平板探测器CT系统调校及参数获取方法

为了解决平板探测器CT系统存在结构偏差、参数偏离设计值,影响重建质量的难题,提出了一种基于简单模型和少量DR投影的平板探测器CT系统调校和参数获取方法。该方法采用一个正交金属细丝模型,通过设计一系列的投影,依据投影图像对系统结构进行调整并进行简单计算,即可完成偏差校正及参数获取。计算和实验表明,通过该方法得到的系统参数误差小于0.5%,满足使用要求,重建图像质量很高。     

Improvements to conventional X-ray tube-based cone-beam computed tomography system

Conventional X-ray tube-based cone-beam computed tomography(CX-CBCT) systems have great potential in industrial applications. Such systems can rapidly obtain a three-dimensional(3D) image of an object.Conventional X-ray tubes fulfill the requirements for industrial applications, because of their high tube voltage and power. Continuous improvements have been made to CX-CBCT systems, such as imaging time shortening,acquisition strategy optimization, and imaging software development, etc. In this study, a CX-CBCT system is developed. Additionally, some improvements to the CX-CBCT system are proposed based on the hardware conditions of the X-ray tube and detector. A near-detector(ND)geometry condition is employed to obtain a sharper image and larger detection area. An improved acquisition strategy is proposed to simplify operations and reduce total imaging time. In the ND geometry condition, a simplified method called FBP slice stacking(SS-FBP) is proposed, which can be applied to 3D image reconstruction. SS-FBP is timesaving relative to traditional methods. Furthermore, imaging software for the CX-CBCT system is developed in the MATLAB environment. Several imaging experiments were performed. The results suggest that the CX-CBCT system works properly, and that the above improvements are feasible and practical.     

The Calibration of High-Speed Camera Imaging System for ELMs Observation on EAST Tokamak

A tangential fast visible camera has been set up in EAST tokamak for the study of edge MHD instabilities such as ELM.To determine the 3-D information from CCD images,Tsai's two-stage technique was utilized to calibrate the high-speed camera imaging system for ELM study.By applying tiles of the passive stabilizers in the tokamak device as the calibration pattern,transformation parameters for transforming from a 3-D world coordinate system to a 2-D image coordinate system were obtained,including the rotation matrix,the translation vector,the focal length and the lens distortion.The calibration errors were estimated and the results indicate the reliability of the method used for the camera imaging system.Through the calibration,some information about ELM filaments,such as positions and velocities were obtained from images of H-mode CCD videos.     

Filter-based energy-resolved X-ray computed tomography with a clinical imager

Filter-based energy-resolved X-ray computed tomography (CT) is an approach for implementing energy-resolved CT imaging using a flat-panel-detector-based cone-beam system. In this study, we performed experiments with a 20-cm-diameter phantom on a clinical X-ray imager. The material density results showed good agreement with the ideal values. We also propose an improved method for obtaining the detector response function and the X-ray spectrum, which requires fewer measurements and will be practical for future clinical use. Issues such as scatter and image noise remain to be addressed.     

A simulation study on the influence of scattered X-rays in energy-resolved computed tomography

In computed tomography (CT), scattered X-rays are known to cause image quality degradation including low contrast and poor uniformity. Energy-resolved CT (ERCT) is a specialized imaging method that utilizes the measured energy distribution and intensity of detected X-rays when creating images. The influence of scatter in ERCT is expected to differ from conventional CT, which only relies on energy (charge) integration during detection. Monte Carlo simulations were performed with different X-ray beam qualities and contrast agents to determine the influence of scatter on ERCT images. The simulation geometry included a 16 cm diameter cylindrical polymethylmethacrylate phantom containing a 1 cm diameter region filled with iodine or gold contrast agent solution at the center. A detector array collected the photon energy, position, and number of scattering. The image contrast and scatter artifact in the simulated ERCT images were compared as a function of photon energy range. Results show that the scatter artifact in ERCT is correlated to energy and is affected by the beam hardness. Care should be taken while obtaining ERCT images in the low-energy region, specifically near the K-edge of iodine.     

Three-dimensional time-averaged void fraction distribution measurement technique for BWR thermal hydraulic conditions using an X-ray CT system

We have developed a void fraction distribution measurement technique using the three-dimensional (3D) time-averaged X-ray computed tomography (CT) system to understand two-phase flow behavior inside a fuel bundle for boiling water reactor (BWR) thermal hydraulic conditions of 7.2 MPa and 288 °C. As a first step, we measured the 3D void fraction distribution in a vertical square (5?×?5) rod array that simulated a BWR fuel bundle in the air–water test. A comparison of the volume-averaged void fractions evaluated by the developed X-ray CT system with those evaluated by a differential pressure transducer showed satisfactory agreement within a difference of 0.03. Thus, we confirmed that the developed system could be used to get 3D imaging of the vertical square rod array used in the test under the BWR operating pressure condition. In the next step, we did a verification test using the vertical pipe (11.3 mm ID) for BWR thermal hydraulic conditions. A comparison of the cross-sectional-averaged void fractions evaluated by the X-ray CT system with those evaluated by the drift-flux model showed good agreement within a difference of 0.05. We confirmed that the evaluated void fraction distribution forms in the horizontal cross section changed with the quality in response to the flow regime transition.     

X射线衍射技术用于酒精检测的实验研究

酒精是液体安检中非常重要的检测对象,准确的溶液浓度分析,有利于安检系统对于液体物质危险等级的评定以及后续的检查。衍射峰也可能成为一项重要的物理参数,为液体分类提供有价值的识别信息。采用X射线衍射（XRD）实验方法,对不同浓度的酒精溶液进行了X射线衍射实验。为提高衍射谱测量的准确性,对实际测量中的系统误差进行了分析,并提出了几何标定方法。经过几何标定和能谱校正,得到了衍射峰位与酒精浓度的关系。     

小型静态CT用多焦点X射线源电子束偏转系统研究

第5代全静态电子束CT（EBCT）能在被检测物体、射线源和探测器均处于静止状态下完成CT扫描成像。这种EBCT成像方式既可应用于粉体材料、生物活体样品等易形变物体的CT检测,又可应用于物流包裹、在役管线等的快速CT检测。高精度的电子束偏转系统是静态CT成像多焦点射线源的关键技术之一。本文基于麦克斯韦电磁场相互作用理论,探讨了电子束在均匀磁场、小偏转角、近轴区域内的散焦、畸变及灵敏度特性,研究了影响电子束扫描系统焦点位置重复精度的物理参数及电子束在靶平面上的扫描偏转量与偏转线圈电流的线性关系。并设计、加工制作了一种小型高精度多焦点X射线的电子束偏转扫描系统,实验采用直径0.1 mm标准针规电子束扫描DR投影图像序列,验证了电子束偏转系统有良好的偏转线性,偏转量正比于O点的磁场强度,而与电子束的位置等初始条件无关。实验通过电子束偏转系统控制电子束偏转扫描,获得了熔断式保险管（Ø100 μm）的250个 X 射线视角投影,完成了第5代全静态三维CT重建图像。     

A curve-based material recognition method in MeV dual-energy X-ray imaging system

High-energy dual-energy X-ray digital radiography imaging is mainly used in the material recognition of cargo inspection. We introduce the development history and principle of the technology and describe the data process flow of our system. The system corrects original data to get a dual-energy transparence image. Material categories of all points in the image are identified by the classification curve,which is related to the X-ray energy spectrum. For the calibration of classification curve, our strategy involves a basic curve calibration and a real-time correction devoted to enhancing the classification accuracy. Image segmentation and denoising methods are applied to smooth the image. The image contains more information after colorization. Some results show that our methods achieve the desired effect.     

静态CT行包安检系统关键技术研究

本文介绍了安检用静态CT技术的基本原理,对基于超顺排碳纳米管技术的冷阴极X射线源、基于光子计数技术的多能谱X射线成像技术和安检用静态CT系统图像重建算法等进行了研究。冷阴极X射线源由基于超顺排碳纳米管技术的冷阴极X射线管、两套高压系统和1个控制系统组成,在130 kV以下可稳定工作。研制并测试了一款具有三能谱成像功能的光子计数型X射线探测器系统。对安检用静态CT系统图像重建算法进行了讨论,提出了一种解决方法。安检用静态CT系统关键技术的研究为安检用静态CT系统的研制提供了技术基础。     

评价衍射增强成像空间分辨率的方法

衍射增强成像是X射线成像领域的前沿科技。相比于传统的吸收成像,衍射增强成像能大幅提高图像的衬度,尤其是对于由C、H、O、N等低原子序数元素构成的物体,这一特性使得衍射增强成像在医学诊断方面具有突出的应用价值。目前还没有系统评价衍射增强成像空间分辨率的方法。本文通过构建成像系统的调制传递函数模型,推导出衍射增强成像的空间分辨率计算公式,从而对衍射增强实验平台的整体性能进行综合评价。调制传递函数综合考虑了摇摆曲线几何、CCD像素尺寸、闪烁体荧光弥散效应对系统空间分辨率的固有影响,并详细分析了系统调制传递函数各因素对空间分辨率的影响规律,为衍射增强实验平台的物理设计及设备选型提供理论依据。     

Three-dimensional restoration of single photon emission computedtomography images

Restoration of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images is usually performed either on two-dimensional (2-D) projection images (pre-reconstruction restoration) or on SPECT slices (post-reconstruction restoration). This study presents the application of a three-dimensional (3-D) filter in restoring SPECT images. The 3-D filter is shown to perform better than the 2-D methods because it takes into consideration the interslice information in the filtering process and has a relatively space-invariant blur function. To reduce the space-variance of the 3-D point spread function (PSF), conjugate projections were combined by geometric averaging before reconstruction. We investigated the potential of 3-D Wiener and power spectrum equalization (PSE) filters. These filters were applied to SPECT images of a resolution phantom and a large, truncated cone phantom containing two types of cold spots: a sphere, and a triangular prism. The filters were also applied to clinical images of the liver and spleen. The images were acquired on an ADAC GENESYS camera. A comparison was performed between results obtained in this study and those obtained by 2-D pre-reconstruction restoration and 2-D post-reconstruction restoration filters. Quantitative analysis of the 3-D restored images performed through measurement of root mean squared (RMS) errors and contrast ratios showed a considerable reduction in error and increase in contrast over images restored using the two other methods     

Iterative Methods for Solving the Neutron Transport Equation in 1-D Spherical Geometry

In this note, we propose an iterative methods technique for solving the neutron transport equation in 1-D spherical geometry. More precisely we analyze the theoretical and numerical aspect of Jacobi and Gauss-Siedel algorithms in an infinite dimension, and compare there with the classical method. These algorithms are based on a splitting of the collision operator taking into account the characteristics of the transport operator. One of the advantages of these algorithms is that give a good rate of convergence, and they are independent of the discretization chosen for the neutron transport equation.     

应用于一种工业单层CT的三维成像的实现方法

应用于集装箱、箱包CT检测系统的三维成像方法是此类工业CT检测系统产品化的重要研究部分。参考其它领域的CT三维成像方法,提出了三种可行性较大的成像算法,轮廓线连接法Marching Cubes(MC)方法以及基于距离函数的MC方法,并加以比较。对于集装箱、箱包CT检测系统的三维成像功能研制具有重要意义。     

X射线光栅相衬成像中保留源光栅的探测器校正方法

本文提出了一种X射线光栅相衬成像探测器校正方法,该方法无需移除靠近光源的源光栅,而是将其与光源作为一个整体参与增益校正。在基于几何投影的光栅相衬成像系统上,开展了利用传统的探测器校正与本文提出的探测器校正方法的对比实验,两种方法获得了一致的结果。实验结果表明,本文方法大幅简化了实验操作流程,提高了系统的稳定性,对于实现X射线相衬成像的临床应用有一定的推进意义。     

An industrial CT system for monitoring a running aero-engine

In order to improve aerodynamic performance and efficiency, monitoring the geometry and position information of the internal structure with the aero-engine under various operational statuses is an important task. In this paper, a novel design of industrial computed tomography(ICT) system with a linac as X-ray source is proposed to complete the task. The major advantage of the proposed system is that it can provide visualized images of internal structures of the running aero-engine without physical disturbance, which makes it possible to extract the accurate geometry information. The main idea behind this design is to measure the projection data from various views for reconstructions making use of the rotations of the aero-engine blades, instead of the mechanical rotations in the conventional ICT system. However, due to high speed rotation of the aero-engine blades,the system faces more challenges than conventional ICT systems both in data acquisitions and reconstruction algorithms. The challenges and corresponding solutions are presented in this paper. In conclusion, the proposed ICT system provides a powerful tool for monitoring the running aero-engines.     

Noise Reduction for Low-Dose Single-Slice Helical CT Sinograms

Helical computed tomography (HCT) has several advantages over conventional step-and-shoot CT for imaging a relatively large object, especially for dynamic studies. However, HCT may increase X-ray exposure significantly. This work aims to reduce the radiation by lowering X-ray tube current (mA) and filtering low-mA (or dose) sinogram noise of HCT. The noise reduction method is based on three observations on HCT: (1) the axial sampling of HCT projections is nearly continuous as detection system rotates; (2) the noise distribution in sinogram space is nearly a Gaussian after system calibration (including logarithmic transform); and (3) the relationship between the calibrated data mean and variance can be expressed as an exponential functional across the field-of-view. Based on the second and third observations, a penalized weighted least-squares (PWLS) solution is an optimal choice, where the weight is given by the mean-variance relationship. The first observation encourages the use of Karhunen-Loève (KL) transform along the axial direction because of the associated correlation. In the KL domain, the eigenvalue of each principal component and the derived data variance provide the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) information, resulting in a SNR-adaptive noise reduction. The KL-PWLS noise-reduction method was implemented analytically for efficient restoration of large volume HCT sinograms. Simulation studies showed a noticeable improvement, in terms of image quality and defect detectability, of the proposed noise-reduction method over the Ordered-Subsets Expectation-Maximization reconstruction and the conventional low-pass noise filtering with optimal cutoff frequency and/or other filter parameters.     

Incoherent-scatter computed tomography with monochromaticsynchrotron x ray: feasibility of multi-CT imaging system forsimultaneous measurement-of fluorescent and incoherent scatter x rays

We describe a new system of incoherent scatter computed tomography (ISCT) using monochromatic synchrotron X rays, and we discuss its potential to be used in in vivo imaging for medical use. The system operates on the basis of computed tomography (CT) of the first generation. The reconstruction method for ISCT uses the least squares method with singular value decomposition. The research was carried out at the BLNE-5A bending magnet beam line of the Tristan Accumulation Ring in KEK, Japan. An acrylic cylindrical phantom of 20-mm diameter containing a cross-shaped channel was imaged. The channel was filled with a diluted iodine solution with a concentration of 200 μgI/ml. Spectra obtained with the system's high purity germanium (HPGe) detector separated the incoherent X-ray line from the other notable peaks, i.e., the iK_α and K_β1 X-ray fluorescent lines and the coherent scattering peak. CT images were reconstructed from projections generated by integrating the counts In the energy window centering around the incoherent scattering peak and whose width was approximately 2 keV. The reconstruction routine employed an X-ray attenuation correction algorithm. The resulting image showed more homogeneity than one without the attenuation correction     

Investigation of optimal scanning protocol for X-ray computed tomography polymer gel dosimetry

X-ray computed tomography is one of the potential tool used to evaluate the polymer gel dosimeters in three dimensions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors which affect the image noise for X-ray CT polymer gel dosimetry. A cylindrical water filled phantom was imaged with single slice Siemens Somatom Emotion CT scanner. The imaging parameters like tube voltage, tube current, slice scan time, slice thickness and reconstruction algorithm were varied independently to study the dependence of noise on each other. Reductions of noise with number of images to be averaged and spatial uniformity of the image were also investigated. Normoxic polymer gel PAGAT was manufactured and irradiated using Siemens Primus linear accelerator. The radiation induced change in CT number was evaluated using X-ray CT scanner. From this study it is clear that image noise is reduced with increase in tube voltage, tube current, slice scan time, slice thickness and also reduced with increasing the number of images averaged. However to reduce the tube load and total scan time, it was concluded that tube voltage of 130 kV, tube current of 200 mA, scan time of 1.5 s, slice thickness of 3 mm for high dose gradient and 5 mm for low dose gradient were optimal scanning protocols for this scanner. Optimum number of images to be averaged was concluded to be 25 for X-ray CT polymer gel dosimetry. Choice of reconstruction algorithm was also critical. From the study it is also clear that CT number increase with imaging tube voltage and shows the energy dependency of polymer gel dosimeter. Hence for evaluation of polymer gel dosimeters with X-ray CT scanner needs the optimization of scanning protocols to reduce the image noise.