A novel scatter correction method for energy-resolving photon-counting detector based CBCT imaging

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Photon-Counting Detector Technology
• Cone Beam CT

Background:

• High-quality CT imaging requires mitigation of scatter shading artifacts.
• Energy-resolving photon-counting detector (PCD) based cone beam CT (CBCT) systems are susceptible to these artifacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the e-Grid method for scatter correction in PCD CBCT.
• To assess its capability in removing scatter shading artifacts.

Main Methods:

• The e-Grid method uses a linear approximation between high- and low-energy signals from PCD energy windows.
• Calibration experiments determined model parameters.
• Physical validation was performed using head and abdominal phantoms on a PCD CBCT benchtop system.

Main Results:

• The e-Grid method significantly eliminated scatter cupping artifacts in both low- and high-energy PCD CBCT images.
• Scatter artifacts were reduced by over 70% across various object dimensions.

Conclusions:

• The e-Grid method shows significant potential for scatter shading artifact reduction.
• It is effective for energy-resolving PCD CBCT imaging.