Evaluation of the effect of geometry for measuring section thickness in tomosynthesis.

Our aim in this study was to evaluate the effect of geometry for measuring section thickness in tomosynthesis by using a metal bead device (bead method). Tomosynthesis images were obtained from two types of tomosynthesis equipment, Safire17 (ST, Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan) and XR650 (GT, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI). After tomosynthesis radiography with each device, the bead tomosynthesis images were obtained by image reconstruction. The digital profile was obtained from the digital value of the bead central coordinate in the perpendicular direction, and we acquired the slice sensitivity profile (SSP). The section thickness was defined with the full width at half maximum obtained from the SSP. We investigated the change in section thickness under different evaluation conditions: the angular range, the height of the bead position, the source-image receptor distance (SID), and image processing. The section thickness decreased when the angular range and height of the bead position increased. Also, the section thickness varied with a change in the SID. The section thickness differed according to the geometry for measuring the section thickness. Thus, the effect of the geometry used for measurement should be considered when the section thickness in tomosynthesis is measured by the bead method.

[Comparison of FBP and ML-EM reconstruction used by simulation data; effect of the projection number for the SPECT image].

PURPOSE: The influence of the numbers of projection of SPECT exerting on a re-constructed image cannot be strictly evaluated by phantom studies. Therefore, we compared re-constructed images of the FBP method and the ML-EM method by using simulation data. METHODS: Simulation data was entered in the image processing software, and the projection data that changed the numbers of projection was made. Afterwards, reconstructed images of the FBP and the ML-EM methods were compared with respect to contrast, %COV, and the NMSE value. RESULT: When the numbers of projection of the FBP and the ML-EM method were decreased, all of the contrast, %COV, and the NMSE value were more deteriorated than that of the ideal image. Therefore, the image quality of SPECT improves with both FBP and ML-EM methods when there are many numbers of projection. Moreover, the FBP method was excellent in a cold contrast, and the ML-EM method was uniformly excellent. Therefore, an understanding of features and their inspection are effective for the selection of each image reconstruction method.

[Physical imaging properties of a flat panel X-ray detector system].

We report the physical imaging properties of a flat panel detector (FPD) designed for radiographic imaging applications (Revolution XQ/i digital chest imaging system, G.E. Medical Systems). The imaging properties of the detector were evaluated through measurements of the characteristic curve, modulation transfer function (MTF), and Wiener spectrum. The digital characteristic curves of the FPD system were measured for the two tube voltages (80 kV and 120 kV). They showed that the correlation between the pixel values of FPD and the incident exposure to the FPD was a linear correlation. The dynamic range of characteristic curves had a range from about 0.003 to 2 microC/kg at the exposure. The presampling MTFs for different tube voltage were almost the same, when we measured the MTFs at 80 kV and 120 kV. And also, there was no significant difference between the MTFs measured with the slit in the direction parallel to the horizontal direction and with the slit in the perpendicular direction. The relative resolution of the FPD system was a 46% higher than that of ST-V imaging plate of FCR (Fuji Computed Radiography) system at 2 cycles/mm. The digital Wiener spectrum of the FPD system was about 1/10 lower than that of the CR system. Thus the FPD system can provide superior imaging performance due to both high resolution and low noise.