁵O has been investigated. Dynamic scans were acquired on the EXACT3D PET scanner on pigs after H₂ ¹⁵O injection (resting and dipyridamoleinduced stress). Radioactive microspheres (MS) were used to provide a "gold standard" of MBF values. The online subtraction (OS) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods for estimating randoms were combined with (i) 3D-RP, (ii) FORE + attenuation-weighted OSEM, (iii) FORE-FBP and (iv) 3D-OSEM. Factor images were generated and resliced to short axis images; 16 ROIs were defined in the left myocardium and 2 ROIs in the left and right cavities. ROIs were projected onto the dynamic images to extract time-activity-curves, which were then fitted to a single compartment model to estimate absolute MBF. Microsphere measurements were obtained in a similar way and 64 pairs of measurements were made. The ML method improved the SNR of 3D-RP, FORE-FBP, FORE-OSEM, and 3D-OSEM by 8%, 8%, 7% and 3% respectively. Compared to the OS method, the ML method improved the accuracy of coronary flow reserve values of 3DOSEM, 3D-RP, FORE-OSEM and FORE-FBP by 9%, 7%, 1% and 3% respectively. Regression analysis provided better correlation with 3D-OSEM and FORE-OSEM when combined with the ML method. We conclude that the ML method for estimating randoms combined with 3D-OSEM and FORE-OSEM delivers the best performance for absolute quantification of MBF using H₂ ¹⁵O when compared with microsphere measurements.

CT imaging in interventional and minimally-invasive surgery requires high-performance computing solutions that meet operational room demands, healthcare business requirements, and the constraints of a mobile C-arm system. The computational requirements of clinical procedures using CT-like data are increasing rapidly, mainly due to the need for rapid access to medical imagery during critical surgical procedures. The highly parallel nature of Radon transform and CT algorithms enables embedded computing solutions utilizing a parallel processing architecture to realize a significant gain of computational intensity with comparable hardware and program coding/testing expenses. In this paper, using a sample 2D and 3D CT problem, we explore the programming challenges and the potential benefits of embedded computing using commodity hardware components. The accuracy and performance results obtained on three computational platforms: a single CPU, a single GPU, and a solution based on FPGA technology have been analyzed. We have shown that hardware-accelerated CT image reconstruction can be achieved with similar levels of noise and clarity of feature when compared to program execution on a CPU, but gaining a performance increase at one or more orders of magnitude faster. 3D cone-beam or helical CT reconstruction and a variety of volumetric image processing applications will benefit from similar accelerations.

The half-scan cone beam technique, requiring a scan for 180° plus detector width only, can help achieve both shorter scan time as well as higher exposure in each individual projection image. This purpose of this paper is to investigate whether half-scan cone beam CT technique can provide acceptable images for clinical application. The half-scan cone beam reconstruction algorithm uses modified Parker's weighting function and reconstructs from slightly more than half of the projection views for full-scan, giving out promising results. A rotation phantom, stationary gantry bench top system was built to conduct experiments to evaluate half-scan cone beam breast CT technique. A post-mastectomy breast specimen, a stack of lunch meat slices embedded with various sizes of calcifications and a polycarbonate phantom inserted with glandular and adipose tissue equivalents are imaged and reconstructed for comparison study. A subset of full-scan projection images of a mastectomy specimen were extracted and used as the half-scan projection data for reconstruction. The results show half-scan reconstruction algorithm for cone beam breast CT images does not significantly degrade image quality when compared with the images of same or even half the radiation dose level. Our results are encouraging, emphasizing the potential advantages in the use of half-scan technique for cone beam breast imaging.

In this paper we present a backprojection filtered type (BPF-type) reconstruction algorithm for cone-beam circular scans based on Zou and Pan's work. The algorithm could use all the projection data passing through the PI-line segments in 2π scanning range. Because all the projection data in 2π is used, the algorithm has a good quality for practical noisy projection data. The algorithm is implemented using numerical and practical experiments. The practical experiments were done on our X-ray CT system with a flat-panel detector. We also compare the results with FDK reconstructions. From the experimental results, we deem that the BPF algorithm could satisfy the requirement of the X-ray CT inspection.

We have implemented a more accurate physical system representation, a strip-area system model (SASM), for improved fan-beam collimator (FBC) SPECT reconstruction. This approach required implementation of modified ray tracing and attenuation compensation in comparison to a line-length system model (LLSM). We have compared performance of SASM with LLSM using Monte Carlo and analytical simulations of FBC SPECT from a thorax phantom. OSEM reconstruction was performed with OS=3 in a 64×64 matrix with attenuation compensation (assuming uniform attenuation of 0.13 cm^-1). Scatter correction and smoothing were not applied. We observe overall improvement in SPECT image bias, visual image quality and an improved hot myocardium contrast for SASM vs. LLSM. In contrast to LLSM, the sensitivity pattern artifacts are not present in the SASM reconstruction. In both reconstruction methods, cross-talk image artifacts (e.g. inverse images of the lungs) can be observed, due to the uniform attenuation map used. SASM applied to fan-beam collimator SPECT results in better image quality and improved hot target contrast, as compared to LLSM, but at the expense of 1.5-fold increase in reconstruction time.

T-FDK algorithm is an FDK-type cone beam CT reconstruction algorithm. Like other 3D reconstruction algorithms, T-FDK is time consuming because of the large amount of data processing involved. One solution to this problem is utilizing PC graphics boards (GPU) for acceleration. The recent dramatic evolution of GPU makes this method come to the practical track. In this paper, we use a new floating point GPU to speedup the 3D T-FDK algorithm that is different from original FDK method in structure. Because floating point pipelines are slower than hardwired 8-bit texture mapping facilities but are more precise numerically, we balance the reconstruction speed and quality by using both of them. Using nVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT, our GPU accelerated T-FDK method gives a speed 27.612 times faster than a software implementation.

For the diagnosis of lumen, such as plaque in the coronary and polyp in the colon, it is important to create the cross sectional image of tubular organ on the basis of luminal centerline (i.e., Curved Planar Reformation: CPR). However, since each CPR image has the only limited angle information, it may overlook objects of diagnostic importance. To overcome this limitation and improve diagnostic accuracy we have developed a method called Radial Intensity Projection for lumen (RIP) to create an image based on luminal centerline that integrates all directional information. RIP is executed as follows. At first image processing is performed on array of pixel in the orthogonal direction to a luminal centerline. Secondly, this image processing is performed repeatedly in the angle direction along a luminal centerline. Finally, RIP image, which incorporates all directional information based on luminal centerline, is created. In addition to developing the RIP method for the diagnosis of soft plaque, which is considered as one of the main causes of myocardial infarction, we have also developed the profile step imaging method (PSI). This is an algorithm for visualizing a level gradient point in the radial direction, paying attention to the fact that the gradient approaches zero at the region of soft plaque. We applied RIP method to the clinical image data of a coronary angiography, which has been scanned with the multi slice CT scanner. Using RIP method, it is possible to check the existence of calcified plaque present in the surrounding of a vessel wall without changing the view angle. We have also applied PSI method to the clinical image of a coronary angiography with a soft plaque. The PSI image overlaid on RIP image enables us to verify the high possibility of existing soft plaque. Moreover, the perspectively mapped RIP image to a half pipe object allows us to grasp the orientation of plaque more easily. RIP method is also effective for extended organs, such as peripheral vascular. Using RIP image as a guide for other image processing, it is possible to improve the effectiveness of diagnosis while simplify the diagnosis.

The main goal of this work is the performance evaluation of a tomographic reconstruction algorithm that estimates activity and attenuation images of the object of interest based only upon projections obtained from a regular Nuclear Medicine exam, without need of additional measurements. This evaluation was carried out for three-dimensional positron emission tomography, and for that purpose we used a number of numerical phantoms with random features; computer simulations that model realistically the physical processes inherent to Nuclear Medicine data acquisitions, through Monte Carlo techniques; and a comparison of the images yielded by the simultaneous reconstruction method with those provided by some of the most common tomographic reconstruction algorithms. This comparison was performed with use of figures of merit related to clinical applications, and of statistical significance tests over a large number of reconstructed objects. It was observed that this new method appears as an interesting alternative to the reconstruction methods currently in use, with promising improvement possibilities, even though fully satisfactory results are yet to be obtained.

Discrete Chebyshev moments (due to discrete polynomial basis) do not have the discretization errors that continuous-domain Legendre and Zernike moments contain. Calculation of polynomial basis coefficients of discrete moments is generally performed using recurrence relationships. Such recurrence equations cause numerical error accumulation especially for calculation of higher-order moments and for larger image sizes, causing significant degradation of image reconstruction from these moments. A method for better image reconstruction from high orders of discrete Chebyshev moments is demonstrated. This is accomplished by calculating Chebyshev polynomial coefficients directly from their definition formulas using arbitrary precision arithmetic and by forming lookup tables from these coefficients.

FDK algorithm has been known to be a popular 3D approximate computed tomography (CT) reconstruction algorithm. However, it may not provide satisfactory image quality for large cone angle. Recently, it has been improved by performing ramp filtering along the direction tangent to the helix, so to provide improved image quality for large cone angle. In this paper, we present a FDK type approximate reconstruction algorithm for gantry-tilted CT imaging. The proposed method improves FDK algorithm by filtering the projection data along a proper direction. Its filtering direction is determined by CT parameters and gantry-tilted angle. As a result, the proposed gantry-tilted reconstruction algorithm can provide more scanning flexibilities in clinical CT scanning and is efficient in computation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated with Turbell Clock phantom and Thorax phantom compared with gantry tilted FDK algorithm and a popular 2D approximate algorithm. The results show that our new algorithm can achieve better image quality than FDK algorithm and the 2D approximate algorithm for gantry-tilted CT image reconstruction.

The Maximum Likelihood Expectation Maximization (MLEM) algorithm has been shown to produce the highest quality Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) images. MLEM, however, is computationally intensive. Single-processor image reconstruction times for each breast were on the order of several hours. In order for DBT to be clinically useful, faster reconstruction times using cost-effective software/hardware solutions are needed. We have implemented the MLEM reconstruction algorithm for use with DBT on a graphics processing unit (GPU). Compared to a single optimized 2.8GHz Pentium system this enabled a 113-fold speedup in processing time, while maintaining high image quality. Subsequently, we added various additional processing steps to the reconstruction algorithm in order to improve image quality and diagnostic properties. Since the performance of commercial GPUs increases rapidly, with little change in cost, the increased sophistication in processing does not entail an increase in system cost. The use of GPUs for reconstruction represents a technical breakthrough in the cost-effective application of MLEM to Digital Breast Tomosynthesis.

In paper, we present a new correction algorithm for the unfunctional cell distortions in conventional CT imaging, based on the Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials series expressions. This algorithm first reevaluates the projection sinograms by the least mean square algorithm, and then the filtered backprojection (FBP) algorithm are executed for the reconstruction of CT image. Through the simulation experiment, the feasibility of this method is validated.

Over the last few decades, the medical imaging community has passionately debated over different approaches to implement reconstruction algorithms for Spiral CT. Numerous alternatives have been proposed. Whether they are approximate, exact or, iterative, those implementations generally include a backprojection step. Specialized compute platforms have been designed to perform this compute-intensive algorithm within a timeframe compatible with hospital-workflow requirements. Solving the performance problem in a cost-effective way had driven designers to use a combination of digital signal processor (DSP) chips, general-purpose processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The Cell processor by IBM offers an interesting alternative for implementing the backprojection, especially since it offers a good level of parallelism and vast I/O capabilities. In this paper, we consider the implementation of a straight backprojection algorithm on the Cell processor to design a cost-effective system that matches the performance requirements of clinically deployed systems. The effects on performance of system parameters such as pitch and detector size are also analyzed to determine the ideal system size for modern CT scanners.

The goal is non-linear weighted type half-scan algorithm for reconstruction of a long object, which has important applications for clinical CT. Image reconstruction from cone-beam projections collected along a half-scan trajectory is commonly done using the Feldkamp-type half-scan algorithm, which performs well only with a large cone angle. Half-scan CT algorithms are advantageous in terms of temporal resolution, and widely used in fan-beam and cone-beam geometry. We propose a non-linear weight based algorithm to increase the cone angle by several folds to achieve satisfactory image quality at the same radiation dose. In our scheme, we first weighting with respect to half-scan projection data at individual projection angles is changed. Then, distribution of correction coefficients so that they are large near the center of the detector, while taking individual channel data for the detector into account, and smaller near the edges. Finally, three-dimensional back-projection of corrected half-scan projection data. Numerical phantoms are used to assess image quality indexes. Comparison with Feldkamp-type half-scan reconstruction is conducted. Numerical simulation studies are performed to verify the correctness and demonstrate performance. Image quality of the long object reconstruction is similar to that of the short object reconstruction. Our non-linear weighted half-scan reconstruction algorithms allow minimization of redundant data and optimization of temporal resolution, and outperform Feldkamp-type half-scan algorithm. These algorithms seem promising for quantitative and dynamic biomedical applications of cone-beam tomography. We extended our non-linear weighted half-scan method into a solution to the long object problem. Our non-linear weighted half-scan algorithm has a potential for CT in cone-beam geometry.

Previous research has shown benign and cancerous tissues to have different chemical make-ups. To measure the elemental concentration of biological samples noninvasively, we used neutron stimulated emission computed tomography (NSECT). When an incident neutron scatters inelastically from an atomic nucleus, it emits characteristic gamma energies, allowing for measurement of the elemental concentration of biological samples. Thus NSECT has the potential to be a method for precancerous tissue detection. In Monte Carlo simulations, we bombarded both a benign and a malignant human breast with 50 million neutrons. The resulting photon spectra were blurred to model the detector resolutions and then analyzed for peak detection. This simulation study analyzed the characteristic spectra using three detectors of different resolutions: a High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) semiconductor, a Bismuth Germanate (BGO) scintillator, and a Sodium Iodide (NaI) scintillator. The effective energy resolutions of these detectors are 0.1%, 7%, and 12%, respectively. The detectability of element peaks in the breast model was greatly reduced when the blur increased from just 0.1% to 7%. These initial experiments are valuable in choosing optimal detectors for peak detection in further NSECT studies and indicate that high-resolution detectors, such as HPGe, are required for using spectral peak analysis for breast cancer prediction.

Nowadays, 2D X-ray systems are used more and more for 3-dimensional rotational X-ray imaging (3D-RX) or volume imaging, such as 3D rotational angiography. However, it is not evident that the application of settings for optimal 2D images also guarantee optimal conditions for 3D-RX reconstruction results. In particular the search for a good compromise between patient dose and IQ may lead to different results in case of 3D imaging. For this purpose we developed an additional 3D-RX module for our full-scale image quality & patient dose (IQ&PD) simulation model, with specific calculations of patient dose under rotational conditions, and contrast, sharpness and noise of 3D images. The complete X-ray system from X-ray tube up to and including the display device is modelled in separate blocks for each distinguishable component or process. The model acts as a tool for X-ray system design, image quality optimisation and patient dose reduction. The model supports the decomposition of system level requirements, and takes inherently care of the prerequisite mutual coherence between component requirements. The short calculation times enable comprehensive multi-parameter optimisation studies. The 3D-RX IQ&PD performance is validated by comparing calculation results with actual measurements performed on volume images acquired with a state-of-the-art 3D-RX system. The measurements include RXDI dose index, signal and contrast based on Hounsfield units (H and ΔH), modulation transfer function (MTF), noise variance (σ²) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Further we developed a new 3D contrast-delta (3D-CΔ) phantom with details of varying size and contrast medium material and concentration. Simulation and measurement results show a significant correlation.

A novel four-layered depth-of-interaction (DOI) positron emission tomography (PET) scanner is being developed at National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan. It aims to improve the image resolution, particularly at the edge of field of view while maintaining high sensitivity. However, inter-crystal scatter (ICS) occurs in the detector blocks of the jPET-D4. It is a phenomenon where there are multiple scintillations for a single irradiation of gamma photon due to Compton scatter in detecting crystals. Because of the Anger-type logic calculation, only one approximated position is detected by the jPET-D4 in the case of ICS. This causes error in position detection and ICS worsens the image contrast, particularly for smaller hotspot. In this paper, we propose to model an ICS probability by utilizing a Monte-Carlo simulator. It is a statistical relationship between gamma-ray first interaction crystal pair and the detected crystal pair. The ICS probability is then used to improve the system matrix of statistical image reconstruction algorithm ML-EM in order to correct the error of ICS. We have shown in computer simulation that image contrast is recovered successfully by applying the proposed method.

Reconstruction methodologies for data sets with reduced angular sampling (RAS) are essential for efficient dynamic or static preclinical animal imaging research using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Modern iterative reconstruction methods can obtain 3D radiotracer distributions of the highest possible quality and resolution. Essential to these algorithms is an accurate model of the physical imaging process. We developed a new point-spread function (PSF) model for the pinhole geometry and compared it to a Gaussian model in a RAS setting. The new model incorporates the geometric response of the pinhole and the detector response of the camera by simulating the system PSF using the error function. Reconstruction of simulated data was done with OS-EM and COS-EM: a new convergent OS-EM based algorithm. The reconstruction of projection data of a simulated point source using the novel method showed improved FWHM values compared to a standard Gaussian method. COS-EM delivers improved results for RAS data, although it converges slower than OS-EM. The reconstruction of Monte Carlo simulated projection data from a resolution phantom shows that as few as 40 projections are sufficient to reconstruct an image with a resolution of approximately 4 mm. The new pinhole model applied to iterative reconstruction methods can reduce imaging time in small animal experiments by a factor of three or reduce the number of cameras needed to perform dynamic SPECT.

In this work Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are used to correct kilovoltage (kV) cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) projections for scatter radiation. All images were acquired using a kV CBCT bench-top system composed of an x-ray tube, a rotation stage and a flat-panel imager. The EGSnrc MC code was used to model the system. BEAMnrc was used to model the x-ray tube while a modified version of the DOSXYZnrc program was used to transport the particles through various phantoms and score phase space files with identified scattered and primary particles. An analytical program was used to read the phase space files and produce image files. The scatter correction was implemented by subtracting Monte Carlo predicted scatter distribution from measured projection images; these projection images were then reconstructed. Corrected reconstructions showed an important improvement in image quality. Several approaches to reduce the simulation time were tested. To reduce the number of simulated scatter projections, the effect of varying the projection angle on the scatter distribution was evaluated for different geometries. It was found that the scatter distribution does not vary significantly over a 30-degree interval for the geometries tested. It was also established that increasing the size of the voxels in the voxelized phantom does not affect the scatter distribution but reduces the simulation time. Different techniques to smooth the scatter distribution were also investigated.

Quality Control (QC) procedures are mandatory to achieve accuracy in radiotherapy treatments. For that purpose, classical methods generally use physical phantoms that are acquired by the system in place of the patient. In this paper, the use of digital test objects (DTO) replace the actual acquisition¹. A DTO is a 3D scene description composed of simple and complex shapes from which discrete descriptions can be obtained. For QC needs, both the DICOM format (for Treatment Planning System (TPS) inputs) as well as continuous descriptions are required. The aim of this work is to define an equivalence model between a continuous description of the three dimensional (3D) scene used to define the DTO, and the DTO characteristics. The purpose is to have an XML- DTO description in order to compute discrete calculations from a continuous description. The defined structure allows also to obtain the three dimensional matrix of the DTO and then the series of slices stored in the DICOM format. Thus, it is shown how possibly design DTO for quality control in CT simulation and dosimetry.

An important step in assessing the quality of an image reconstruction algorithm is the simulation of the medical imaging process. For that purpose, the patient's anatomical structure is substituted in general by more or less simple geometrical objects, as, e.g., the Shepp-Logan phantom. Furthermore, the attenuation of the human body and thus the resulting detector image (e.g., the sinogram in CT) is often computed by integrating the attenuation coefficient along various rays without considering the contribution of scattered photons in the detector signal. We therefore decided to improve the simulation by using an existing Monte Carlo code (EGSnrc) to model the transport of numerous photons from the x-ray tube through the body to the detector. The deflection of photons and creation of secondary particles in scattering events occurs naturally in this program, but can also be avoided artificially. Besides the improved simulation of the irradiation process, this allows us to quantify the amount of scattered radiation in the detector image. The patient is represented by a so-called voxel phantom, which is based on tomographic image data of a real person, adopted to represent the ICRP Reference Man. Our improved modeling process is being applied to determine the amount of scatter radiation in helical multi-slice CT of the thorax compared to a planned circular CT with large flat panel detectors. The new reconstruction algorithm OPED (orthogonal polynomial expansion on disc), developed at GSF and the University of Oregon, might reduce the scatter radiation considerably.

We designed hybrid x-ray detector and simulated using Monte Carlo method. Hybrid x-ray detectors consist of scintillator coupled photoconductor structure. In the hybrid structure, x-ray photons are converted into the light photon in the scintillator layer and light photons are converted into the electric charge in the semiconductor layer. The electric charges can be generated from directly x-ray absorption in the semiconductor material. We design the columnar CsI:Na as scintillator layer and a-Se as photoconductor material. When x-ray photon incident the scintillator layer, the photons are distributed through the scintillator, and then generated light photon influence the semiconductor material. We study the light photon distribution according to the scintillator layer thickness and the detector pixel size which have influence on image resolution.

Tomosynthesis is widely used for three-dimensional reconstruction of objects acquired from limited angle X-ray projection imaging with stationary digital detector. Traditionally, the point-spread function (PSF) in digital tomosynthesis is assumed to be symmetrical with respect to the central axis and shift invariant. The purpose of this research is to characterize the true nature of the PSF by intensity and shape considerations. We assumed that tomosynthesis PSF depended on the imaging geometry and the reconstruction algorithms. In this paper, we describe PSF characterization with respect to the linear geometry and back projection reconstruction. We considered the following parameters: source to image distance (SID) (mm), total number of slices reconstructed after reconstruction, distance (in z-direction) from the first and the last slice to the detector (mm), resolution in X, Y & Z (pix/mm), and total number of projections. Using these parameters, we determined the PSF at every location of the reconstructed volume. The PSF was contained in the plane formed by the linear source trajectory and the point under consideration that extended through all the slices. The results show that the PSF is shift variant and unique at every location and gradually changing over the entire reconstructed volume. The shift from the central axis and central reconstructed slice caused the PSF to exhibit shear corresponding to the X-shift, tilt with the Y-shift and asymmetry with the Z-shift. In summary, we have characterized tomosynthesis PSF to be globally shift variant exhibiting shear, tilt and asymmetry.

Digital breast tomosynthesis is a three-dimensional imaging technique that allows the reconstruction of an arbitrary set of planes in the breast from limited-angle series of projection images. Though several tomosynthesis algorithms have been proposed, no complete optimization and comparison of all available methods has been conducted as of yet. This paper presents an analysis of noise power spectrum to examine the noise characteristics of several tomosynthesis algorithms with different imaging acquisition techniques. Flat images were acquired with the following acquisition parameters: 13, 25, 49 projections with ±12.5 and ±25 degrees of angular ranges. Three algorithms, including Shift-And-Add (SAA), Matrix Inversion Tomosynthesis (MITS), and Filtered Back Projection (FBP) were investigated with reconstruction slice spacing of 1mm, 2mm, and 4mm. The noise power spectra of the reconstruction plane at 23.5mm above the detector surface were analyzed. Results showed that MITS has better noise responses with narrower slice spacing for low-to-middle frequencies. No substantial difference was noticed for SAA and FBP with different slice spacings. With the same acquisition technique and slice spacing, MITS performed better than FBP at middle frequencies, but FBP showed better performance at high frequencies because of applied Hamming and Gaussian low-pass filters. For different imaging acquisition techniques, SAA, MITS and FBP performed the best with 49 projections and ±25 degrees. For 25 projections specifically, FBP performed better with wider angular range, while MITS performed better with narrower angular range. For SAA, narrow angular range is slightly better for 25 projections and 13 projections.

Tomosynthesis mammography is a potentially valuable technique for detection of breast cancer. In this simulation study, we investigate the efficacy of three different tomographic reconstruction methods, EM, SART and Backprojection, in the context of an especially difficult mammographic detection task. The task is the detection of a very low-contrast mass embedded in very dense fibro-glandular tissue - a clinically useful task for which tomosynthesis may be well suited. The project uses an anatomically realistic 3D digital breast phantom whose normal anatomic variability limits lesion conspicuity. In order to capture anatomical object variability, we generate an ensemble of phantoms, each of which comprises random instances of various breast structures. We construct medium-sized 3D breast phantoms which model random instances of ductal structures, fibrous connective tissue, Cooper's ligaments and power law structural noise for small scale object variability. Random instances of 7-8 mm irregular masses are generated by a 3D random walk algorithm and placed in very dense fibro-glandular tissue. Several other components of the breast phantom are held fixed, i.e. not randomly generated. These include the fixed breast shape and size, nipple structure, fixed lesion location, and a pectoralis muscle. We collect low-dose data using an isocentric tomosynthetic geometry at 11 angles over 50 degrees and add Poisson noise. The data is reconstructed using the three algorithms. Reconstructed slices through the center of the lesion are presented to human observers in a 2AFC (two-alternative-forced-choice) test that measures detectability by computing AUC (area under the ROC curve). The data collected in each simulation includes two sources of variability, that due to the anatomical variability of the phantom and that due to the Poisson data noise. We found that for this difficult task that the AUC value for EM (0.89) was greater than that for SART (0.83) and Backprojection (0.66).

Photon counting is an emerging detection technique that is promising for mammography tomosynthesis imagers. In photon counting systems, the value of each image pixel is equal to the number of photons that interact with the detector. In this research, we introduce the design and implementation of a low noise, novel selective photon counting pixel for digital mammography tomosynthesis in crystalline silicon CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) 0.18 micron technology. The design comprises of a low noise charge amplifier (CA), two low offset voltage comparators, a decision-making unit (DMU), a mode selector, and a pseudo-random counter. Theoretical calculations and simulation results of linearity, gain, and noise of the photon counting pixel are presented.

Digital tomosynthesis is an imaging technique which reconstructs tomographic planes in an object from a set of projection images taken over a fixed angle (1). Results from our initial pilot study show that tomosynthesis increases the detectability of lung nodules; while only 50% of CT confirmed nodules were found on typical chest radiographs, 81% were found on tomosynthesis image sets (2). Temporal subtraction is a method which takes two sequential images and subtracts one from another, emphasizing the appearance of interval change (3-6). As an addition to conventional chest radiography, it has been shown in several studies to significantly increase observer performance in detecting newly developed abnormalities (7-10). Thus the combination of temporal subtraction and tomosynthesis may yield improved sensitivity of detection over either method alone. For this preliminary evaluation into the combination of these techniques, images were taken of an anthropomorphic chest phantom in different orientations and subtle lung nodules were simulated in order to emulate temporal discrepancies in anatomy. An automated method of segmentation, registration, and image warping was employed to align corresponding lung regions of each image set. The visibility of temporal change of simulated nodules was more apparent in the subtraction image. By our subjective analysis, tomosynthesis substantially improved the visibility of nodules relative to conventional chest radiography; and tomosynthesis augmented by temporal subtraction even further enhanced the conspicuity of difficultly placed subtle nodules.

A novel method to measure in-plane resolution (modulation transfer function, or MTF) and slice thickness (slice sensitivity profile, or SSP) of a digital radiographic tomosynthesis system is presented. With this method, one can measure these two important system IQ characteristics simultaneously without suffering from incontinuous sampling, aliasing, and partial volume effect as do the existing methods. The method is based on imaging a shallow-angled slice ramp phantom. The MTF is measured as the HWHM of the Fourier transformation of the first derivative of edge profiles. The HWHM corresponding to the sharpest of edge profile represents the in-plane resolution of the system, and the slice thickness of the system is determined from the HWHM vs. z-distance curve. The in-plane resolution result has been confirmed by the measurement from an animal skull specimen. The experiment results have shown that, for a typical 40-degree sweep, 61 projections, and using a Specialized Filtered Backprojection (SFBP) algorithm, the in-plane resolution of the measured system is close to 1 lp/mm (as measured by the HWHM of MTF), and effective slice thickness is 1.7 mm and 4.0 mm at HWHM and HW3TM, respectively. It is also observed that, while the in-plane resolution remains constant between planes at 7 cm and 30 cm above the detector plane, SSP has increased (i.e., slice thickness increased) 20% on average with the increase of the plane height. We demonstrate one of the applications of the method to optimize the sweep angle of a tomosynthesis system. The results show that, in a typical angular range from 20 to 60 degrees, the increase in sweep angle can intrinsically reduce slice thickness but less significantly impact in-plane resolution.

A second-generation digital breast tomosynthesis system is used for a screening study comparing tomosynthesis with conventional two-view mammography with matched x-ray dose. The system acquires 15 projections of a breast at different angles using a digital detector. This work explores acquisition techniques that optimize the quality of projection images at low x-ray exposure. The system provides three target-filter combinations (Mo-Mo, Mo-Rh and Rh-Rh) and the recommended tube voltage range is from 25 to 40kVp. A thin disk was put on top of slabs of breast tissue equivalent materials (20 to 85mm). Contrast-to-noise ratio of the disk was measured from projections acquired with different kVp and target-filter combinations. The squared CNR normalized by average glandular dose was used to compare the quality/dose efficiency of different techniques. The optimal quality/dose efficiency was achieved as the detector entrance exposure was in the range of 5-30mR. Within this range, Mo-Mo gives the highest quality for 20mm; results are very close for 30mm; Rh-Rh is slightly better for 45mm and apparently better than others for 65 and 85mm. However, sufficient detector entrance exposure cannot be guaranteed for all cases due to the total dose limit and the system limit. For some cases, the detector is operated slightly off its optimal performance range. The kVp does not show an impact except for 85 mm, in which the quality/dose efficiency slightly increases at higher kVp. Rh-Rh is selected for > 40mm thickness; Mo-Mo is selected for 20mm thickness; and Mo-Rh is selected for 30 and 40mm.