Program Information
Photon Counting Implementation Challenges Using An Electron Multiplying Charged-Coupled Device Based Micro-CT System
A Podgorsak1,2*, D Bednarek1,2 , S Rudin1,2 , C Ionita1,2 , (1) State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, (2) Toshiba Stroke and Vascular Research Center, Buffalo, New York
Presentations
TH-EF-207A-3 (Thursday, August 4, 2016) 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM Room: 207A
Purpose: To successfully implement and operate a photon counting scheme on an electron multiplying charged-coupled device (EMCCD) based micro-CT system.
Methods: We built an EMCCD based micro-CT system and implemented a photon counting scheme. EMCCD detectors use avalanche transfer registries to multiply the input signal far above the readout noise floor. Due to intrinsic differences in the pixel array, using a global threshold for photon counting is not optimal. To address this shortcoming, we generated a threshold array based on sixty dark fields (no x-ray exposure). We calculated an average matrix and a variance matrix of the dark field sequence. The average matrix was used for the offset correction while the variance matrix was used to set individual pixel thresholds for the photon counting scheme. Three hundred photon counting frames were added for each projection and 360 projections were acquired for each object. The system was used to scan various objects followed by reconstruction using an FDK algorithm.
Results: Examination of the projection images and reconstructed slices of the objects indicated clear interior detail free of beam hardening artifacts. This suggests successful implementation of the photon counting scheme on our EMCCD based micro-CT system.
Conclusion: This work indicates that it is possible to implement and operate a photon counting scheme on an EMCCD based micro-CT system, suggesting that these devices might be able to operate at very low x-ray exposures in a photon counting mode. Such devices could have future implications in clinical CT protocols.
Funding Support, Disclosures, and Conflict of Interest: NIH Grant R01EB002873 Toshiba Medical Systems Corp.
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