Abstract
Spectral computed tomography is an emerging imaging method that involves using recently developed energy discriminating photon-counting detectors (PCDs). This technique enables measurements at isolated high-energy ranges, in which the dominating undergoing interaction between the x-ray and the sample is the incoherent scattering. The scattered radiation causes a loss of contrast in the results, and its correction has proven to be a complex problem, due to its dependence on energy, material composition, and geometry. Monte Carlo simulations can utilize a physical model to estimate the scattering contribution to the signal, at the cost of high computational time. We present a fast Monte Carlo simulation tool, based on McXtrace, to predict the energy resolved radiation being scattered and absorbed by objects of complex shapes. We validate the tool through measurements using a CdTe single PCD (Multix ME-100) and use it for scattering correction in a simulation of a spectral CT. We found the correction to account for up to 7% relative amplification in the reconstructed linear attenuation. It is a useful tool for x-ray CT to obtain a more accurate material discrimination, especially in the high-energy range, where the incoherent scattering interactions become prevailing (>50 keV).
Original language | English |
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Article number | 037105 |
Journal | Optical Engineering |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 3 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0091-3286 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Computed tomography
- Spectral computed tomography
- Multienergy computed tomography
- X-ray scattering
- Monte Carlo Simulations