A new phantom for evaluation of low-contrast detectability of X-ray CT scanner

It is possible to produce Xyron (styrene grafted polyphenylene ether) having different electron densities but virtually the same effective atomic number. The difference between the CT numbers obtained with two Xyron types of different electron densities was shown both theoretically and experimentally to be constant, regardless of the effective photon energy. A phantom for evaluation of low-contrast detectability of X-ray CT scanners was produced from these two types of Xyron and was shown to be effective for both comparative studies and daily quality assurance.