Traditional CT systems face a tradeoff between temporal resolution, volumetric coverage and cone beam artifacts and
also have limited ability to customize the distribution of incident x-rays to the imaging task. Inverse geometry CT
(IGCT) can overcome some of these limitations by placing a small detector opposite a large, rotating scanned source
array. It is difficult to quickly rotate this source array to achieve rapid imaging, so we propose using stationary source
arrays instead and investigate the feasibility of such a system. We anticipate that distinct source arrays will need to be
physically separated, creating gaps in the sinogram. Symmetry can be used to fill the missing rays except those
connecting gaps. With three source arrays, a large triangular field of view emerges. As the small detector orbits the
patient, each source spot must be energized at multiple specifically designed times to ensure adequate sampling. A
timing scheme is proposed that avoids timing clashes, efficiently uses the detector, and allows for simple collimation.
The two-dimensional MTF, noise characteristics, and artifact levels are all found to be comparable to parallel-beam
systems. A complete, 100 millisecond volumetric scan may be feasible.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Prototyping, X-rays, Detection and tracking algorithms, Optical spheres, Computer simulations, 3D image processing, Tomography, X-ray detectors, Signal to noise ratio
The Scanning-Beam Digital X-ray (SBDX) system performs rapid scanning of a narrow x-ray beam using an
electronically scanned focal spot and inverse beam geometry. SBDX's ability to perform real-time multi-plane
tomosynthesis with high dose efficiency is well-suited to interventional procedures such as left atrial ablation, where
precise knowledge of catheter positioning is desired and imaging times are long. We describe and evaluate techniques
for frame-by-frame 3D localization of multiple catheter electrodes from the stacks of tomosynthetic images generated by
SBDX. The localization algorithms operate on gradient-filtered versions of the tomosynthetic planes. Small high
contrast objects are identified by thresholding the stack of images and applying connected component analysis. The 3D
coordinate of each object is the center-of-mass of each connected component. Simulated scans of phantoms containing
1-mm platinum spheres were used to evaluate localization performance with the SBDX prototype (5.5 × 5.5 cm detector,
3° tomographic angle) and a with new SBDX detector under design (10-cm wide × 6 cm, 6° × 3°). Z-coordinate error
with the SBDX prototype was -0.6 +/- 0.7 mm (mean+/-standard deviation) with 28 cm acrylic, 24.3 kWp source
operation, and 12-mm plane spacing. Localization improved to -0.3 +/- 0.3 mm using the wider SBDX detector and a 3-mm plane spacing. The effects of tomographic angle, plane-to-plane spacing, and object velocity are evaluated, and a
simulation demonstrating ablation catheter localization within a real anatomic background is presented. Results indicate
that SBDX is capable of precise real-time 3D tracking of high contrast objects.
The Scanning-Beam Digital X-ray (SBDX) system utilizes a scanning x-ray pencil beam and a small-area detector array for low-dose cardiac angiography with tomographic imaging capabilities. For the system to provide adequate signal-to-noise ratios, the multi-element detector must be highly efficient and capable of high photon count rates. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is well suited to these purposes. The CdTe SBDX detector is a direct-conversion photon-counting device consisting of 2304 elements. The efficiency of the detector is a function of several factors including the incident photon energy, the fluorescence properties of CdTe, and the discriminator threshold that determines whether sufficient energy was deposited in an element to register a count. For maximum efficiency, the discriminator threshold must be set low enough to detect CdTe k-fluorescence photons (23-31 keV), but not so low as to register false counts from electronic noise. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the energy-dependent quantum detective efficiency (QDE) of a new lower-noise SBDX detector design and to determine whether adequately low thresholds can be achieved. Experiments were performed using metal fluorescer foils to generate quasi-monochromatic x-ray beams with energies of 17.5, 25.3, and 46.0 keV. The resulting spectral purities were high, although fluence rates were low. The measured QDE values at 17.5, 25.3, and 46.0 keV were 60%, 76%, and 86% repsectively.
The Scanning-Beam Digital X-ray (SBDX) system promises low- dose cardiac fluoroscopy and angiography with excellent image quality. The system demands a detector capable of high count rates and excellent detection efficiency. Cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) is well suited to these requirements. The SBDX detector comprises sixteen 3-mm-thick, 13.5 mm X 13.5 mm tiles arranged in a 4 X 4 array. Each tile has 144 imaging elements. Thus, the entire detector measures 54.0 mm X 54.0 mm and includes 2,304 imaging elements on a 1.125 mm pitch. Because the SBDX system has a geometric magnification of 3.3, the imaging-element size is consistent with a system spatial-resolution of 2.2 lp/mm. The 3-mm thickness is chosen to guarantee a stopping efficiency of more than 90% at 120 kVp. Each detector tile is flip-chip mounted to a custom-designed integrated circuit using indium bump bonding techniques. Fabricated in a 1.2-micrometers CMOS process, the IC includes high-speed photon-counting circuitry that operates at rates up to 5 X 106 counts/s(DOT)mm2. The circuitry is designed both to maximize the achievable count-rate and to minimize false double counts due to charge sharing between elements. Testing confirms that the detector performs with minimum cross talk between elements at count rates in excess of 2 X 106 counts/s(DOT)mm2. Measurements of the detective quantum efficiency are presented. The relationship between material properties and detector performance is also discussed.
The Scanning-Beam Digital X-ray (SBDX) system promises low- dose cardiac fluoroscopy and angiography with excellent image quality. The system demands a detector capable of high count rates and excellent detection efficiency. Cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) is well suited to these requirements. The SBDX detector comprises sixteen 3-mm-thick, 13.5 mm X 13.5 mm tiles arranged in a 4 X 4 array. Each tile has 144 imaging elements. Thus, the entire detector measures 54.0 mm X 54.0 mm and includes 2,304 imaging elements on a 1.125 mm pitch. Because the SBDX system has a geometric magnification of 3.3, the imaging-element size is consistent with a system spatial-resolution of 2.2 lp/mm. The 3-mm thickness is chosen to guarantee a stopping efficiency of more than 90% at 120 kVp. Each detector tile is flip-chip mounted to a custom- designed integrated circuit (IC) using indium bump bonding techniques. Fabricated in a 1.2-micrometer CMOS process, the IC includes high-speed photon-counting circuitry that operates at rates up to 5 X 106 counts/s(DOT)mm2. The circuitry is designed both to maximize the achievable count- rate and to minimize false double counts due to charge sharing between elements. Testing confirms that the detector performs with minimum cross talk between elements at count rates in excess of 2 X 106 counts/s(DOT)mm2. Measurements of the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) are presented. The relationship between material properties and detector performance is also discussed. The circuit design and device fabrication techniques are applicable to a variety of imaging applications.
An advanced Scanning-Beam Digital X-ray (SBDX) system for cardiac angiography has been constructed. The 15-kW source operates at 70 - 120 kVp and has an electron beam that is electromagnetically scanned across a 23-cm X 23-cm transmission target. The target is directly liquid cooled for continuous full-power operation and is located behind a focused source collimator. The collimator is a rectangular grid of 100 X 100 apertures whose axes are aligned with the center of the detector array. X-ray beam divergence through the collimator apertures is matched to the 5.4-cm X 5.4 cm detector, which is 150 cm from the source. The detector is a 48 X 48 element CdZnTe direct-conversion photon-counting detector. A narrow x-ray beam scans the full field of view at up to 30 frames per second. A custom digital processor simultaneously reconstructs sixteen 1,0002 pixel tomographic images in real time. The slices are spaced 1.2 cm apart and cover the entire cardiac anatomy. The small detector area and large patient-detector distance result in negligible detected x-ray scatter. Image signal-to-noise ratio is calculated to be equal to conventional fluoroscopic systems at only 12% of the patient exposure and 25% of the staff exposure. Exposure reduction is achieved by elimination of detected scatter, elimination of the anti-scatter grid, increased detector DQE, and increased patient entrance area.
Kathrin Kalki, J. Keenan Brown, Stephen Blankespoor, Joseph Heanue, Xiang Wu, Christopher Cann, Bruce Hasegawa, Michael Chin, Carol Stillson, Michael Dae, James Carver
We have designed and built a system for correlated x ray CT transmission and SPECT emission imaging with an array of photon counting detectors. The scanner operates in a third generation fan beam geometry by translating a 23 element high purity germanium detector across the fan to image phantoms and small animals. The x ray CT image is used to obtain an object specific, i.e., anatomically accurate, attenuation map for the reconstruction of the SPECT image. SPECT images are reconstructed with an MLEM code and the pixel values are scaled in physical units by determining a scaling factor from a uniform water phantom with homogeneous and known attenuation. Single myocardial slices of several pigs were imaged with a 99mTc sestamibi imaging agent which is taken up in proportion to regional myocardial blood flow. The results show that 99mTc uptake and regional myocardial blood flow, determined in vivo from reconstructed SPECT images, correlate with the measured in vitro data. Furthermore, the correlation is markedly improved by reconstructing the images with an object specific attenuation map obtained from the coregistered x ray CT image. We were also able to restore the 99mTc sestamibi uptake from the reconstructed images to an accuracy between 40% and 90% of the true in vitro value, depending on the selection of maximum or mean pixel values in the regions of interest.
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