CTmod—A toolkit for Monte Carlo simulation of projections including scatter in computed tomography

Abstract

The CTmod toolkit is a set of C++ class libraries based on the CERN’s application development framework ROOT. It uses the Monte Carlo method to simulate energy imparted to a CT-scanner detector array. Photons with a given angle–energy distribution are emitted from the X-ray tube approximated by a point source, transported through a phantom, and their contribution to the energy imparted per unit surface area of each detector element is scored. Alternatively, the scored quantity may be the fluence, energy fluence, plane fluence, plane energy fluence, or kerma to air in the center of each detector element. Phantoms are constructed from homogenous solids or voxel arrays via overlapping. Implemented photon interactions (photoelectric effect, coherent scattering, and incoherent scattering) are restricted to the energy range from 10 to 200 keV. Variance reduction techniques include the collision density estimator and survival biasing combined with the Russian roulette. The toolkit has been used to estimate the amount of scatter in cone beam computed tomography and planar radiography.