| 1. |
- Brunskog, Rickard, et al.
(författare)
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Experimental Evaluation of a Micron-Resolution CT Detector
- 2024
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2024: Physics of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Current photon-counting detectors are limited to a pixel size of 0.3 mm-1 mm, as decreasing the pixel size further generally introduces degraded dose efficiency and energy resolution from excessive charge sharing. In this work, we present experimental measurements of the first photon-counting detector prototype designed to leverage the charge sharing to estimate the photon interaction position, where simulations indicate a theoretical resolution of around 1 µm using a similar geometry. The goal of the measurements is to validate our Monte-Carlo simulation for further development. Approach: DAC sweeps are performed with an X-ray beam at specified locations on the sensor front, with the beam at 20 keV and 35 keV, as well as with different sensor biases with the beam at 35 keV. The experimental data are then compared to a Monte Carlo simulation combined with a charge transport model. In this first prototype wire bonds are used, and as such only a few channels are connected. Results: The experimental data agree generally well with the simulated data with the beam close to the electrodes, with the simulated data diverging from the experiments with the beam further away from the electrodes. The induced charge cloud signal exhibits a fairly linear dependency on the beam position, indicating that any estimation techniques will yield more precise position when the photon interacts further away from the electrodes, rather than closer. Conclusions: With the experimental data and the simulations agreeing generally well, together with the same software previously indicating a resolution of around 1 µm, we expect an ultra-high-resolution detector to be in reach, and are encouraged to continue development.
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| 2. |
- Brunskog, Rickard, et al.
(författare)
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First experimental evaluation of a high-resolution deep silicon photon-counting sensor
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng. - 2329-4302 .- 2329-4310. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Current photon-counting computed tomography detectors are limited to a pixel size of around 0.3 to 0.5 mm due to excessive charge sharing degrading the dose efficiency and energy resolution as the pixels become smaller. In this work, we present measurements of a prototype photon-counting detector that leverages the charge sharing to reach a theoretical sub-pixel resolution in the order of 1 μm. The goal of the study is to validate our Monte-Carlo simulation using measurements, enabling further development. Approach: We measure the channel response at the MAX IV Lab, in the DanMAX beamline, with a 35 keV photon beam, and compare the measurements with a 2D Monte Carlo simulation combined with a charge transport model. Only a few channels on the prototype are connected to keep the number of wire bonds low. Results: The measurements agree generally well with the simulations with the beam close to the electrodes but diverge as the beam is moved further away. The induced charge cloud signals also seem to increase linearly as the beam is moved away from the electrodes. Conclusions: The agreement between measurements and simulations indicates that the Monte-Carlo simulation can accurately model the channel response of the detector with the photon interactions close to the electrodes, which indicates that the unconnected electrodes introduce unwanted effects that need to be further explored. With the same Monte-Carlo simulation previously indicating a resolution of around 1 μm with similar geometry, the results are promising that an ultra-high resolution detector is not far in the future.
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| 3. |
- da Silva, Joakim, et al.
(författare)
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Resolution characterization of a silicon-based, photon-counting computed tomography prototype capable of patient scanning
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Imaging. - USA : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 2329-4302 .- 2329-4310. ; 6:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Photon-counting detectors are expected to bring a range of improvements to patient imaging with x-ray computed tomography (CT). One is higher spatial resolution. We demonstrate the resolution obtained using a commercial CT scanner where the original energy-integrating detector has been replaced by a single-slice, silicon-based, photon-counting detector. This prototype constitutes the first full-field-of-view silicon-based CT scanner capable of patient scanning. First, the pixel response function and focal spot profile are measured and, combining the two, the system modulation transfer function is calculated. Second, the prototype is used to scan a resolution phantom and a skull phantom. The resolution images are compared to images from a state-of-the-art CT scanner. The comparison shows that for the prototype 19 lp∕cm are detectable with the same clarity as 14 lp∕cm on the reference scanner at equal dose and reconstruction grid, with more line pairs visible with increasing dose and decreasing image pixel size. The high spatial resolution remains evident in the anatomy of the skull phantom and is comparable to that of other photon-counting CT prototypes present in the literature. We conclude that the deep silicon-based detector used in our study could provide improved spatial resolution in patient imaging without increasing the x-ray dose.
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| 4. |
- Daniel, Maxime, et al.
(författare)
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Charge collection efficiency of CdTe detectors : Impact of charge collection time and polarisation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2023. - : SPIE-Intl Soc Optical Eng.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is one of the materials used in photon-counting detectors for x-ray computed tomography. One challenge with this material is that it is susceptible to polarisation due to holes being trapped in impurities in the material. This can potentially lead to the buildup of bulk charge in the semiconductor, causing decreased charge collection efficiency and degraded energy resolution. In this work, we develop a simulation model of CdTe detectors with polarisation and use it to study the effect of polarisation on the measured energy spectrum for different charge collection times. To this end, we use a theoretical model of charge buildup to find the critical charge in the detector's bulk above which the detector can be considered completely polarised. We then simulate a 320-by-270-by-1600 μm CdTe detector used in CT clinical imaging, for varying degrees of polarisation (ratio between the actual charge and the critical charge) and charge collection time. Our results show that the measured spectrum gets heavily distorted for large degrees of polarisation or for short charge collection time. We also put these results in context by discussing how they relate to the critical fluence rate and the time of flight of the charge carriers. These results can lead to improved simulation models of CdTe detectors and a better understanding the factors affecting their imaging performance.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Danielsson, Mats, Professor, et al.
(författare)
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Photon-counting x-ray detectors for CT
- 2021
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 66:3, s. 03TR01-
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The introduction of photon-counting detectors is expected to be the next major breakthrough in clinical x-ray CT. During the last decade, there has been considerable research activity in the field of photon-counting CT, in terms of both hardware development and theoretical understanding of the factors affecting image quality. In this article, we review the recent progress in this field with the intent of highlighting the relationship between detector design considerations and the resulting image quality. We discuss detector design choices such as converter material, pixel size, and readout electronics design, and then elucidate their impact on detector performance in terms of dose efficiency, spatial resolution, and energy resolution. Furthermore, we give an overview of data processing, reconstruction methods and metrics of imaging performance; outline clinical applications; and discuss potential future developments.
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| 7. |
- Grönberg, Fredrik
(författare)
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Spectral Photon-Counting Computed Tomography with Silicon Detectors: New Models and Applications
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a widely used imaging modality that enables visualization of nearly every part of the human body. It is used for diagnosis of disease and injury as well as medical treatment planning. The vast majority of CT scanners in clinical use today have energy-integrating x-ray detectors, which measure the total incident energy in a given measurement.Spectral photon-counting detectors operate by counting individual photons and measuring their energy, and are expected to yield the next major advance in CT, with improvements in spatial resolution, dose efficiency, material differentiation and quantitative imaging capabilities compared to the current state-of-the-art.In this Thesis, a set of new models and applications for a spectral photon-counting silicon detector developed for CT is investigated. The first part of the Thesis is dedicated to the modeling of spectral photon-counting silicon detectors. A new statistical model for the effects of pulse pileup is presented. Also, the effects on image quality from intra-detector Compton scatter in silicon detectors are investigated via spatio-energetic modeling. In the second part of the Thesis, potential applications for spectral photon-counting detectors are investigated. An experimental study of ex vivo CT imaging of an excised human heart with calcified plaque is presented. It demonstrates the feasibility of unconstrained projection-based three-material decomposition with iodine as a third basis material and explores the potential improvements in spatial resolution and material differentiation that can be achieved with a spectral photon-counting silicon detector compared to a conventional dual-energy CTsystem. Two other applications are investigated with simulations: a method for reconstructing CT images from spectral photon-counting CT data that accurately mimic conventional CT images; and a method for estimating iron concentration in mixtures of liver and adipose tissue when using three basis functions instead of only two to describe the linear attenuation coefficient of tissues in the human body. Although the methods presented in this Thesis have been specifically developed for a spectral photon-counting silicon detector, they are also applicable for other types of photon-counting detectors.
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| 8. |
- Jin, Zihui, et al.
(författare)
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First experimental evaluation of count-rate performance for micrometre resolution deep silicon detector
- 2024
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Ingår i: Physics in Medicine and Biology. - : IOP Publishing. - 0031-9155 .- 1361-6560. ; 69:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. An ultra-fine-pitch deep silicon detector has been developed for clinical photon-counting computed tomography (CT). With a small pixel size of 14 × 650 μm2, it has shown potential to reach micrometre spatial resolution in previous simulation studies. A detector prototype with such geometry has been manufactured, and we report on the first experimental evaluation of its count-rate performance. Approach. The measurement was carried out at MAX IV synchrotron laboratory with 35 keV monochromatic x-rays. By inserting tungsten attenuators of 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 225, 325 μ m-thicknesses into the beam, the response of the detector to fluence rates from 3.3 × 107 to 1.3 × 1011 mm−2 s−1 was characterized. Main results. The measurement result showed that the detector exhibited count rate linearity up to 6.66 × 108 mm−2 s−1 with 13% count loss and was still functional at count rate up to 2.9 × 1010 mm−2 s−1. A semi-nonparalyzable dead-time model was fitted to the count-rate behaviour of the detector, showing great agreement with the measured data, with an estimated nonparalyzable dead time of 2.9 ns. Significance. This is the first experimental evaluation of the count-rate performance for a deep silicon detector with such small pixel geometry. The results suggest that this type of detector shows the potential to be used at fluence rates encountered in clinical CT with little count loss due to pile-up.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Persson, Mats, 1987-
(författare)
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Spectral Computed Tomography with a Photon-Counting Silicon-Strip Detector
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Computed tomography (CT) is a widely used medical imaging modality. By rotating an x-ray tube and an x-ray detector around the patient, a CT scanner is able to measure the x-ray transmission from all directions and form an image of the patient’s interior. CT scanners in clinical use today all use energy-integrating detectors, which measure the total incident energy for each measurement interval. A photon-counting detector, on the other hand, counts the number of incoming photons and can in addition measure the energy of each photon by comparing it to a number of energy thresholds. Using photon- counting detectors in computed tomography could lead to improved signal-to-noise ratio, higher spatial resolution and improved spectral imaging which allows better visualization of contrast agents and more reliable quantitative measurements. In this Thesis, the feasibility of using a photon-counting silicon-strip detector for CT is investigated. In the first part of the Thesis, the necessary performance requirements on such a detector is investigated in two different areas: the detector element homogeneity and the capability of handling high photon fluence rates. A metric of inhomogeneity is proposed and used in a simulation study to evaluate different inhomogeneity compensation methods. Also, the photon fluence rate incident on the detector in a scanner in clinical use today is investigated for different patient sizes through dose rate measurements together with simulations of transmission through patient im- ages. In the second part, a prototype detector module is used to demonstrate new applications enabled by the energy resolution of the detector. The ability to generate material-specific images of contrast agents with iodine and gadolinium is demonstrated. Furthermore, it is shown theoretically and ex- perimentally that interfaces in the image can be visualized by imaging the so-called nonlinear partial volume effect. The results suggest that the studied silicon-strip detector is a promising candidate for photon-counting CT.
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