Program Information
Dosimetric Characterization and Image Quality Evaluation of the AIRO Mobile CT Scanner
v weir1*, J Zhang2 , A Bruner3 , (1) ,,,(2) University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, (3) Baylor Scott & White Health, Dallas, TX
Presentations
SU-E-I-21 (Sunday, July 12, 2015) 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Room: Exhibit Hall
Purpose:The AIRO Mobile CT system was recently introduced which overcomes the limitations from existing CT, CT fluoroscopy, and intraoperative O-arm. With an integrated table and a large diameter bore, the system is suitable for cranial, spine and trauma procedures, making it a highly versatile intraoperative imaging system. This study is to investigate radiation dose and image quality of the AIRO and compared with those from a routine CT scanner.
Methods:Radiation dose was measured using a conventional 100mm pencil ionization chamber and CT polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) body and head phantoms. Image quality was evaluated with a CATPHAN 500 phantom. Spatial resolution, low contrast resolution (CNR), Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), and Normalized Noise Power Spectrum (NNPS) were analyzed.
Results:Under identical technique conditions, radiation dose (mGy/mAs) from the AIRO mobile CT system (AIRO) is higher than that from a 64 slice CT scanner. MTFs show that both Soft and Standard filters of the AIRO system lost resolution quickly compared to the Sensation 64 slice CT. With the Standard kernel, the spatial resolutions of the AIRO system are 3lp/cm and 4lp/cm for the body and head FOVs, respectively. NNPSs show low frequency noise due to ring-like artifacts. Due to a higher dose in terms of mGy/mAs at both head and body FOV, CNR of the AIRO system is higher than that of the Siemens scanner. However detectability of the low contrast objects is poorer in the AIRO due to the presence of ring artifacts in the location of the targets.
Conclusion:For image guided surgery applications, the AIRO has some advantages over a routine CT scanner due to its versatility, large bore size, and acceptable image quality. Our evaluation of the physical performance helps its future improvements.
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