A computer code to simulate X-ray imaging techniques

Abstract

A computer code was developed to simulate the operation of radiographic, radioscopic or tomographic devices. The simulation is based on ray-tracing techniques and on the X-ray attenuation law. The use of computer-aided drawing (CAD) models enables simulations to be carried out with complex three-dimensional (3D) objects and the geometry of every component of the imaging chain, from the source to the detector, can be defined. Geometric unsharpness, for example, can be easily taken into account, even in complex configurations. Automatic translations or rotations of the object can be performed to simulate radioscopic or tomographic image acquisition. Simulations can be carried out with monochromatic or polychromatic beam spectra. This feature enables, for example, the beam hardening phenomenon to be dealt with or dual energy imaging techniques to be studied. The simulation principle is completely deterministic and consequently the computed images present no photon noise. Nevertheless, the variance of the signal associated with each pixel of the detector can be determined, which enables contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) maps to be computed, in order to predict quantitatively the detectability of defects in the inspected object. The CNR is a relevant indicator for optimizing the experimental parameters. This paper provides several examples of simulated images that illustrate some of the rich possibilities offered by our software. Depending on the simulation type, the computation time order of magnitude can vary from 0.1 s (simple radiographic projection) up to several hours (3D tomography) on a PC, with a 400 MHz microprocessor. Our simulation tool proves to be useful in developing new specific applications, in choosing the most suitable components when designing a new testing chain, and in saving time by reducing the number of experimental tests.