Experimental proof of an idea for a CT-scanner with dose reduction potential.

Preliminary results for a new CT scanning device with dose-reduction potential were presented at the SPIE Medical Imaging conference 2007. The new device acquires the Radon data after the X-ray beam is collimated through a special mask. This mask is combined with a new and efficient data collection geometry; thus the device has the potential of reducing the dose by a factor of two. In this work, we report the first complete proof of the idea using the same simplified mask of 197 detectors as last year, and a clinical C-arm with a flat panel detector to simulate the gantry. This addition enables the acquisition of two independent and complementary data sets for reconstruction. Moreover, this clinical set-up enables the acquisition of data for clinically relevant phantoms. Phantom data were acquired using both detector sets and were reconstructed with the robust algorithm OPED. The independent sinograms were matched to a single one, and from this a diagnostic image was reconstructed successfully. This image has improved resolution, as well as less noise and artifacts compared to each single independent reconstruction. The results obtained are highly promising, even though the current device acquires only 197 views. Dose comparisons can be carried out in the future with a more precise prototype, comparable to current clinical devices with respect to imaging performance