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.     

Ni/CeO_2-SiO_2催化剂的制备、表征及其甲烷部分氧化制合成气性能（英文）

以硝酸亚铈(Ce(NO3)3·6H2O)和正硅酸四乙酯(C8H20O4Si)为前驱体,采用溶胶-凝胶法合成了系列具有大比表面积的xCeO2-(1.x)SiO2(x=0,0.25,0.50,0.75,1)复合氧化物载体,然后浸渍活性组分Ni制得用于甲烷部分氧化制合成气的Ni催化剂.运用N2物理吸附-脱附、X射线粉末衍射、扫描电镜、紫外-可见漫反射光谱、氢程序升温还原、氨程序升温脱附和热重等手段对所得催化剂的组织结构、还原性、表面酸性和积炭行为等进行了表征;同时考察了催化剂的组成、焙烧温度和反应时间等对催化剂在甲烷部分氧化制合成气中催化性能的影响.表征结果表明,该系列Ni/CeO2-SiO2催化剂具有大比表面积,CeO2晶粒较小,NiO的分散性好且易被还原,表面酸性弱,不容易积炭.当Ce/Si摩尔比为1:1,活性组分Ni的质量分数为10%,焙烧温度为700°C时,所制备的Ni/CeO2-SiO2催化剂表现出较好的稳定性、最高的CH4转化率(~84%)和对产物CO及H2的选择性(87%).     

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.     

Performance evaluation of a parallel-hole collimated detector module for animal SPECT imaging

We have built and investigated a detector module for animal SPECT imaging, especially for use in large field of view (FOV) conditions. The module consists of a PMT-based detector and a parallel-hole collimator with an effective area of 80 mm × 80 mm. The detector is composed of a NaI scintillation crystal array coupled to four H8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tubes (PS-PMT). The intrinsic energy resolution of the detector is 11.5% at 140 keV on average. The planar spatial resolution of the module changes from 2.2 mm to 5.1 mm at different source-to-collimator distances with an unchanged sensitivity of about 34cps/MBq. Additionally, the SPECT Micro Deluxe Phantom imaging was performed with a radius of rotation (ROR) of 40 mm. Using the FBP reconstruction algorithm, a high performance image was obtained, indicating the feasibility of this detector module.     

Investigation of scatter from out of the field of view and multiple scatter in PET using Monte Carlo simulations

In fully three-dimensional (3D) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, the scatter fraction (SF) is about 40%-60%, which may degrade the imaging quality severely. Scatter correction is important for high quality image reconstruction. Model-based scatter correction has been proved to be accurate and available in clinical PET. However, it does not correct the scatter from out of the field of view (OFOV) and multiple scatters. In this study, we demonstrate the radial and axial distribution of scatters from OFOV when the source is located in different radial positions. In order to apply the above conclusions to different PET systems, we characterize the scatters from OFOV as a function of the ratio of the scanner diameter to the length of the axial field of view (AFOV) by modeling several typical whole-body and micro PET systems. The proportions of true events (S_0-0), single scatter of one photon (S_1-0) , single scatter of both photons (S_1-1) , double scatter of one photon (S_2-0) and multiple scatter (S_m) are also calculated and compared. Here the 3D-PET Monte Carlo simulations are performed with the Geant4 Application for Tomography Emission (GATE). In summary, the scatters from OFOV tend to be recorded on the lines of response (LOR) far away from the source. They have a much more serious impact on whole-body PET than micro PET depending on the ratio of scanner diameter to the length of AFOV. In whole-body PET, twice scatters including single scatter of both photons (S_1-1) and double scatter of one photon (S_2-0) add up to about 12% so that twice scatter correction must be taken into account to acquire a high quality reconstruction image.     

氧化钒薄膜微观结构的研究

采用直流磁控反应溅射在Si(100)衬底上溅射得到(001)取向的V₂O₅薄膜.x射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)和傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)的结果表明，氧分压影响薄膜的成分和生长取向，在氧分压0.4Pa时溅射得到(001)取向的纳米V₂O₅薄膜，即沿c轴垂直衬底方向取向生长的薄膜.V₂O₅薄膜经过真空退火得到(001)取向的VO₂薄膜，晶体颗 关键词： 微观结构 氧化钒薄膜 择优取向 直流磁控溅射     

质子辐照铝膜反射镜的慢正电子湮没研究

采用分光光度计测定了60keV质子辐照后铝膜反射镜反射光谱的变化规律.用慢正电子湮没等分析技术研究了辐照损伤的微观机制.结果表明，当质子辐照主要作用于反射镜铝膜层中时反射镜在200—800nm波长范围内反射率随辐照剂量增加而下降.入射质子可对铝膜中的缺陷产生填充作用，减小铝膜中电子密度，增加弱束缚电子带间跃迁.紫外至可见光能量较高的波段可引起带间激发跃迁，使相应的谱段反射率下降，导致反射镜光学性能的退化. 关键词： 反射镜 光学性能 质子辐照 慢正电子湮没     

同步辐射小角X射线反射和慢正电子湮没表征low-k SiOx薄膜

利用射频磁控溅射方法制备了低介电常数材料多孔非晶SiO_x薄膜,溅射压强从1Pa—3Pa变化,傅立叶变换红外吸收光谱测行x的范围为1≤x≤1.6.同步辐射X射线反射(XRR)测量结果显示了随着溅射压强的增大,薄膜的孔隙率(体积比)从6%上升到24%,同时估计了薄膜的厚度.慢正电子湮没多普勒展宽测量探测了薄膜中的缺陷分布信息,结果显示随着溅射压强的增加,薄膜中的E'中心缺陷增加,其抑制了电子偶素的生成,从而使S参数呈下降趋势,利用VEPFIT程序对正电子湮没结果进行了拟合,得到的膜厚与XRR结果较为接近.     

低能电子在外层导电屏蔽的玻璃锥管中的传输

采用新的具有常数锥角的玻璃锥管,并对玻璃锥管进行了外表面导电屏蔽,通过对电子穿越玻璃锥管的二维角分布随时间演化的观测,研究了低能电子与玻璃管相互作用的机制.发现电子穿越完全放电的玻璃锥管时穿透率先下降后平稳,整个过程中角分布中心发生微小移动,但角分布的半高宽几乎保持不变.这与我们之前发表的工作(2016 Acta Phys.Sin.65 204103)不同,这是由于对玻璃锥管进行外表面导电屏蔽会阻止外界不确定的快速充放电的影响,并形成了新的稳定放电通道,有利于实现电子的稳定穿透.电子的穿透率随倾角呈类似矩形的分布,透射电子的角分布中心伴随倾角的变化而移动,其穿透所容许的倾角与几何穿透一致.     

水蒸气退火多孔硅发光性能的正电子谱学研究

使用正电子湮没寿命谱和正电子寿命-动量关联谱对水蒸气和真空条件下退火的多孔硅样品的微观缺陷结构进行表征,结合发射光谱测量结果,对影响多孔硅发光性能的因素进行了讨论.实验结果表明,水蒸气退火后样品孔壁表面的悬挂键减少,并出现新的E′γ和EX类缺陷.水蒸气退火后样品中两种缺陷数量发生变化是导致多孔硅样品发光增强的直接原因;真空退火未使样品中发光相关缺陷发生变化,样品的发光性能没有显著改变.