| 1. |
- Fredenberg, Erik, PhD, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Contrast-enhanced dual-energy subtraction imaging using electronic spectrum-splitting and multi-prism x-ray lenses
- 2008
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2008 - Physics of Medical Imaging. - San Diego, CA, USA : SPIE. - 9780819470973 ; , s. 91310-91310
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Dual-energy subtraction imaging (DES) is a method to improve the detectability of contrast agents over a lumpy background. Two images, acquired at x-ray energies above and below an absorption edge of the agent material, are logarithmically subtracted, resulting in suppression of the signal from the tissue background and a relative enhancement of the signal from the agent. Although promising, DES is still not widely used in clinical practice. One reason may be the need for two distinctly separated x-ray spectra that are still close to the absorption edge, realized through dual exposures which may introduce motion unsharpness. In this study, electronic spectrum-splitting with a silicon-strip detector is theoretically and experimentally investigated for a mammography model with iodinated contrast agent. Comparisons are made to absorption imaging and a near-ideal detector using a signal-to-noise ratio that includes both statistical and structural noise. Similar to previous studies, heavy absorption filtration was needed to narrow the spectra at the expense of a large reduction in x-ray flux. Therefore, potential improvements using a chromatic multi-prism x-ray lens (MPL) for filtering were evaluated theoretically. The MPL offers a narrow tunable spectrum, and we show that the image quality can be improved compared to conventional filtering methods.
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| 2. |
- Fredenberg, Erik, PhD, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
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Imaging with multi-prism x-ray lenses
- 2008
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2008 - Physics of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE. - 9780819470973 ; , s. 91308-91308
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The multi-prism lens (MPL) is a refractive x-ray lens consisting of two rows of prisms facing each other at an angle. Rays entering the lens at the periphery will encounter a larger number of prisms than will central ones, hence experiencing a greater refraction. The focusing effect of the MPL can be used to gather radiation from a large aperture onto a smaller detector, and accordingly to make better use of the available x-ray flux in medical x-ray imaging. Potential advantages of a better photon economy include shorter acquisition times, a reduced tube loading, or an improved resolution. Since the focusing effect is one-dimensional it matches the design of scanning systems. In this study we present the first images acquired with an MPL instead of the pre-breast slit collimator in a scanning mammography system. According to the measurements, the MPL is able to increase the flux 32% at equal resolution compared to the slit collimator, or to improve the resolution 2.4 mm(-1) at equal flux. If used with a custom-made absorption filter in a clinical set-up, the gain of flux of the MPL is expected to be at least 45%, and the corresponding improvement in resolution to be 3 mm(-1).
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