WE‐G‐204‐04: Focal Spot Deblurring For High Resolution Amorphous Selenium (aSe) Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) X‐Ray Detector

Abstract

Purpose:CMOS‐based aSe detectors compared to CsI‐TFT‐based flat panels have the advantages of higher spatial sampling due to smaller pixel size and decreased blurring characteristic of direct rather than indirect detection. For systems with such detectors, the limiting factor degrading image resolution then becomes the focal‐spot geometric unsharpness. This effect can seriously limit the use of such detectors in areas such as cone beam computed tomography, clinical fluoroscopy and angiography. In this work a technique to remove the effect of focal‐spot blur is presented for a simulated aSe detector.Method:To simulate images from an aSe detector affected with focal‐spot blur, first a set of high‐resolution images of a stent (FRED from Microvention, Inc.) were acquired using a 75µm pixel size Dexela‐Perkin‐Elmer detector and averaged to reduce quantum noise. Then the averaged image was blurred with a known Gaussian blur at two different magnifications to simulate an idealized focal spot. The blurred images were then deconvolved with a set of different Gaussian blurs to remove the effect of focal‐spot blurring using a threshold‐based, inverse‐filtering method.Results:The blur was removed by deconvolving the images using a set of Gaussian functions for both magnifications. Selecting the correct function resulted in an image close to the original; however, selection of too wide a function would cause severe artifacts.Conclusion:Experimentally, focal‐spot blur at different magnifications can be measured using a pin hole with a high resolution detector. This spread function can be used to deblur the input images that are acquired at corresponding magnifications to correct for the focal spot blur. For CBCT applications, the magnification of specific objects can be obtained using initial reconstructions then corrected for focal‐spot blurring to improve resolution. Similarly, if object magnification can be determined such correction may be applied in fluoroscopy and angiography.