Computed tomography commissioning programmes: how to obtain a reliable MTF with an automatic approach?

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Quality Assurance

Background:

• Routine quality control of computed tomography (CT) scanners is essential for accurate medical imaging.
• Assessing spatial resolution is a critical aspect of CT scanner performance evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the spatial resolution of a CT scanner using an automated approach for routine quality control.
• To compare different methods for assessing modulation transfer functions (MTF) under varying CT parameters.

Main Methods:

• Comparison of Droege's method, bead point source (BPS) method, and Boone's method for MTF assessment.
• Utilized an automatic approach for routine quality controls with varying CT parameters.
• Employed a modified Catphan 600 phantom for spatial resolution assessment.

Main Results:

• Droege's method showed inaccuracies at low frequencies.
• The BPS method was highly sensitive to image noise.
• Boone's method provided robust, absolute measurements, resilient to aliasing and noise.

Conclusions:

• Boone's method is superior for absolute CT spatial resolution measurements compared to Droege's and BPS methods.
• Boone's method, with a modified Catphan 600 phantom, is well-suited for CT scanner commissioning and routine quality control.
• The proposed method ensures reliable spatial resolution assessment in different CT planes.