Pinhole Geometry Research Articles

Parallel large-range scanning confocal microscope based on a digital micromirror device

A multi-point parallel large-range confocal microscope was designed and developed based on a digital micromirror device (DMD). Operated with specific patterns, the DMD can transform a single light source into multiple beams. The DMD functions as a virtual pinhole array and takes the place of traditional pinholes to realize parallel lateral scanning The DMD based confocal system can achieve parallel scanning in the case of ensuring axial resolution with high axial resolution. In that way, it can not only increase the inspection speed, but also safeware control the key parameters of the system, such as pinhole size and geometry. Interference patterns duo to reflections at the inner surfaces of the beamsplitter cube were eliminated, and a transverse scanning strategy was developed. In order to characterize the system, the depth response curves were acquired and finally the three-dimensional images of the target object was successfully reconstructed with a uncertainty of about 0.5%.

Depth-of-Interaction Compensation Using a Focused-Cut Scintillator for a Pinhole Gamma Camera

Preclinical SPECT offers a powerful means to understand the molecular pathways of drug interactions in animal models by discovering and testing new pharmaceuticals and therapies for potential clinical applications. A combination of high spatial resolution and sensitivity are required in order to map radiotracer uptake within small animals. Pinhole collimators have been investigated, as they offer high resolution by means of image magnification. One of the limitations of pinhole geometries is that increased magnification causes some rays to travel through the detection scintillator at steep angles, introducing parallax errors due to variable depth-of-interaction in scintillator material, especially towards the edges of the detector field of view. These parallax errors ultimately limit the resolution of pinhole preclinical SPECT systems, especially for higher energy isotopes that can easily penetrate through millimeters of scintillator material. A pixellated, focused-cut (FC) scintillator, with its pixels laser-cut so that they are collinear with incoming rays, can potentially compensate for these parallax errors and thus improve the system resolution. We performed the first experimental evaluation of a newly developed focused-cut scintillator. We scanned a Tc-99m source across the field of view of pinhole gamma camera with a continuous scintillator, a conventional "straight-cut" (SC) pixellated scintillator, and a focused-cut scintillator, each coupled to an electron-multiplying charge coupled device (EMCCD) detector by a fiber-optic taper, and compared the measured full-width half-maximum (FWHM) values. We show that the FWHMs of the focused-cut scintillator projections are comparable to the FWHMs of the thinner SC scintillator, indicating the effectiveness of the focused-cut scintillator in compensating parallax errors.

Analysis of painted arts by energy sensitive radiographic techniques with the Pixel Detector Timepix

Non-invasive techniques utilizing X-ray radiation offer a significant advantage in scientific investigations of painted arts and other cultural artefacts such as painted artworks or statues. In addition, there is also great demand for a mobile analytical and real-time imaging device given the fact that many fine arts cannot be transported. The highly sensitive hybrid semiconductor pixel detector, Timepix, is capable of detecting and resolving subtle and low-contrast differences in the inner composition of a wide variety of objects. Moreover, it is able to map the surface distribution of the contained elements. Several transmission and emission techniques are presented which have been proposed and tested for the analysis of painted artworks. This study focuses on the novel techniques of X-ray transmission radiography (conventional and energy sensitive) and X-ray induced fluorescence imaging (XRF) which can be realised at the table-top scale with the state-of-the-art pixel detector Timepix. Transmission radiography analyses the changes in the X-ray beam intensity caused by specific attenuation of different components in the sample. The conventional approach uses all energies from the source spectrum for the creation of the image while the energy sensitive alternative creates images in given energy intervals which enable identification and separation of materials. The XRF setup is based on the detection of characteristic radiation induced by X-ray photons through a pinhole geometry collimator. The XRF method is extremely sensitive to the material composition but it creates only surface maps of the elemental distribution. For the purpose of the analysis several sets of painted layers have been prepared in a restoration laboratory. The composition of these layers corresponds to those of real historical paintings from the 19th century. An overview of the current status of our methods will be given with respect to the instrumentation and the application in the field of cultural heritage.

Neutron tomography using an elliptic focusing guide

An elliptic focusing neutron guide was combined with a cold neutron imaging instrument to produce a cone-beam, whose parameters were then characterized both at the focal point and at the detector position. This point source geometry provides improved experimental conditions for tomographic applications, providing a larger beam cross-section and enabling geometric magnification. The experimental data were compared with Monte Carlo simulations and both experiments and simulations demonstrate superior spectral and geometric homogeneity of the cone-beam setup compared to the conventional pinhole geometry.

Experimental determination of resolution function parameters from small-angle neutron scattering data of a colloidal SiO2dispersion

A dilute dispersion of charge-stabilized, monodisperse silica nanoparticles has been used to determine the instrumental resolution function parameters of a conventional small-angle neutron scattering instrument in pinhole geometry over the entire accessible range of momentum transferq. Independent determination of the structure parameters of the colloidal silica dispersion by small-angle X-ray scattering enables refinement of both theq-independent geometric and theq-dependent (wavelength spread or polychromaticity of the neutron beam) contributions to the resolution function. The procedure described is appropriate if no further instrumental characterization is available. It is demonstrated that the sample used for refining the resolution function parameters has to exhibit sharp structural scattering features such as Bragg reflections, form factor maxima and minima, or an inter-particle correlation peak for each instrumental configuration at which the measurements have been performed to cover aqrange of two orders of magnitude (0.03 <q< 3.2 nm−1).

Simplified manual fabrication of cubic-zirconia gem anvils for extended energy-range spectroscopic studies to routine high pressures of 100–150 kbar (10–15 GPa)

Methodology has been developed so as to attain routine extreme conditions as high as 10-15 GPa in a gem anvil optical pressure cell using hand (manual) processed gem anvils. The anvils polished by a simplified hand held tool are inexpensive single crystal cubic zirconia (CZ) gems that have various optical advantages over diamond anvils. Appreciable pressures are attained with culet and corresponding sample cavity dimensions that are relatively convenient to load with sample material. Some technical details are provided as regards the simplified manual fabrication process, thus emphasizing the relative ease and cost effectiveness of the hand polishing technique for fabricating such high pressure anvils. Raman spectroscopy measurements, in triple subtractive mode with a confocal pinhole geometry, are used to exemplify the usefulness of the CZ gem anvil cell methodology in pressure tuning experiments. This is particularly convenient for conventional low wave-number (lattice mode regime) Raman high pressure studies, which have not been reported previously in this context. Various other applications of such anvils are suggested.

Flow Conductance of a Single Nanohole

The mass flow conductance of single nanoholes with a diameter ranging from 75 to 100 nm was measured using mass spectrometry. For all nanoholes, a smooth crossover is observed between single-particle statistical flow (effusion) and the collective viscous flow emanating from the formation of a continuum. This crossover is shown to occur when the gas mean free path matches the size of the nanohole diameter. As a consequence of the pinhole geometry, the breakdown of the Poiseuille approximation is observed in the power-law temperature exponent of the measured conductance.

Strategies for data collection and calibration with a pinhole-geometry SAXS instrument on a synchrotron beamline

Undulator X-ray sources on third-generation synchrotrons have pushed small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to the forefront of techniques in nanoscience and technology. With higher X-ray fluxes and improved focusing, it is usually the scattered intensity detector that places the most serious limitations on the overall capabilities of the instrument. Incorporating relatively simple components like point detectors, scattering standards, masking filters and in-line sample visualization into the flight tube of a pinhole-geometry SAXS camera can do much to mitigate these limitations. How these enhancements can be incorporated into routine data collection is demonstrated on the ChemMatCARS SAXS instrument, which utilizes pinhole geometry with an undulator insertion device at sector 15 of the Advanced Photon Source. In addition, with an X-ray energy range of 6-32 keV (2.0-0.4 A) and an energy resolution of 10(-4) DeltaE/E, this instrument can measure anomalous SAXS over a wide variety of atom species, with reliable normalization of scattered data.

Simulation and Validation of Point Spread Functions in Pinhole SPECT Imaging

Modeling and assessment of point spread functions (PSFs) of pinhole collimators is essential for the design of small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging systems, and are gaining increasing importance with the advent of multipinhole imaging techniques. PSFs also can be used in resolution recovery methods implemented in reconstruction algorithms. Therefore, we have developed and validated a ray-tracing approach to calculate PSFs and absolute detection efficiency of pinhole collimators in radionuclide imaging. The PSFs were calculated for user defined pinhole and source geometries with multiple rays to account for collimator penetration. For validation we compared our simulations to analytical models, Monte Carlo simulations from literature, and experiments with <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">99 m</sup> Tc sources using a variety of pinhole geometries including knife and keel edges. We find that shape and magnitude of the simulated PSFs are in very good agreement with analytical and experimental results. Importantly, our simulations show that the absolute detection efficiency of pinhole systems can be computed with an accuracy error of less than 10% using the ray-tracing approach. In contrast to Monte Carlo simulations ray-tracing simulations are computational very efficient and therefore very fast. In conclusion, we developed a ray-tracing method that calculates PSFs and detection efficiencies for different pinhole and source geometries quickly and reliably

Neutron source images and spectra to guide neutron diagnostics specifications for the National Ignition Facility

Both neutron images and spectra will diagnose ignition implosions at the National Ignition Facility. From the integrated Hohlraum and capsule calculations of copper-doped beryllium capsules using ∼1MJ of laser energy we have postprocessed neutron spectra and both energy-gated and time integrated neutron images displaying the observable consequences of two-dimensional Hohlraum asymmetries. If low signal precludes multiple down scattered images, we suggest a 6–12MeV gate. With asymmetries, it is noted that the neutron yield, spectra, and images vary with observation direction. The yield varies only several percent when observed at different angles. Since most asymmetries are expected about the Hohlraum axis, a perpendicular view has the highest priority. The next most informative view would be along the Hohlraum axis, but may be precluded by target chamber structures. We present images at the available port angles and discuss their utility. To facilitate detailed diagnostic simulations with real pinhole geometries or penumbral apertures, we offer a compact disk containing neutron spectra and gated images from various integrated calculations.

The new cold neutron radiography and tomography instrument CONRAD at HMI Berlin

The new cold neutron radiography instrument CONRAD is a multifunctional facility for radiography and tomography with cold neutrons at Hahn–Meitner Institut, Berlin. It is located at the end of a curved neutron guide, which faces the cold-neutron source of the BER-II research reactor. The geometry provides a cold-neutron beam with wavelengths between 2 and 12 Å. Two measuring positions are available for radiography and tomography investigations. The first one is placed at the end of the guide and it is optimized for in situ experiments in which a high neutron flux is required. The available flux at this position is approximately 10 8 cm −2 s −1. The second measuring position uses a pin-hole geometry which allows better beam collimation ( L/ D up to 1000) and higher image resolution in the range of 200 μm in the CCD based detector system (10×10 cm 2). The use of cold neutrons for radiography purposes increases the image contrast and improves the sensibility e.g., the detection of small amounts of water and hydrogen-containing materials in metal matrixes. On the other hand the cold-neutron beam can be modified easily by using diffraction and neutron optical techniques. This enables to perform radiography and tomography experiments with more sophisticated measuring techniques. Recent examples of research and industrial applications will be presented.

Imploded capsule fuel temperature and density measurement by energy-dependent neutron imaging

Neutron imaging systems measure the spatial distribution of neutron emission from burning inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets. These systems use a traditional pinhole geometry to project an image of the source onto a two-dimensional scintillator array, and a CCD records the resulting scintillation image. The recent history of ICF neutron images has produced images with qualities that have improved as the fusion neutron yields have increased to nearly 10{sup 14} neutrons. Anticipated future neutron yields in excess of 10{sup 16} at the National Ignition Facility and LMJ have raised the prospect of neuron imaging diagnostics which simultaneously probe several different characteristics of burning fusion targets. The new measurements rely on gated-image recording to select images corresponding to specific bands of neutron energies. Gated images of downscattered neutrons with energies from 5 to 8 MeV can emphasize regions of the target which contain DT fuel which is not burning. At the same time, gated images which select different portions of the 14-MeV spectral peak can produce spatial temperature maps of a burning target. Since the neutron production depends on the DT fuel density and temperature, simultaneous images of temperature and neutron emission can be combined to infer the an image ofmore » the source density using an Abel inversion method that is analogous to the method that has been used in x-ray imaging. Thus, with higher-yield sources, neutron imaging offers the potential to record simultaneously several critical features that characterize the performance of an ICF target: the neutron emission distribution, the temperature and density distributions, and the distribution of nonburning fuel within the target.« less

A geometric system model of finite aperture in small animal pinhole SPECT imaging

Accurate system modeling of the photon acquisition process is essential for optimizing quality in pinhole SPECT imaging. Conventional pinhole SPECT imaging assumes ideal pinhole geometry. However, neglect of pinhole finite aperture could lead to unfavorable quality degradations, such as positioning bias and image distortion. In this work, we develop a system model in which the aperture width of a pinhole collimator is explicitly included. The system model describes the probability of a single photon from its emission to detection. The probability value is calculated based on the effective intersection area resulting from a simulated cone-beam light source emitting from the image voxel, passing through a finite aperture, and reaching the detector's frontal face. The proposed model can be integrated with the ordered subsets expectation maximization (OSEM) algorithm for fast 3D statistical image reconstruction. Monte Carlo-based phantom experiments are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed system model compared to the ideal pinhole model. Reconstructed image results demonstrate that the proposed model can improve image quality in terms of reducing location bias and maintaining better contrast recovery.

An analytical algorithm for skew‐slit imaging geometry with nonuniform attenuation correction

The pinhole collimator is currently the collimator of choice in small animal single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging because it can provide high spatial resolution and reasonable sensitivity when the animal is placed very close to the pinhole. It is well known that if the collimator rotates around the object (e.g., a small animal) in a circular orbit to form a cone-beam imaging geometry with a planar trajectory, the acquired data are not sufficient for an exact artifact-free image reconstruction. In this paper a novel skew-slit collimator is mounted instead of the pinhole collimator in order to significantly reduce the image artifacts caused by the geometry. The skew-slit imaging geometry is a more generalized version of the pinhole imaging geometry. The multiple pinhole geometry can also be extended to the multiple-skew-slit geometry. An analytical algorithm for image reconstruction based on the tilted fan-beam inversion is developed with nonuniform attenuation compensation. Numerical simulation shows that the axial artifacts are evidently suppressed in the skew-slit images compared to the pinhole images and the attenuation correction is effective.

Possible application of compound Fresnel lens for neutron beam focusing

We have developed a Fresnel-type focusing device for cold neutrons fabricated using single crystals of magnesium fluoride. This stacked-lens device using 50 elements (with 50 beam–bending interfaces) demonstrated a focal length of 5 m with a good transmission of 0.829 for 1.14 nm neutrons. The focused beam was 5 times more intense than a beam of the same spot size with the same final flight path length produced with the traditional pinhole collimation. The background-scattering noise from lens was an order of magnitude larger than that of the traditional pinhole collimation in the momentum range of 0.01 –0.05 nm −1 , almost 10 −3 of focused direct beam at the lowest momentum transfers measurable. This device produced an intensity gain in measured SANS data of more than 10 times when compared with the conventional pinhole geometry with the same minimum momentum transfer.

Soft X-ray Spectroscopic Imager Using a Micro channel Plate for Plasma Studies and its Calibration

We developed a soft x-ray spectroscopic imager using a pin-hole collimator, a changeable aluminum filter array, an MCP and a CCD camera. It can show not only the dynamic x-ray image from plasma but also a stationary image of x-ray with an energy band selected by using a pair of consecutive filters. Before installing the imager in the Hanbit plasma device in Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon, Korea, we suggested a simple method of conversion of pixel brightness values into the absolute x-ray photon flux density of the selected energy band by using the central pixel values. The conversion coefficients were obtained by using the measured x-ray spectra from a conventional x- ray generator. Alsowe did a simple calculation to produce a look-up table of the non-uniformity of pixel responses, for correction of the image distortion due to the MCP bias angle and the pin-hole geometry.

A high sensitivity pinhole camera for soft condensed matter

A significant improvement in the sensitivity of a Huxley-Holmes design for a small angle X-ray scattering camera is obtained by separating the mirror and the monochromator. The "separated optics" camera described in this paper involves a long X-ray mirror close to a point X-ray source associated with a curved focusing crystal located close to the sample. The sample area is located at half the distance between the source and detector planes. Diffuse scattering produced by the mirror is not incident on the focusing crystal, thus reducing the background signal. Complete elimination of hard X-rays allows precise calibration and hence absolute determination of sample cross-section by means of a semi-transparent beam-stop. In pinhole geometry, the flux corresponds to a ca. 107 photons/s through the sample, collimated to q=10-2 Å-1 in scattering vector range. This allows determination of scattered intensities of the order of 10-3 cm-1, corresponding to the scattering related to isothermal compressibility of less than 0.1 mm of pure water. Values of absolute intensities for water as well as convenient widespread buffer solutions are shown, in order to be usable for calibration as secondary standards. As solid reference sample, the widely studied Lupolentm – a semi-crystalline polymer- is calibrated. The high-q limit (q ≃ 4.5 nm–1 ) of a porous calcite sample can be used as a secondary standard for specific area determination of solid/solid or solid-liquid dispersions.

Improving sensitivity of a small angle x-ray scattering camera with pinhole collimation using separated optical elements

We show that a significant improvement in the sensitivity of a Huxley–Holmes design for a small angle x-ray scattering camera is obtained by separating the mirror and the monochromator. The design of the camera involves a long x-ray mirror close to a point x-ray source associated with a curved focusing crystal located close to the sample. The sample area is located at half the distance between the source and detector planes. Diffuse scattering produced by the mirror is not incident on the focusing crystal, thus reducing the background signal. Complete elimination of hard x rays allows precise calibration and hence absolute determination of sample cross section by means of a semitransparent beam stop. In pinhole geometry, the flux corresponds to a ∼107 photons/s through the sample, collimated to 10−2 Å−1 in q range. This allows determination of scattered intensities on the order of 10−3 cm−1, corresponding to the scattering related to isothermal compressibility of less than 0.1 mm of pure water. As a reference sample, the widely used Lupolen™, a semicrystalline polymer, is calibrated. The high-q limit (q≈4.5 nm−1) of a porous calcite sample can be used as a secondary standard for specific area determination of solid/solid or solid–liquid dispersions.

Monte Carlo simulations of pinhole imaging accelerated by kernel-based forced detection

Pinhole collimation can provide both higher sensitivity and resolution than parallel hole collimation when used to image small objects. When objects are placed close to the pinhole, small pinhole diameters combined with high-magnification pinhole geometries yield ultra high resolution images. With Monte Carlo (MC) calculations it is possible to simulate accurately a wide range of features of pinhole imaging. The aim of the present work is to accelerate MC simulations of pinhole SPECT projections. To achieve speed-up, forced detection (FD), a commonly used acceleration technique, is replaced by a kernel-based forced detection (KFD) step. In KFD, instead of tracing individual photons from the source or last scatter position to the detector, a position dependent kernel (point spread function (PSF)) is projected on the detector. The PSFs for channel and knife edge pinhole apertures model the penetration effects through the aperture material. For simulations, the PSFs are pre-calculated and stored in tables. The speed-up and accuracy achieved by using KFD were validated by means of digital phantoms. MC simulations with FD and with KFD converge to almost identical images. However, KFD converges to an equal image noise level one to four orders of magnitude faster than FD, depending on the number of photons simulated. A simulator accelerated by KFD could serve as a practical tool to improve iterative image reconstruction.

Pinhole SPECT of mice using the LumaGEM gamma camera

LumaGEM is a newly developed gamma camera for dedicated, small field of view, high spatial resolution imaging. The system consists of an array of 2/spl times/2/spl times/6 mm/sup 3/ NaI(Tl) pixels coupled to an array of position-sensitive photomultiplier tubes. It has a 125/spl times/125 mm/sup 2/ field of view. A pinhole collimator was used on LumaGEM to acquire SPECT images of mice that had transgenic modifications so as to model various diseases. Pinhole apertures of 1, 2 and 3 mm are interchangeable on the collimator and were used to acquire images. An iterative MLEM algorithm for pinhole SPECT was used to reconstruct the 128 projection images that covered 360/spl deg/ rotation. The reconstruction algorithm is based on a projector and backprojector pair implemented using a ray-tracing algorithm. The crucial reconstruction input parameters are the radius of rotation, center of rotation, and pinhole focal length. Ideal pinhole geometry is assumed, and no correction for attenuation has been made. The preliminary images presented here show detailed uptake in the mice subjects and are a convincing sign that animal SPECT can reach submillimeter spatial resolution and be a valuable tool in the study of diseases and the development of pharmaceuticals in animal models.