A dual detector approach for X-ray attenuation and phase imaging

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wu, Xizeng | Liu, Hong

Affiliations: Department of Radiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA | Center for Bioengineering and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA

Abstract: Current clinical x-ray imaging is based on the attenuation contrast. In order to better explore the phase-contrast inherent in tissue, we propose a dual detector approach for reconstruction of x-ray attenuation and phase images of an object. A new phase image reconstruction algorithm is derived for polychromatic x-ray source in a dual-detector configuration. With the dual detector approach investigated in this work, two images are acquired by one x-ray exposure. The 1st image is the attenuation image of the object. The 2nd image is a phase-contrast image of the object and the 1st detector. Yet the 3rd image reconstructed by the algorithm developed in this work, is the object's phase image, a completely new type of image with a great potential for clinical applications. The analysis conducted in our research showed that the dual detector approach has advantages in reduction of radiation dose and alignment errors, and avoiding the problems with motion artifacts and x-ray exposure reproducibility. The design option for the critical 1st detector is analyzed as well.

Journal: Journal of X-Ray Science and Technology, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 35-42, 2004