Hybrid-model for computed tomography simulations and post-patient collimator design

Horace Xu; Kun Tao; Padmashree GK; Mingye Wu; Ximiao Cao; Yong Long; Ming Yan; Yangyang Yao; Bruno De Man

doi:10.1117/12.2043235

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19 March 2014 Hybrid-model for computed tomography simulations and post-patient collimator design

Horace Xu, Kun Tao, Padmashree GK, Mingye Wu, Ximiao Cao, Yong Long, Ming Yan, Yangyang Yao, Bruno De Man

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Proceedings Volume 9033, Medical Imaging 2014: Physics of Medical Imaging; 90334R (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2043235
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Ray-tracing based simulation methods are widely used in modeling X-ray propagation, detection and imaging. While most of the existing simulation methods rely on analytical modeling, a novel hybrid approach comprising of statistical modeling and analytical approaches, is proposed here. Our hybrid simulator is a unique combination of analytical modeling for evoking the fundamentals of X-ray transport through ray-tracing, and a look-up-table (LUT) based approach for integrating it with the Monte Carlo simulations that model optical photon-transport within scintillator. The LUT approach for scintillation-based X-ray detection invokes depth-dependent gain factors to account for intra-pixel absorption and light-transport, together with incident-angle dependent effects for inter-pixel X-ray absorption (parallax effect). The model simulates the post-patient collimator for scatter-rejection, as an X-ray shadow on scintillator, while handling its position with respect to the pixel boundary, by a smart over-sampling strategy for high efficiency. We have validated this simulator for computed tomography system-simulations, by using real data from GE Brivo CT385. The level of accuracy of image noise and spatial resolution is better than 98%. We have used the simulator for designing the post-patient collimator, and measured modulation transfer function (MTF) for different widths of the collimator plate. Validation and simulation study clearly demonstrates that the hybrid simulator is an accurate, reliable, efficient tool for realistic system-level simulations. It could be deployed for research, design and development purposes to model any scintillator-based X-ray imaging-system (2-dimensional and 3-dimensional), while being equally applicable for medical and industrial imaging.

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Horace Xu, Kun Tao, Padmashree GK, Mingye Wu, Ximiao Cao, Yong Long, Ming Yan, Yangyang Yao, and Bruno De Man "Hybrid-model for computed tomography simulations and post-patient collimator design", Proc. SPIE 9033, Medical Imaging 2014: Physics of Medical Imaging, 90334R (19 March 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2043235

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