Volume CT (VCT) Enabled by a Novel Diode Technology

摘要

One of the results of the latest developments in x-ray tube and detector technology, is the enabling of computedtomography (CT) as a strong non-invasive imaging modality for a new set of clinical applications including cardiac andbrain imaging. A common theme among the applications is an ability to have wide anatomical coverage in a singlerotation. Large coverage in CT is expected to bring significant diagnostic value in clinical field, especially in cardiac,trauma, pediatric, neuro, angiography, Stroke WorkUp and pulmonary applications. This demand, in turn, creates a needfor tile-able and scalable detector design. In this paper, we introduce the design of a new diode, a crucial part of thedetector, discuss how it enables wide coverage, its performance in terms of cross-talk, light output response, maximizedgeometric efficiency, and other CT requirements, and compare it to the traditional design which is front-illuminateddiode. We ran extensive simulation and measurement experiments to study the geometric efficiency and assess the crosstalk and all other performance parameters Critical To Quality (CTQs) with both designs. We modeled x-ray scattering inthe scintillator, light scattering through the septa and optical coupler, and electrical cross talk. We tested the design withphantoms and clinical experiments on a scanner (LightSpeed VCT, GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, WI, USA).Our preliminary results indicate that the new diode design performs as well as the traditional in terms of cross talk andother CTQs. It, also, yields better geometric efficiency and enables tile-able detector design, which is crucial for the VCT.We introduced a new diode design, which is an essential enabler for VCT. We demonstrated the new design is superiorto the traditional design for the clinically relevant performance measures.