• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.163-169
• /
• 2007

In this paper, we propose a method of trigger pulse generation to capture the image on time by making a synchronization between the x-ray generator and digital x-ray image acquisition system. we designed a wireless trigger pulse generation circuit to make a synchronization between x-ray generator and digital image acquisition system and analysis its performance. When it starts to detect a certain level of x-ray radiation or above from the air, this method starts to generate a ACQ_START signal to indicate the timing for image acquisition starting from digital image acquisition system. Hence, when it starts to detect under certain level of x-ray signal from the air, this method starts to generate a ACC_END signal to indicate the timing for image acquisition stop from digital image acquisition system. Image acquisition is activated only this time between ACQ_START and ACQ_END signal. By doing this wireless detecting of x-ray signal from remote, we can get more accurate timing for capturing the x-ray image and any type of x-ray generator can be connected to digital image acquisition system, regards of wired protocol. This makes easy installation. We could get 3.5 line pair / mm resolution at 20 mAs of x-ray level with resolution chart. This is same or better image comparing to conventional wired result.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.364-370
• /
• 2008

Recent development in large area flat-panel x-ray detector technology enables clinical application of digital tomosyntesis. Unlike conventional motion tomography using x-ray films, flat-panel x-ray detectors provide projection images in digital formats so that tomographic images can be synthesized in a more flexible way. For the digital tomosynthesis, precise movements of the x-ray source and the x-ray detector with respect to a fulcrum point are necessary. In this study, we apply the digital tomosynthesis technique to the flat-panel detector based micro-CT in which the flat-panel detector and the x-ray source rotate together on a circular arc. The experimental results suggest that flat-panel detector based 3D CTs can be used for digital tomosynthesis in the clinical environment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.9
• /
• pp.3380-3389
• /
• 2022

We evaluated the performance of an improved hybrid median filter (IHMF) applied to X-ray computed tomography (CT) images obtained using a high-resolution photon-counting cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) detector. To study how the proposed approach improves the image quality, we measured the noise levels and the overall CT-image quality. We established a CZT imaging system with a detector length of 5.12 cm and thickness of 0.3 cm and acquired phantom images. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed filter, we first modeled two conventional median filters. Subsequently, we were able to achieve a normalized noise power spectrum result of ~10^-8 mm², and furthermore, the proposed method improved the contrast-to-noise ratio by a factor of ~1.51 and the coefficient of variation by 1.55 relative to the counterpart values of the no-filter image. In addition, the IHMF exhibited the best performance among the three filters considered as regards the peak signal-to-noise ratio and no-reference-based image-quality evaluation parameters. Thus, our results demonstrate that the IHMF approach provides a superior image performance over conventional median filtering methods when applied to actual CZT X-ray CT images.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.359-365
• /
• 2023

In order to satisfy the requirements of dynamic X-ray imaging with high frame rate and low image lag, minimizing parasitic capacitance in photodiode and overlapped electrodes in pixels is critically required. This study presents duoPIX^TM dynamic X-ray imaging sensor composing of readout thin film transistor, reset thin film transistor and photodiode in a pixel. Furthermore, dynamic X-ray detector using duoPIX^TM imaging sensor was manufactured and evaluated its X-ray imaging performances such as frame rate, sensitivity, noise, MTF and image lag. duoPIX^TM dynamic X-ray detector has 150 × 150 mm² imaging area, 73 um pixel pitch, 2048 × 2048 matrix resolution(4.2M pixels) and maximum 50 frames per second. By means of comparison with conventional dynamic X-ray detector, duoPIX^TM dynamic X-ray detector showed overall better performances than conventional dynamic X-ray detector as shown in the previous study.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.6 no.6
• /
• pp.441-445
• /
• 2012

X-ray Chest P-A is very important and basic diagnosis examination for pregnant women. For a pregnancy period pregnant women should be treated very carefully not to be exposed to any radiation which might cause harmful damage to women and babies as well. Lead apron is one of the effective methods to protect pregnant women from the X-ray radiation. However, it is difficult to obtain the accurate position of pregnant women during X-ray Chest P-A since conventional lead apron method forces pregnant women to hold the apron by themselves only to make pregnant women very uncomfortable and hard to maintain accurate position during radiation. As a consequence, it is common to get low quality images of X-ray Chest P-A due to the overlap of apex of lung and scapular. In order to fix this problem, we made new design lead apron that allowed pregnant women to be more comfortable to maintain accurate position during X-ray Chest P-A position. Finally, with this new design lead apron, it was possible to get the best optimized images of X-ray Chest P-A of pregnant women by minimizing overlapping apex of lung and scapular.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
• /
• v.54 no.4
• /
• pp.61-67
• /
• 2017

Low-dose X-ray fluoroscopic image sequences to avoid radiation exposure risk are contaminated by quantum noise. To restore these noisy sequences, we propose a 3D nonlocal means (NLM) filter based on stochastic distancesed can be applied to the denoising of X-ray fluoroscopic image sequences. The stochastic distance is obtained within motion-compensated noise filtering support to remove the Poisson noise. In this paper, motion-adaptive weight which reflected the frame similarity is proposed to restore the noisy sequences without motion artifact. Experimental results including comparisons with conventional algorithms for real X-ray fluoroscopic image sequences show the proposed algorithm has a good performance in both visual and quantitative criteria.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.249-254
• /
• 2008

We developed a new x-ray image sensor utilizing a reflection-mode liquid crystal panel as its sensitive element, and tested its functionality by using it to obtain an x-ray image of a printed circuit board. In the liquid crystal x-ray image sensors hitherto reported, the liquid crystal layer is in direct contact with the photoconductive film which is deposited on a glass substrate. In the fabrication of the new x-ray image sensor, a liquid crystal panel is fabricated in the first step by using a pair of glass plates of a few centimeters thicknrss. Then one of the glass substrates is ground until its thickness is reduced to about $60\;{\mu}m$. After polishing the glass plate, dielectric films for high reflectance at 630 nm, a film of amorphous selenium for photoconduction, and a transparent conductive film for electrode are deposited in sequence. The new x-ray image sensor has several merits: primarily, fabrication of a large area sensor is more easily compared with the old fashioned x-ray image sensors. Since the reflection type liquid crystal panel has a very steep response curve, the new x-ray sensor has much more sensitivity to x-rays compared with the conventional x-ray area sensor, and the radiation dosage can be reduced down to less then 20%. By combining the new x-ray sensor with CCD camera technology, real-time x-ray images can be easily captured. We report the structure, fabrication process and characteristics of the new x-ray image sensor.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.117-125
• /
• 2022

Although stationary inverse-geometry digital tomosynthesis (s-IGDT) is able to reduce motion artifacts, image acquisition time and radiation dose, the image quality of the s-IGDT is degraded due to the truncations arisen in projections. Therefore, the effects of geometric and image acquisition conditions in the s-IGDT should be analyzed for improving the image quality and clinical applicability of the s-IGDT system. In this study, the s-IGDT images were obtained with the various X-ray source arrangement types and the various number of projections. The resolution and noise characteristics of the obtained s-IGDT images were evaluated, and the characteristics were compared with those of the conventional DT images. The s-IGDT system using linear X-ray source arrangement and 40 projections maximized the image characteristics of resolution and noise, and the corresponding system was superior to the conventional DT system in terms of image resolution. In conclusion, we expect that the s-IGDT system can be used for providing medical images in diagnosis.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.133-137
• /
• 2004

The development of digital x-ray detector has been extensively progressed for the application of various medical modalities. In this study, we introduce a new hybrid-type x-ray detector to improve problems of a conventional direct or indirect digital x-ray image technology, which composed of multi-layer structure using a CaWO$_4$ phosphor and amorphous selenium (a-Se) photoconductor. The leakage current of our detector was found to be ∼180 pA/cm$^2$ at 10 V/m, which was significantly reduced than that of a single a-Se detector. The x-ray sensitivity was measured as the value of 4230 pC/cm$^2$/mR at 10 V/m. We found that the parylene thin film between a CaWO$_4$ phosphor and an a-Se layer acts as an insulator to prevent charge injection from indium thin oxide (ITO) electrode into an a-Se layer under applied bias.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.55-59
• /
• 1997

The quality of continuous X-ray beam depends upon the half value layer which varies according to the geometric conditions, filtration thickness, and tube voltage. We compared the inverter type X-ray equipment with the conventional single phase 2 peak and the three phase 12 peak for the quality obtained by changes of the added filter thickness and the tube voltage. The quality of single phase 2 peak X-ray generator showed increase for the added filter and the tube volt-age. The half value layer is Increased the thicker the filter and the higher the kVp. The quality of the Inverter type and the three phase 12 peak in comparison with the single phase 2 peak X-ray generator is increased.