Time Delay Integration Mode Research Articles

A slot-scanned photodiode-array/CCD hybrid detector for digital mammography.

We have developed a novel direct conversion detector for use in a slot-scanning digital mammography system. The slot-scan concept allows for dose efficient scatter rejection and the ability to use small detectors to produce a large-area image. The detector is a hybrid design with a 1.0 mm thick silicon PIN photodiode array (the x-ray absorber) indium-bump bonded to a CCD readout that is operated in time-delay integration (TDI) mode. Because the charge capacity requirement for good image quality exceeds the capabilities of standard CCDs, a novel CCD was developed. This CCD consists of 24 independent sections, each acting as a miniature CCD with eight rows for TDI. The signal from each section is combined off-chip to produce a full signal image. The MTF and DQE for the device was measured at several exposures and compared to a linear systems model of signal and noise propagation. Because of the scanning nature of TDI imaging, both the MTF(f) and DQE(f) are reduced along the direction of the scanning motion. For a 26 kVp spectrum, the DQE(0) was measured to be 0.75+/-0.02 for an exposure of 1.29 x 10(-5) C/kg (50 mR).

Analysis of signal propagation in optically coupled detectors for digital mammography: II. Lens and fibre optics

An x-ray detector for digital x-ray mammography is under investigation, which consists of a phosphor screen coupled by a demagnifying fibre-optic taper to a time-delay integration mode, charge-coupled device (CCD) image array. The signal propagation through such a detector depends on the intensity and angular emission of light from the phosphor screen, the angular acceptance and transmission of light through the optics, and the spectral sensitivity of the CCD to the fluorescent light. The production of light by the phosphor screen was considered in a previous paper. Here, the issues related to the optics are examined. For phosphor screens coupled by lenses with limiting acceptance angles of less than , it was calculated that the coupling efficiency would be 10% greater than would be estimated under the assumption of a Lambertian source. These increases occur because a phosphor screen typically produces light which is more forward directed than a Lambertian source. Similar increases in efficiency are observed when a phosphor screen is coupled to a fibre-optic faceplate or taper. For fibre optics, exact estimation of the optical coupling efficiency requires knowledge of the angular-dependent transmission efficiency of the fibres.

Line scanning system for direct digital chemiluminescence imaging of DNA sequencing blots.

A cryogenically cooled charge-coupled device (CCD) camera equipped with an area CCD array is used in a line scanning system for low-light-level imaging of chemiluminescent DNA sequencing blots. Operating the CCD camera in time-delayed integration (TDI) mode results in continuous data acquisition independent of the length of the CCD array. Scanning is possible with a resolution of 1.4 line pairs/mm at the 50% level of the modulation transfer function. High-sensitivity, low-light-level scanning of chemiluminescent direct-transfer electrophoresis (DTE) DNA sequencing blots is shown. The detection of DNA fragments on the blot involves DNA-DNA hybridization with oligonucleotide-alkaline phosphatase conjugate and 1,2-dioxetane-based chemiluminescence. The width of the scan allows the recording of up to four sequencing reactions (16 lanes) on one scan. The scan speed of 52 cm/h used for the sequencing blots corresponds to a data acquisition rate of 384 pixels/s. The chemiluminescence detection limit on the scanned images is 3.9 x 10(-18) mol of plasmid DNA. A conditional median filter is described to remove spikes caused by cosmic ray events from the CCD images.

Fluorescence detection in capillary zone electrophoresis using a charge-coupled device with time-delayed integration

A fluorescence detection system for capillary zone electrophoresis is described in which a charged-coupled device (CCD) views a 2-cm section of an axially illuminated capillary column. The CCD is operated in two readout modes: a snapshot mode that acquires a series of images in wavelength and capillary position, and a time-delayed integration mode that allows long exposure times of the moving analyte zones. By use of the latter mode, the ability to differentiate a species based on both its fluorescence emission and migration rate is demonstrated for fluorescein and sulforhodamine 101. The detection limit for fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) is 1.2 X 10(-20) mol; detection limits for FITC-amino acids are in the (2-8) X 10(-20) mol range.

A time‐delay integration charge‐coupled device camera for slot‐scanned digital radiography

We have developed a low-noise digital camera based on a 512 x 96 element CCD operating in the time-delay integration mode. This camera has been combined with an x-ray image intensifier to record radiographic images produced by a scanning slot beam of radiation. This results in the rejection of a large fraction of scattered radiation, without a significant increase in x-ray tube heat loading or image acquisition time. Here we describe the design of our CCD camera and the results of our investigations of camera resolution, linearity, noise, and quantum efficiency. We have found that both the resolution limit (50 mm-1) and the dynamic range (2100) of this novel camera are greater than reported values for conventional video cameras. Applications of this system in digital angiography and mammography are discussed.