Abstract
X-ray grating-based phase-contrast imaging has raised interest regarding a variety of potential clinical applications, whereas the method is feasible using a medical x-ray tube. Yet, the transition towards a clinical setup remains challenging due to the requirement of mechanical robustness of the interferometer and high demands applying to medical equipment in clinical use. We demonstrate the successful implementation of a Talbot-Lau interferometer in an interventional c-arm setup. The consequence of vibrations induced by the rotating anode of the tube is discussed and the prototype is shown to provide a visibility of 21.4% at a tube voltage of 60 kV despite the vibrations. Regarding clinical application, the prototype is mainly set back due to the limited size of the field of view covering an area of 17 mm × 46 mm. A c-arm offers the possibility to change the optical axis according to the requirements of the medical examination. We provide a method to correct for artifacts that result from the angulation of the c-arm. Finally, the images of a series of measurements with the c-arm in different angulated positions are shown. Thereby, it is sufficient to perform a single reference measurement in parking position that is valid for the complete series despite angulation.
Highlights
In clinical routine, up to now solely the attenuation of x-rays interacting with matter has been employed to form the image
Regarding medical applications carried out using a medical x-ray tube with large focal spot size and a polychromatic x-ray spectrum at higher acceleration voltages above 50 kV, a first measurement has been reported with a CT measurement of a human cervical spine[28]
A regular Talbot-Lau interferometer has been used consisting of a polychromatic medical x-ray tube with an extended focal spot S10, a flat-panel scintillating x-ray detector D, and the three gratings G0, G1, and G2
Summary
Up to now solely the attenuation of x-rays interacting with matter has been employed to form the image. X-ray grating-based phase-contrast imaging[7,8,9] is a imaging modality that has been expanded to medical tubes of low brilliance[10], as well. A conventional attenuation image, a differential phase-contrast image, and a dark-field image is calculated from a reference measurement without object and an object measurement with the object in place. Scaling the method from laboratory setups to human-size specimen in a preclinical setup, several challenges have to be overcome: the transition towards higher x-ray energies suitable for medical imaging of larger parts of the human body, the increment of the size of possible measurable specimens, and the realization of sufficient image quality at low doses to enable in vivo imaging in combination with fast data acquisition. A scanning interferometer has been reported for an edge-illumination setup, recently[37,38]
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