Monte Carlo simulation of glandular dose in a dedicated breast CT system

A dedicated breast CT system (DBCT) is a new method for breast cancer detection proposed in recent years. In this paper, the glandular dose in the DBCT is simulated using the Monte Carlo method. The phantom shape is half ellipsoid, and a series of phantoms with different sizes, shapes and compositions were constructed. In order to optimize the spectra, monoenergy X-ray beams of 5-80 keV were used in simulation. The dose distribution of a breast phantom was studied: a higher energy beam generated more uniform distribution, and the outer parts got more dose than the inner parts. For polyenergtic spectra, four spectra of Al filters with different thicknesses were simulated, and the polyenergtic glandular dose was calculated as a spectral weighted combination of the monoenergetic dose.     

用于爆炸物探测的X射线相干散射技术研究

建立了基于X光机的相干散射实验装置, 对用于爆炸物探测的X射线相干散射技术进行了研究. 在一个固定的角度下(6.5°), 测量了多种常见爆炸物和非爆炸物的相干散射谱. 结果表明, 每种爆炸物都有特定的相干散射谱线, 包含了与物质化学组分相关的"指纹信息". 使用这一方法可以将爆炸物从常见的非爆炸物中鉴别出来.     

Experimental measurement of radiation dose in a dedicated breast CT system

Radiation dose is an important performance indicator of a dedicated breast CT (DBCT). In this paper, the method of putting thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) into a breast shaped PMMA phantom to study the dose distribution in breasts was improved by using smaller TLDs and a new half-ellipsoid PMMA phantom. Then the weighted CT dose index (CTDI_w) was introduced to average glandular assessment in DBCT for the first time and two measurement modes were proposed for different sizes of breasts. The dose deviations caused by using cylindrical phantoms were simulated using the Monte Carlo method and a set of correction factors were calculated. The results of the confirmatory measurement with a cylindrical phantom (11 cm/8 cm) show that CTDI_w gives a relatively conservative overestimate of the average glandular dose comparing to the results of Monte Carlo simulation and TLDs measurement. But with better practicability and stability, the CTDI_w is suitable for dose evaluations in daily clinical practice. Both of the TLDs and CTDI_w measurements demonstrate that the radiation dose of our DBCT system is lower than conventional two-view mammography.     

Beam hardening correction for a cone-beam CT system and its effect on spatial resolution

In this paper, we present a beam hardening correction (BHC) method in three-dimension space for a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) system in a mono-material case and investigate its effect on the spatial resolution. Due to the polychromatic character of the X-ray spectrum used, cupping and streak artifacts called beam hardening artifacts arise in the reconstructed CT images, causing reduced image quality. In addition, enhanced edges are introduced in the reconstructed CT images because of the beam hardening effect. The spatial resolution of the CBCT system is calculated from the edge response function (ERF) on different planes in space. Thus, in the CT images with beam hardening artifacts, enhanced ERFs will be extracted to calculate the modulation transfer function (MTF), obtaining a better spatial resolution that deviates from the real value. Reasonable spatial resolution can be obtained after reducing the artifacts. The 10% MTF value and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the point spread function with and without BHC are presented.     

北京慢正电子强束流磁场输运系统设计研究

针对基于北京正负电子对撞机的慢正电子强束流系统对输运磁场的设计要求,本文对不同规格的磁场输运线圈模型、长螺线管端口处磁场的补偿以及地磁场和弯管道对正电子束流的影响等进行了计算,提出适用于本系统传输慢正电子束流的输运磁场分布、补偿线圈、调整线圈的加工参数,计算表明,系统的总体磁场不均匀度小于10髎.实际运行束流测试表明,所设计的磁场系统能够很好的将慢正电子束流输运到约16m远的样品测量室,慢正电子束斑尺寸基本没有变化,满足慢正电子束流系统的设计要求.     

Performance assessment of CsI(Tl) screens on varioussubstrates for X-ray imaging

Thallium-doped cesium iodide (CsI(Tl)) screens are widely used in X-ray imaging devices because of the columnar structure of the CsI(Tl) layer, but few reports focus on the optical role of the substrate in the screen system. In this paper, four substrates including fused silica (SiO₂), silver-film coated SiO₂, graphite (C) and fiber optic plate (FOP) are used to fabricate CsI(Tl) screens by thermal evaporation. Their imaging performance is evaluated by relative light output (RLO), modulation transfer function (MTF), normalized noise power spectrum (NNPS) and noise equivalent quanta (NEQ). The results reveal that although CsI(Tl) film on graphite plate yields images with the lowest light output, it presents relatively higher spatial resolution and better signal-to-noise characteristics. However, films on SiO₂ plate obtain low MTF but high NNPS curves, whether they are coated with silver film or not. Furthermore, scintillation screens on FOP have bright images with low NNPS and high NEQ, but have the lowest MTF. By controlling the substrate optical features, CsI(Tl) films can be tailored to suit a given application.     

Measurement of spatial resolution of the micro-CT system

The performance test is an important and necessary work for the micro-CT （computed tomography） system. The focal spot size of the micro focus X-ray tube is measured. The method of measuring the spatial resolution of micro-CT is introduced. A line-pair resolution of 28.2 lp/mm at the 10% modulation transfer function （MTF） level can be achieved with 14.7 μm spot size, 12.3 μm voxel size and a 25 mm field of view. In addition, a tungsten wire with the diameter of 5 μm can be detected by the system.     

Performance evaluation of CsI screens for X-ray imaging

Cs I film has been one of the most extensively used scintillators for indirect X-ray imaging because of its needle-like micro-structure. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the imaging performance of Cs I screen as a function of thickness and radiation quality. Four multilayer scintillation screens with microcolumnar Cs I:Tl film(thicknesses of 50 μm, 100 μm, 200 μm and 300 μm) included were prepared and coupled to an optical imaging sensor. The modulation transfer function(MTF), normalized noise power spectrum(NNPS) and detective quantum efficiency(DQE) of these screens were evaluated based on the standard IEC 62220-1, and the results indicated that,in the medium spatial frequency range(1–6 lp/mm), the MTF of Cs I screens with the same thickness was lower when the incident X-ray photon energy was higher, possibly owing to scattering and K-fluorescence re-absorption effects. The NNPS in the higher spatial frequency range(above 8 lp/mm) is dominated by stochastic noise while the entrance surface air Kerma(ESAK) decreases. For 100 μm, 200 μm and 300 μm thick Cs I screens, the DQE under RQA7 and RQA9 is lower than that under RQA3 and RQA5 due to low absorption efficiency.     

脉冲慢正电子束流的直流化装置

在基于加速器的北京慢正电子强束流装置上, 用Penning-Trap技术实现了脉冲慢正电子束流的存储和直流化. 实验表明, 系统的真空度对正电子的存储效率有严重影响, 脉冲正电子的释放方式决定了直流化后束流的能量分散; 改变释放级信号波形以及释放方式可以得到能量分散小于1eV的准直流化慢正电子束流.     

Computed laminography and reconstruction algorithm

Computed laminography (CL) is an alternative to computed tomography if large objects are to be inspected with high resolution. This is especially true for planar objects. In this paper, we set up a new scanning geometry for CL, and study the algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) for CL imaging. We compare the results of ART with variant weighted functions by computer simulation with a digital phantom. It proves that ART algorithm is a good choice for the CL system.