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Title: Effect of x-ray energy dispersion in digital subtraction imaging at the iodine K-edge--A Monte Carlo study

Journal Article · · Medical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2815360· OSTI ID:21036122
; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Dipartimento di Fisica Sperimentale dell'Universita di Torino and INFN, Turin (Italy)
  2. Cuba

The effect of the energy dispersion of a quasi-monochromatic x-ray beam on the performance of a dual-energy x-ray imaging system is studied by means of Monte Carlo simulations using MCNPX (Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended) version 2.6.0. In particular, the case of subtraction imaging at the iodine K-edge, suitable for angiographic imaging application, is investigated. The average energies of the two beams bracketing the iodine K-edge are set to the values of 31.2 and 35.6 keV corresponding to the ones obtained with a compact source based on a conventional x-ray tube and a mosaic crystal monochromator. The energy dispersion of the two beams is varied between 0 and 10 keV of full width at half-maximum (FWHM). The signal and signal-to-noise ratio produced in the simulated images by iodine-filled cavities (simulating patient vessels) drilled in a PMMA phantom are studied as a function of the x-ray energy dispersion. The obtained results show that, for the considered energy separation of 4.4 keV, no dramatic deterioration of the image quality is observed with increasing x-ray energy dispersion up to a FWHM of about 2.35 keV. The case of different beam energies is also investigated by means of fast simulations of the phantom absorption.

OSTI ID:
21036122
Journal Information:
Medical Physics, Vol. 35, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1118/1.2815360; (c) 2008 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English