scholarly journals Low-Noise Dynamic Reconstruction for X-Ray Tomographic Perfusion Studies Using Low Sampling Rates

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pau Montes ◽  
Günter Lauritsch
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Resolution ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Projection Data ◽  
Interpolation Scheme ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Perfusion Studies ◽  
Temporal Smoothing ◽  
Temporal Interpolation

Functional imaging based on tomographic X-ray imaging relies on the reconstruction of a temporal sequence of images which accurately reproduces the time attenuation curves of the tissue. The main constraints of these techniques are temporal resolution and dose. Using current techniques the data acquisition has to be performed fast so that the dynamic attenuation values can be regarded as static during the scan. Due to the relatively high number of repeated scans the dose per single scan has to be low yielding a poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the reconstructed images. In a previous publication a temporal interpolation scheme in the projection data space was relaxing the temporal resolution constraint. The aim of this contribution is the improvement of the SNR. A temporal smoothing term is introduced in the temporal interpolation scheme such that only the physiologic relevant bandwidth is considered. A significant increase of the SNR is achieved. The obtained level of noise only depends on the total dose applied and is independent of the number of scans and the SNR of a single reconstructed image. The approach might be the first step towards using slowly rotating CT systems for perfusion imaging like C-arm or small animal CT scanners.

An iterative reconstruction method for sparse-projection data for low-dose CT

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Qian Wan ◽  
Zixiang Chen ◽  
Zhanli Hu ◽  
Guanxun Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Reconstructed Image ◽  
Projection Data ◽  
Reconstruction Method ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Image Structure ◽  
Reconstruction Performance ◽  
Risk Of Cancer ◽  
Suppress Noise

Reducing X-ray radiation is beneficial for reducing the risk of cancer in patients. There are two main approaches for achieving this goal namely, one is to reduce the X-ray current, and another is to apply sparse-view protocols to do image scanning and projections. However, these techniques usually lead to degradation of the reconstructed image quality, resulting in excessive noise and severe edge artifacts, which seriously affect the diagnosis result. In order to overcome such limitation, this study proposes and tests an algorithm based on guided kernel filtering. The algorithm combines the characteristics of anisotropic edges between adjacent image voxels, expresses the relevant weights with an exponential function, and adjusts the weights adaptively through local gray gradients to better preserve the image structure while suppressing noise information. Experiments show that the proposed method can effectively suppress noise and preserve the image structure. Comparing with similar algorithms, the proposed algorithm greatly improves the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity (SSIM), and root mean square error (RMSE) of the reconstructed image. The proposed algorithm has the best effect in quantitative analysis, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method and good image reconstruction performance. Overall, this study demonstrates that the proposed method can reduce the number of projections required for repeated CT scans and has potential for medical applications in reducing radiation doses.

XPAD X-ray hybrid pixel detector for charge density quality diffracted intensities on laboratory equipment

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 783-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Wenger ◽  
Slimane Dahaoui ◽  
Paul Alle ◽  
Pascal Parois ◽  
Cyril Palin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Charge Density ◽  
Single Photon ◽  
Direct Detection ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Low Noise ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
High Signal ◽  
Pixel Detector ◽  
Laboratory Equipment ◽  
X Ray

The new generation of X-ray detectors, the hybrid pixel area detectors or `pixel detectors', is based on direct detection and single-photon counting processes. A large linearity range, high dynamic and extremely low noise leading to an unprecedented high signal-to-noise ratio, fast readout time (high frame rates) and an electronic shutter are among their intrinsic characteristics which render them very attractive. First used on synchrotron beamlines, these detectors are also promising in the laboratory, in particular for pump-probe or quasi-static experiments and accurate electron density measurements, as explained in this paper. An original laboratory diffractometer made from a Nonius Mach3 goniometer equipped with an Incoatec Mo microsource and an XPAD pixel area detector has been developed at the CRM2 laboratory. MoKα accurate charge density quality data up to 1.21 Å−1resolution have been collected on a sodium nitroprusside crystal using this home-made diffractometer. Data quality for charge density analysis based on multipolar modelling are discussed in this paper. Deformation electron densities are compared to those already published (based on data collected with CCD APEXII and CAD4 diffractometers).

An Electron Diffraction Study on Litnerized Potato Starch

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 580-581
Author(s):  
Jean-Claude Jésior ◽  
Roger Vuong ◽  
Henri Chanzy
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Electron Diffraction ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Potato Starch ◽  
Image Intensifier ◽  
Electron Diffraction Study ◽  
Starch Granules ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Individual Grains ◽  
Diamond Knife

Starch is arranged in a crystalline manner within its storage granules and should thus give sharp X-ray diagrams. Unfortunately most of the common starch granules have sizes between 1 and 100μm, making them too small for an X-ray study on individual grains. There is only one instance where an oriented X-ray diagram could be obtained on one sector of an individual giant starch granule. Despite their small size, starch granules are still too thick to be studied by electron diffraction with a transmission electron microscope. The only reported study on starch ultrastructure using electron diffraction on frozen hydrated material was made on small fragments. The present study has been realized on thin sectioned granules previously litnerized to improve the signal to noise ratio.Potato starch was hydrolyzed for 10 days in 2.2N HCl at 35°C, dialyzed against water until neutrality and embedded in Nanoplast. Sectioning was achieved with a commercially available low-angle “35°” diamond knife (Diatome) after a very carefull trimming and a pre-sectioning with a classical “45°” diamond knife. Sections obtained at a final sectioning angle of 42.2° (compared with the usual 55-60°) and at a nominal thickness of 900Å were collected on a Formvar-carbon coated grid. The exact location of the starch granules in their sections was recorded by optical microscopy on a Zeiss Universal polarizing microscope (Fig. 1a). After rehydration at a relative humidity of 95% for 24 hours they were mounted on a Philips cryoholder and quench frozen in liquid nitrogen before being inserted under frozen conditions in a Philips EM 400T electron microscope equipped with a Gatan anticontaminator and a Lhesa image intensifier.

Nondestructive Inspection of Thin, Low-Z Samples using Multiplexed Compton Scatter Tomography

1997 ◽  
Vol 503 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. L. Evans ◽  
J. B. Martin ◽  
L. W. Burggraf
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Reconstruction Algorithm ◽  
Filtered Backprojection ◽  
Line Broadening ◽  
Compton Scatter ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Tomography System ◽  
Transmission Computed Tomography ◽  
High Purity Germanium ◽  
Scattered Energy

ABSTRACTThe viability of a Compton scattering tomography system for nondestructively inspecting thin, low Z samples for corrosion is examined. This technique differs from conventional x-ray backscatter NDI because it does not rely on narrow collimation of source and detectors to examine small volumes in the sample. Instead, photons of a single energy are backscattered from the sample and their scattered energy spectra are measured at multiple detector locations, and these spectra are then used to reconstruct an image of the object. This multiplexed Compton scatter tomography technique interrogates multiple volume elements simultaneously. Thin samples less than 1 cm thick and made of low Z materials are best imaged with gamma rays at or below 100 keV energy. At this energy, Compton line broadening becomes an important resolution limitation. An analytical model has been developed to simulate the signals collected in a demonstration system consisting of an array of planar high-purity germanium detectors. A technique for deconvolving the effects of Compton broadening and detector energy resolution from signals with additive noise is also presented. A filtered backprojection image reconstruction algorithm with similarities to that used in conventional transmission computed tomography is developed. A simulation of a 360–degree inspection gives distortion-free results. In a simulation of a single-sided inspection, a 5 mm × 5 mm corrosion flaw with 50% density is readily identified in 1-cm thick aluminum phantom when the signal to noise ratio in the data exceeds 28.

A Spectrum-Adaptive Decomposition Method for Effective Atomic Number Estimation Using Dual Energy CT

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (14) ◽  
pp. 293-1-293-7
Author(s):  
Ankit Manerikar ◽  
Fangda Li ◽  
Avinash C. Kak
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Number ◽  
Decomposition Method ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Effective Atomic Number ◽  
Dual Energy ◽  
Performance Comparison ◽  
Estimation Methods ◽  
Dual Energy Ct ◽  
Projection Data ◽  
X Ray

Dual Energy Computed Tomography (DECT) is expected to become a significant tool for voxel-based detection of hazardous materials in airport baggage screening. The traditional approach to DECT imaging involves collecting the projection data using two different X-ray spectra and then decomposing the data thus collected into line integrals of two independent characterizations of the material properties. Typically, one of these characterizations involves the effective atomic number (Zeff) of the materials. However, with the X-ray spectral energies typically used for DECT imaging, the current best-practice approaches for dualenergy decomposition yield Zeff values whose accuracy range is limited to only a subset of the periodic-table elements, more specifically to (Z < 30). Although this estimation can be improved by using a system-independent ρe — Ze (SIRZ) space, the SIRZ transformation does not efficiently model the polychromatic nature of the X-ray spectra typically used in physical CT scanners. In this paper, we present a new decomposition method, AdaSIRZ, that corrects this shortcoming by adapting the SIRZ decomposition to the entire spectrum of an X-ray source. The method reformulates the X-ray attenuation equations as direct functions of (ρe, Ze) and solves for the coefficients using bounded nonlinear least-squares optimization. Performance comparison of AdaSIRZ with other Zeff estimation methods on different sets of real DECT images shows that AdaSIRZ provides a higher output accuracy for Zeff image reconstructions for a wider range of object materials.

scholarly journals Characterization of Chromium Compensated GaAs Sensors with the Charge-Integrating JUNGFRAU Readout Chip by Means of a Highly Collimated Pencil Beam

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1550
Author(s):  
Dominic Greiffenberg ◽  
Marie Andrä ◽  
Rebecca Barten ◽  
Anna Bergamaschi ◽  
Martin Brückner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Noise ◽  
State University ◽  
Noise Performance ◽  
X Ray ◽  
A Value ◽  
Resolution Capability ◽  
Sensor Properties ◽  
Pixel Pitch ◽  
Lower Noise

Chromium compensated GaAs or GaAs:Cr sensors provided by the Tomsk State University (Russia) were characterized using the low noise, charge integrating readout chip JUNGFRAU with a pixel pitch of 75 × 75 µm2 regarding its application as an X-ray detector at synchrotrons sources or FELs. Sensor properties such as dark current, resistivity, noise performance, spectral resolution capability and charge transport properties were measured and compared with results from a previous batch of GaAs:Cr sensors which were produced from wafers obtained from a different supplier. The properties of the sample from the later batch of sensors from 2017 show a resistivity of 1.69 × 109 Ω/cm, which is 47% higher compared to the previous batch from 2016. Moreover, its noise performance is 14% lower with a value of (101.65 ± 0.04) e− ENC and the resolution of a monochromatic 60 keV photo peak is significantly improved by 38% to a FWHM of 4.3%. Likely, this is due to improvements in charge collection, lower noise, and more homogeneous effective pixel size. In a previous work, a hole lifetime of 1.4 ns for GaAs:Cr sensors was determined for the sensors of the 2016 sensor batch, explaining the so-called “crater effect” which describes the occurrence of negative signals in the pixels around a pixel with a photon hit due to the missing hole contribution to the overall signal causing an incomplete signal induction. In this publication, the “crater effect” is further elaborated by measuring GaAs:Cr sensors using the sensors from 2017. The hole lifetime of these sensors was 2.5 ns. A focused photon beam was used to illuminate well defined positions along the pixels in order to corroborate the findings from the previous work and to further characterize the consequences of the “crater effect” on the detector operation.

scholarly journals From Femtoseconds to Hours–Measuring Dynamics over 18 Orders of Magnitude with Coherent X-rays

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 6179
Author(s):  
Felix Lehmkühler ◽  
Wojciech Roseker ◽  
Gerhard Grübel
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Free Electron Laser ◽  
Photon Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Coherent Scattering ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Photon Correlation ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Scattering Technique

X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) enables the study of sample dynamics between micrometer and atomic length scales. As a coherent scattering technique, it benefits from the increased brilliance of the next-generation synchrotron radiation and Free-Electron Laser (FEL) sources. In this article, we will introduce the XPCS concepts and review the latest developments of XPCS with special attention on the extension of accessible time scales to sub-μs and the application of XPCS at FELs. Furthermore, we will discuss future opportunities of XPCS and the related technique X-ray speckle visibility spectroscopy (XSVS) at new X-ray sources. Due to its particular signal-to-noise ratio, the time scales accessible by XPCS scale with the square of the coherent flux, allowing to dramatically extend its applications. This will soon enable studies over more than 18 orders of magnitude in time by XPCS and XSVS.

scholarly journals Radiation dose estimation for pencil beam X-ray luminescence computed tomography imaging

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Ignacio O. Romero ◽  
Changqing Li
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Radiation Dose ◽  
Small Animal ◽  
Pencil Beam ◽  
Computed Tomography Imaging ◽  
Step Size ◽  
Imaging Protocol ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Beam Geometry ◽  
Muscle Tissues

BACKGROUND: Pencil beam X-ray luminescence computed tomography (XLCT) imaging provides superior spatial resolution than other imaging geometries like sheet beam and cone beam geometries. However, the pencil beam geometry suffers from long scan times, resulting in concerns overdose which discourages the use of pencil beam XLCT. OBJECTIVE: The dose deposited in pencil beam XLCT imaging was investigated to estimate the dose from one angular projection scan with three different X-ray sources. The dose deposited in a typical small animal XLCT imaging was investigated. METHODS: A Monte Carlo simulation platform, GATE (Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission) was used to estimate the dose from one angular projection scan of a mouse leg model with three different X-ray sources. Dose estimations from a six angular projection scan by three different X-ray source energies were performed in GATE on a mouse trunk model composed of muscle, spine bone, and a tumor. RESULTS: With the Sigray source, the bone marrow of mouse leg was estimated to have a radiation dose of 44 mGy for a typical XLCT imaging with six angular projections, a scan step size of 100 micrometers, and 106 X-ray photons per linear scan. With the Sigray X-ray source and the typical XLCT scanning parameters, we estimated the dose of spine bone, muscle tissues, and tumor structures of the mouse trunk were 38.49 mGy, 15.07 mGy, and 16.87 mGy, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that an X-ray benchtop source (like the X-ray source from Sigray Inc.) with high brilliance and quasi-monochromatic properties can reduce dose concerns with the pencil beam geometry. Findings of this work can be applicable to other imaging modalities like X-ray fluorescence computed tomography if the imaging protocol consists of the pencil beam geometry.

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