We have developed a low-cost, scalable detector component technology for x-ray diffraction (XRD) using room-temperature direct-conversion compound semiconductor arrays. Our approach uses two-side, butt-able and stackable modules of cadmium telluride (CdTe) sensors with an edge illuminated geometry. Edge illumination can achieve rapid complete charge collection in a CdTe array when interconnected to custom application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The modules are tileable in one dimension due to their two-side, butt-able and stackable qualities due to the integration of the ASICs and readout within the active area of the edge illuminated pixels to produce a two-dimensional (2D) field of view (FoV). Since individual panels can be tested before the construction of large 2D FoV detectors, the cost per area is constant. We show results from individual pixels, individual modules, and individual 2D XRD cameras with a FoV up to 6 cm by 6 cm. The cameras demonstrate an energy resolution of ~3 keV full width at half maximum (FWHM) at room temperature across the entire dynamic range from 30 keV to 160 keV with minimal tailing. Edge illumination can also allow a large thickness of the CdTe sensor to be in the incident direction, producing a large detective quantum efficiency (DQE) at high energies (up to 160 keV) without sacrificing charge collection efficiency. Low-cost cameras with large FoVs with sufficiently good energy resolution and DQE could allow XRD imaging to achieve high sensitivity and reduce scan times by reducing false alarms from transmission imaging systems.
We report on the development of silicon strip detectors for energy-resolved clinical mammography. Typically, X-ray integrating detectors based on scintillating cesium iodide CsI(Tl) or amorphous selenium (a-Se) are used in most commercial systems. Recently, mammography instrumentation has been introduced based on photon counting Si strip detectors. The required performance for mammography in terms of the output count rate, spatial resolution, and dynamic range must be obtained with sufficient field of view for the application, thus requiring the tiling of pixel arrays and particular scanning techniques. Room temperature Si strip detector, operating as direct conversion x-ray sensors, can provide the required speed when connected to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) operating at fast peaking times with multiple fixed thresholds per pixel, provided that the sensors are designed for rapid signal formation across the X-ray energy ranges of the application. We present our methods and results from the optimization of Si-strip detectors for contrast enhanced spectral mammography. We describe the method being developed for quantifying iodine contrast using the energy-resolved detector with fixed thresholds. We demonstrate the feasibility of the method by scanning an iodine phantom with clinically relevant contrast levels.
We report on our efforts toward the development of silicon (Si) strip detectors for energy-resolved clinical breast
imaging. Typically, x-ray integrating detectors based on scintillating cesium iodide CsI(Tl) or amorphous selenium (a-
Se) are used in most commercial systems. Recently, mammography instrumentation has been introduced based on
photon counting silicon Si strip detectors. Mammography requires high flux from the x-ray generator, therefore, in order
to achieve energy resolved single photon counting, a high output count rate (OCR) for the detector must be achieved at
the required spatial resolution and across the required dynamic range for the application. The required performance in
terms of the OCR, spatial resolution, and dynamic range must be obtained with sufficient field of view (FOV) for the
application thus requiring the tiling of pixel arrays and scanning techniques. Room temperature semiconductors,
operating as direct conversion x-ray sensors, can provide the required speed when connected to application specific
integrated circuits (ASICs) operating at fast peaking times with multiple fixed thresholds per pixel, provided that the
sensors are designed for rapid signal formation across the x-ray energy ranges of the application at the required energy
and spatial resolutions. We present our methods and results from the optimization of prototype detectors based on Si
strip structures. We describe the detector optimization and the development of ASIC readout electronics that provide the
required spatial resolution, low noise, high count rate capabilities and minimal power consumption.
Developments in room temperature solid state imaging arrays for energy-resolved single photon counting in medical x-ray imaging are discussed. A number of x-ray imaging applications can benefit from these developments including mammography which requires very good spatial resolution. Energy resolved photon counting can provide reduced dose through optimal energy weighting and compositional analysis through multiple basis function material decomposition. Extremely high flux can occur in x-ray imaging and energy integrating detectors with a large dynamic range and good detection efficiency have been conventionally used. To achieve the benefits of energy resolved photon counting, imaging arrays with a large count rate range and good detection efficiency are required. Si based semiconductor radiation detectors with strip anode arrays electrically connected to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can provide fast, efficient, low-noise performance with good energy and spatial resolution for use in mammography however this can only be achieved with a careful optimization of the Si sensors and ASICs together. We have designed and constructed a Si imaging array, with a 1 x 1024 grid of electrical 100 micron wide strip contacts inter connected to multi channel ASICs, with a counting range up to 1 x 106 counts per second per pixel.
Photon counting detectors are an emerging technology for spectral computed tomography. They have the potential to
improve tissue contrast and specificity, reduce dose, and enable novel applications for K-edge and functional imaging. In
this presentation various non-linear distortions were investigated that affect the image quality in photon-counting
spectral CT: deadtime losses and spectral response, inherent to the new technology, and beam hardening artifacts that
stem from the use of a polychromatic x-ray source. These effects were corrected or compensated for by performing
calibration measurements. Techniques from material decomposition were applied to reconstruct images at a desired
energy. Two methods were compared to synthesize a single monoenergetic image from photon counting data with
multiple energy bins. The parameters were optimized to maximize a given image quality index. The procedures were
evaluated on phantom data acquired on an experimental CT scanner with photon-counting detectors with two energy
thresholds.
KEYWORDS: Sensors, Photon counting, Personal protective equipment, Statistical analysis, Monte Carlo methods, Shape analysis, X-rays, X-ray detectors, Medical imaging, Photodetectors
Photon counting statistics with pulse pileup effects (PPE) have been investigated for detection schemes with two
assumptions: a fixed deadtime (i.e., non-paralyable and paralyzable detection schemes) and a delta pulse shape.
Analytical expressions have been developed which shed light on interesting findings: (1) the variance becomes smaller
than mean with PPE; and (2) the variance-to-mean ratio (VMR) of narrow energy windows remains very close to 1. In
this study, we experimentally investigate VMR with PPE with a variable deadtime (i.e., pulse height analysis) and
bipolar and unipolar pulse shapes with a long tail in addition to the above cases. We will use Monte Carlo simulation for
a systematic study and a physical photon counting detector to confirm the results.
Developments in room temperature cadmium telluride (CdTe) based solid state imaging arrays for energy-resolved
photon-counting in medical x-ray imaging are discussed. A number of x-ray imaging applications can benefit from these
developments including mammography, radiography, and computed tomography (CT). Energy-resolved photon-counting
can provide reduced dose through optimal energy weighting, compositional analysis through multiple basis
function material decomposition, and contrast enhancement through spectroscopic x-ray imaging of metal nanoparticles.
Extremely high flux can occur in x-ray imaging and energy integrating detectors have been conventionally used. To
achieve the benefits of energy resolved photon counting, imaging arrays with a large count rate range and good detection
efficiency are required. Compound semiconductor radiation detectors with pixellated anode arrays electrically connected
to application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can provide fast, efficient, low-noise performance with adequate
energy resolution however this can only be achieved with a careful optimization of the CdTe sensors and ASICs
together. We have designed and constructed CdTe imaging arrays, 3 mm thick with a grid of electrical contacts inter-connected
to a multi-channel channel ASICs. Arrays with a pixel pitch of 0.5 mm have achieved a counting range up to
20 million counts per second per square mm. Additionally, ASICs with a two dimensional array of pads has been
fabricated and tested by connecting the inputs to 1 mm pitch CdTe sensors demonstrating 7 keV full width at half
maximum energy resolution across a dynamic range of 30 keV to 140 keV for clinical CT.
Radiolabeled cells have been imaged for decades in the field of autoradiography. Recent advances in detector and
microelectronics technologies have enabled the new field of "digital autoradiography" which remains limited to ex vivo
specimens of thin tissue slices. The 3D field-of-view (FOV) of single cell imaging can be extended to millimeters if the
low energy (10-30 keV) photon emissions of radionuclides are used for single-photon nuclear imaging. This new
microscope uses a coded aperture foil made of highly attenuating elements such as gold or platinum to form the image as
a kind of "lens". The detectors used for single-photon emission microscopy are typically silicon detectors with a pixel
pitch less than 60 μm. The goal of this work is to image radiolabeled mesenchymal stem cells in vivo in an animal
model of tendon repair processes. Single-photon nuclear imaging is an attractive modality for translational medicine
since the labeled cells can be imaged simultaneously with the reparative processes by using the dual-isotope imaging
technique. The details our microscope's two-layer gold aperture and the operation of the energy-dispersive, pixellated
silicon detector are presented along with the first demonstration of energy discrimination with a 57Co source. Cell
labeling techniques have been augmented by genetic engineering with the sodium-iodide symporter, a type of reporter
gene imaging method that enables in vivo uptake of free 99mTc or an iodine isotope at a time point days or weeks after
the insertion of the genetically modified stem cells into the animal model. This microscopy work in animal research
may expand to the imaging of reporter-enabled stem cells simultaneously with the expected biological repair process in
human clinical trials of stem cell therapies.
The need to understand the behavior of individual stem cells at the various stages of their differentiation and to assess
the resulting reparative action in pre-clinical model systems, which typically involves laboratory animals, provides the
motivation for imaging of stem cells in vivo at high resolution. Our initial focus is to image cells and cellular events at
single cell resolution in vivo in shallow tissues (few mm of intervening tissue) in laboratory mice and rates. In order to
accomplish this goal we are building a SPECT-based microscope. We based our design on earlier theoretical work with
near-field coded apertures and have adjusted the components of the system to meet the real-world demands of instrument
construction and of animal imaging. Our instrumental design possesses a reasonable trade-off between field-of-view,
sensitivity, and contrast performance (photon penetration). A layered gold aperture containing 100 pinholes and
intended for use in coded aperture imaging application has been designed and constructed. A silicon detector connected
to a TimePix readout from the CERN collaborative group was selected for use in our prototype microscope because of
its ultra-high spatial and energy resolution capabilities. The combination of the source, aperture, and detector has been
modeled and the coded aperture reconstruction of simulated sources is presented in this work.
Photon counting x-ray detectors (PCXDs) are an emerging technology in x-ray computed tomography (CT) as they have
the potential to overcome some of the most significant limitations of current CT with energy integrating detectors.
Among these are: insufficient tissue contrast, relatively high radiation dose, tissue non-specificity, and the non-quantitative
nature. In contrast, CT with PCXDs has shown promise in producing higher contrast, tissue specific,
quantitative images at lower dose. Novel applications for PCXDs include k-edge and functional imaging and material
decomposition. A limiting factor, however, is the high photon flux that occurs in clinical applications resulting in signal
pulse pile up in the detector. Faster detectors and new strategies for data corrections and image reconstruction algorithms
are needed to overcome these limitations. A research tabletop x-ray CT scanner was developed with the following aims:
1) to characterize and calibrate the PCXD; 2) to acquire CT projection data under conditions similar to those of clinical
CT; and 3) to reconstruct images using correction schemes specific for PCXDs. The scanner employs a commercial
clinical x-ray tube, a PCXD with two energy thresholds, and allows scanning of objects of up to 40 cm in diameter. This
paper presents measurements of detector quantities crucial for data corrections and calibration, such as energy response,
deadtime, and count rates. Reconstructed CT images are presented and qualitative results from material decomposition
are shown.
We report results from the development of a second-generation CdTe direct-conversion compound-semiconductor x-ray
detector for photon-counting clinical CT. The first-generation detector has 512 pixels with a 1 mm pitch and is vertically
integrated with the readout. A 32-row multi-slice CT system using first-generation detectors has been used for clinical
low-dose CT applications. To provide adequate performance for whole-body diagnostic CT we have designed and
fabricated new 0.25 mm2 pixels to increase the maximum output to greater than 20 Mcps per mm2 while preserving
sufficient energy resolution for photon-counting CT. In addition to the need for dynamic range, CT places stringent
uniformity and temporal response requirements on the detector. We have measured detector parameters including the
dynamic range, energy resolution, noise floor, stability, and temporal response. Temporal response is determined by
rapid cycling of the input flux with shutter driven attenuators. Cycling between high and low flux generates reproducible
counts, within counting statistics, with a response time less than 1 ms. Stability is determined by measuring uniformity corrected flood images repeatedly over a time interval exceeding whole-body diagnostic CT scan times. Long exposure to uniform flux generates a number of counts which drift in some pixels slightly in excess of counting statistics. These results demonstrate the potential for these detectors to achieve whole-body CT.
We demonstrate the feasibility of using a dual-modality fluorescence and x-ray computed tomography (CT)
system for quantitative molecular imaging with phantom studies. A CCD based non-contact FT system,
which can take measurements from multiple views was built.
High-resolution X-Ray CT was used to obtain
structural information from the phantom. A 3.6 mm diameter fluorescence inclusion was deeply embedded
in the heterogeneous optical background. The results demonstrated that the fluorophore concentration can
only be obtained accurately when guided by the a priori information provided by the x-ray CT.
We report on a characterization study of a multi-row
direct-conversion x-ray detector used to generate the first photon
counting clinical x-ray computed tomography (CT) patent images. In order to provide the photon counting detector with
adequate performance for low-dose CT applications, we have designed and fabricated a fast application specific
integrated circuit (ASIC) for data readout from the pixellated CdTe detectors that comprise the photon counting detector.
The cadmium telluride (CdTe) detector has 512 pixels with a 1 mm pitch and is vertically integrated with the ASIC
readout so it can be tiled in two dimensions similar to those that are tiled in an arc found in 32-row multi-slice CT
systems. We have measured several important detector parameters including the maximum output count rate, energy
resolution, and noise performance. Additionally the relationship between the output and input rate has been found to fit a
non-paralyzable detector model with a dead time of 160 nsec. A maximum output rate of 6 × 106 counts per second per
pixel has been obtained with a low output x-ray tube for CT operated between 0.01 mA and 6 mA at 140 keV and
different source-to-detector distances. All detector noise counts are less that 20 keV which is sufficiently low for clinical
CT. The energy resolution measured with the 60 keV photons from a 241Am source is ~12%. In conclusion, our results
demonstrate the potential for the application of the CdTe based photon counting detector to clinical CT systems. Our
future plans include further performance improvement by incorporating drift structures to each detector pixel.
Cardiac function is an important physiological parameter in preclinical studies. Nuclear cardiac scans are a standard of care for patients with suspected coronary artery occlusions and can assess perfusion and other physiological functions via the injection of radiotracers. In addition, correlated acquisition of nuclear images with electrocardiogram (ECG) signals can provide myocardial dynamics, which can be used to assess the wall motion of the heart. We have implemented this nuclear cardiology technique into a microSPECT/CT system, which provides sub-millimeter resolution in SPECT and co-registered high resolution CT anatomical maps. Radionuclide detection is synchronized with the R-wave of the cardiac cycle and separated into 16 time bins using an ECG monitor and triggering device for gating. Images were acquired with a 12.5 x 12.5 cm2 small field of view pixilated NaI(Tl) detector, using a pinhole collimator. In this pilot study, rats (N = 5) were injected with 99mTc-Sestamibi, a tracer of myocardium, and anesthetized for imaging. Reconstructed 4-D images (3D plus timing) were computed using an Ordered Subset Expectation Maximization (OSEM) algorithm. The measured perfusion, wall motion, and ejection fractions for the rats matched well with results reported by other researchers using alternative methods. This capability will provide a new and powerful tool to preclinical researchers for assessing cardiac function.
Space-based gamma-ray spectrometers utilize active anticoincidence shielding to reduce the background caused by charged-particle interactions. Shielding improves the performance of gamma-ray spectrometers by reducing the effect of charged particle interactions which can not be distinguished from true gamma-ray interactions by the spectrometer. Active shields produce a blanking signal when a charged particle is detected, so that the signal from the spectrometer can be ignored during the spectrometer's charged-particle interaction. Anticoincidence shielding for space-born gamma-ray detectors requires a cylindrical-shell geometry and charged-particle sensitivity. To reduce the size, weight, and cost of the shielding we utilize a new direct-conversion charged-particle detector material, polycrystalline mercuric iodide. We present the results from planar film growth techniques for the particle-counting detection capabilities necessary for anti-coincidence shielding. We also show that films with similar detection properties were grown on curved substrates with the size and curvature needed to surround space-based spectrometer main detectors.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.