We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




First-Ever Clinical CT Scanner Combines Two X-Ray Technologies to Produce 3D Dark-Field X-Ray Images

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 09 Feb 2022
Print article
Image: Dark-field CT scanner (Photo courtesy of Astrid Eckert/TUM)
Image: Dark-field CT scanner (Photo courtesy of Astrid Eckert/TUM)

For the first time, researchers have integrated the dark-field X-ray method into a Computed tomography (CT) scanner suitable for clinical use.

With the new prototype developed by the team of researchers at the Technical University of Munich (Munich, Germany), it is now possible to produce three-dimensional dark-field X-ray images. Dark-field imaging provides additional information to conventional X-ray imaging. CT is one of the most important clinical methods for precise and fast diagnostics. By combining multiple X-ray images three-dimensional images of the patient are generated. With dark-field imaging now additional information on fine tissue structures, in particular in the lung, is accessible. Until now, technical challenges have prevented the integration of this new technology into clinical CT scanners to examine patients. The new CT scanner combines both X-ray technologies. The new CT prototype has already been used successfully with a thorax phantom, a model of a human upper body, and is large enough for the intended applications with real patients.

With conventional X-ray equipment, the X-rays are attenuated by the intervening tissue as they travel from the source to the detector. This effect is used to produce images based on the varying degrees of attenuation associated with different tissue types and structures. That is why bones and similar structures, which have a stronger attenuating effect, appear white in X-rays, while more transparent tissue types such as the lung produce darker images. Dark-field imaging, by contrast, makes use of the small-angle scattering of the X-rays. When the X-rays interact with materials of different densities such as the interface between lung tissue and air, they are scattered. The analysis of this scattering effect yields additional information on very fine tissue structures, which is otherwise not accessible with conventional X-ray images. To detect the scattering of the X-ray radiation, a set of three optical gratings is required. They are placed between the X-ray source and detector. When X-rays pass through these gratings, a characteristic pattern is produced at the detector. When a sample or person is then positioned in the beam path, this characteristic pattern is changed. These deviations are then used to analyze the structure of the sample or the person’s tissue.

The implementation of the dark-field method in a human-size CT scanner poses various technical challenges. Until now, this has limited dark-field CT devices to a scale much smaller than would be needed for human patients. Apart from the size, the fast rotation of the scan unit also creates special difficulties for the technical design. The scanning unit of CT scanners, known as the gantry, rotates at very high speeds. This causes vibrations that affect the finely-tuned components in the interior of the device. Based on a detailed analysis of these vibrations, the team was able to use them to implement the required shift between the gratings needed for dark-field imaging. To analyze the scans, they developed new algorithms to filter out the vibration effects based on reference scans. As the next step, the researchers plan to further optimize the dark-field CT prototype and prepare for the first scans of human patients.

“For the first time, we showed that dark-field X-ray technology can also be integrated into a clinical CT scanner. Although this technology is in its early stages, pre-clinical studies with mice have demonstrated clear benefits from dark-field CT scans, especially for capturing images of lung tissue,” said Franz Pfeiffer, Professor for Biomedical Physics and Director of the Munich Institute of Biomedical Engineering at TUM, who headed the study.

“With the dark-field CT prototype, we can capture conventional and dark-field X-ray images in a single scan. This yields additional information that could be used in the future not only to diagnose lung diseases, but also to differentiate between various types of kidney stones and tissue deposits,” added Manuel Viermetz, one of the two first authors of the study.

Related Links:
Technical University of Munich 

Gold Supplier
Conductive Gel
Tensive
New
Gold Supplier
IMRT Thorax Phantom
CIRS Model 002LFC
DR System Console
Perform-X Smart Console
New
Radiotherapy Software
Node Platform

Print article
Sun Nuclear -    Mirion

Channels

Radiography

view channel
Image: Radiologists outperformed AI in identifying lung diseases on chest X-ray (Photo courtesy of RSNA)

Radiologists Beat AI in Detecting Common Lung Diseases on Chest X-Rays

Chest X-rays are frequently used for diagnosis, but it takes a lot of training and expertise to read these images correctly. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some artificial... Read more

Ultrasound

view channel
Image: The new device targets ultrasound waves to precise spots in the brain (Photo courtesy of WUSTL)

Anatomically Precise Ultrasound-Based Technique to Enable Noninvasive Biopsies for Brain Tumors

The blood-brain barrier serves as a protective wall, keeping the brain safe from harmful elements like viruses and toxins in the blood. This makes it challenging for doctors to obtain molecular and genetic... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: Imaging entire body instead of only the primary cancer site can provide a total estimate of HER2 expression (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Whole-Body PET/CT Predicts Response to HER2-Targeted Therapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Around 20% of women diagnosed with breast cancer show overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), making it a key therapy target for new as well as recurring cases.... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: The partnership combines best-in-class AI-powered technologies for musculoskeletal imaging workflows (Photo courtesy of ImageBiopsy Lab)

AI-Powered Technologies to Aid Interpretation of X-Ray and MRI Images for Improved Disease Diagnosis

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions impact more people worldwide than issues related to the circulatory or respiratory systems. Even so, diagnostic procedures for these conditions often still lean on outdated... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.