A dual-energy approach for improvement of the measurement consistency in computed tomography

Abstract

Computed tomography is increasingly adopted by industries for metrological and material evaluation. The technology enables new measurement possibilities, while also challenging old measurement methods in their established territories. There are, however, uncertainties related with the computed tomography method. Investigation of multi-material components with, in particular, varying material thickness can result in unreliable measurements. In this paper the effects of multi-materials, and differing material thickness, on computed tomography measurement consistency has been studied. The aim of the study was to identify measurement inconsistencies and attempt to correct these with a dual-energy computed tomography approach. In this pursuit, a multi-material phantom was developed, containing reliable measurement points and custom-ability with regards to material combinations. A dual-energy method was developed and implemented using sequential acquisition and pre-reconstruction fusing of projections. It was found that measurements made on the multi-material phantom with a single computed tomography scan were highly inconsistent. It was also found that the dual-energy approach was able to reduce the measurement inconsistencies. However, more work is required with the automation of the dual-energy approach presented in this paper since it is highly operator dependant.