When using neutron scattering information in a conventional grating interferometer, there were significant limitations due to the configuration of the interferometer system in obtaining a graph of the autocorrelation length that confirms the internal structure of the object. To solve this problem, a simulation was conducted to obtain the autocorrelation length over a wide range by changing the system configuration using a single absorption grating (inverse pattern simulation). Using spatial harmonic imaging techniques for ancient Korean coins, we obtained images of various modalities and revealed the differences between genuine and counterfeit coins. This experiment was conducted at PSI's BOA.
We present Spectral X-ray Computed Tomography (SCT) estimations of material properties directly from energy-dependent measurements of linear attenuation coefficients (LAC). X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is commonly utilized to characterize the internal properties of an object of interest. Dual-Energy X-ray CT allows material characterization into energy-independent physical properties such as Ze and electron density ρe. However, it is not robust in presence of dense materials and metal artifacts. We report on the performance of a method for system-independent characterization of materials that introduces a spectroscopic detector into X-ray CT, called spectral ρe/Ze estimation (SRZE). We benchmark the SRZE method against energy-integrated measurements in material classification tests, finding superior accuracy in the predictions. The advantage of this technique, over other methods for material characterization using x-ray CT, is that it does not require a set of reference materials for calibration. Moreover, the simultaneous detection of spectral features makes it robust to highly attenuating materials, since the energy intervals for which the attenuation is photon limited can easily be detected and excluded from the feature estimation.
Compared to the dual-energy scintillator detectors widely used today, energy-resolved photon-counting x-ray detectors show the potential to improve material identification in various radiography and tomography applications used for industrial and security purposes. However, detector effects, such as charge sharing and photon pileup, distort the measured spectra in pixelated, photon-counting detectors operating under high flux. These effects result in a significant performance degradation of the detectors when used for material identification where accurate spectral measurements are required. We have developed a semianalytical, postdata acquisition, computational algorithm that corrects the measured attenuation curve for severe spectral distortions caused by the detector. The calibration of the algorithm is based on simple attenuation measurements of commercially available materials using standard laboratory sources, enabling the algorithm to be used in any x-ray setup. The algorithm is developed for correcting spectral data acquired with the MultiX ME100 CdTe x-ray detector but could be adapted with small adjustments to other photon-counting, energy-resolved detectors with CdTe sensors. The validation of the algorithm has been done using experimental data acquired with both a standard laboratory source and synchrotron radiation. The experiments show that the algorithm is fast, reliable at x-ray flux up to 5 Mph / s / mm2 and greatly improves the accuracy of the measured spectrally resolved linear attenuation, making the algorithm useful for both security and industrial applications where photon-counting detectors are used.
KEYWORDS: Scattering, Signal attenuation, X-rays, Sensors, Monte Carlo methods, Photons, Computer simulations, X-ray computed tomography, Compton scattering, Signal detection
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).
KEYWORDS: Monte Carlo methods, X-rays, Scattering, Device simulation, X-ray computed tomography, Collimation, Sensors, Absorption, Mass attenuation coefficient, Photon transport
In X-ray computed tomography (CT), scattered radiation plays an important role in the accurate reconstruction of the inspected object, leading to a loss of contrast between the different materials in the reconstruction volume and cupping artifacts in the images. We present a Monte Carlo simulation tool for spectral X-ray CT to predict the scattered radiation generated by complex samples. An experimental setup is presented to isolate the energy distribution of scattered radiation. Spectral CT is a novel technique implementing photon-counting detectors able to discriminate the energy of incoming photons, enabling spectral analysis of X-ray images. This technique is useful to extract efficiently more information on energy dependent quantities (e.g. mass attenuations coefficients) and study matter interactions (e.g. X-ray scattering, photoelectric absorption, etc...). Having a good knowledge of the spectral distribution of the scattered X-rays is fundamental to establish methods attempting to correct for it. The simulations are validated by real measurements using a CdTe spectral resolving detector (Multix ME-100). We observed the effect of the scattered radiation on the image reconstruction, becoming relevant in the energy range where the Compton events are dominant (i.e. above 50keV).
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