Medical Physics Seminar – Monday, April 3, 2023
Development of a Prototype Photon Counting C-arm System for Image-Guided Interventions
Kevin Treb
Graduate Research Assistant
C-arm x-ray systems equipped with energy integrating detectors (EIDs) are the primary workhorses for image guided interventions (IGIs), and are capable of both real-time planar imaging as well as cone-beam CT. However, technical limitations of the EID limit the achievable image-quality from C-arms for low-contrast or ultra-high resolution (UHR) imaging tasks. In addition, commercial C-arm systems are not capable of spectral imaging, for example to discriminate between different materials such as iodine and calcium. In comparison to EIDs, photon counting detectors (PCDs) can introduce spectral capabilities to the interventional suite and have potential for UHR imaging and improved noise and contrast properties for low-contrast imaging. In this work, we have developed a prototype photon counting C-arm system based off a commercial system: Initial phantom and in vivo imaging studies demonstrate the potential image-quality benefits offered by the PCD over the original EID. Additionally, proof of concept experiments were performed to validate a novel detector design that combines a smaller central PCD with the surrounding EID. Lastly, a method to correct for pulse-pileup in the PCD was developed.