The effect of detector size and energy resolution on image quality in multi-projection Compton scatter tomography

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Chighvinadze, Tamar^; | Pistorius, Stephen^{; ;}

Affiliations: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada | CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada | Department of Radiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

Note: [] Corresponding author: Tamar Chighvinadze, Medical Physics, CancerCare Manitoba, 675 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3E 0V9, Canada. Tel.: +1 204 787 8023; Fax: +1 204 775 1684; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The reconstructed electron density image quality is sensitive to the detector size and energy resolution, which contribute to the blurring and noise in the image. This work evaluates optimal values of the detector parameters for a realistic system through analytical simulations of the transverse slice of the dedicated breast CT system geometry. This study introduces a spectroscopic x-ray tomography technique which uses multiple projections to reconstruct electron density images by backprojecting scattered photons over isogonic curves. The reconstruction can be obtained using a single projection yet its quality degrades as the acquisition conditions i.e. detector size and energy resolution deviate from the ideal. The reconstruction quality becomes inconsistent throughout the image due to the data under sampling caused by the finite resolution of the detector. The extension to the multi-projection mode effectively fills-in the missing data space and improves the ability to reconstruct an object. This work demonstrates the possibility to obtain images in the presence of noise.

Keywords: Compton scatter tomography, detector size, detector energy resolution

DOI: 10.3233/XST-130413

Journal: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 113-128, 2014