Image acquisition, geometric correction and display of images from a 2x2 x-ray detector array based on electron multiplying charge coupled device (EMCCD) technology

Abstract

A high resolution (up to 11.2 lp/mm) x-ray detector with larger field of view (8.5 cm × 8.5 cm) has been developed. The detector is a 2 × 2 array of individual imaging modules based on EMCCD technology. Each module outputs a frame of size 1088 × 1037 pixels, each 12 bits. The frames from the 4 modules are acquired into the processing computer using one of two techniques. The first uses 2 CameraLink communication channels with each carrying information from two modules, the second uses a application specific custom integrated circuits, the Multiple Module Multiplexer Integrated Circuit (MMMIC), 3 of which are used to multiplex the data from 4 modules into one CameraLink channel. Once the data is acquired using either of the above mentioned techniques, it is decoded in the graphics processing unit (GPU) to form one single frame of size 2176 × 2074 pixels each 16 bits. Each imaging module uses a fiber optic taper coupled to the EMCCD sensor. To correct for mechanical misalignment between the sensors and the fiber optic tapers and produce a single seamless image, the images in each module may be rotated and translated slightly in the x-y plane with respect to each other. To evaluate the detector acquisition and correction techniques, an aneurysm model was placed over an anthropomorphic head phantom and a coil was guided into the aneurysm under fluoroscopic guidance using the detector array. Image sequences before and after correction are presented which show near-seamless boundary matching and are well suited for fluoroscopic imaging.