FORBILD

BAVARIAN CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR MEDICAL IMAGING AND IMAGE PROCESSING

I.1 Area Detector System for Computed Tomography (CT)

Field of work:

Nowadays, the development in computed tomography is dominated by the transition from single-slice imaging to true volume data acquisition. Standard scans measure a single-slice per rotation of the tube-detector-system. Recently, systems have been introduced to the market which are capable of recording four slices simultaneously. The objective of project I.1 is to develop an area detector system that exceeds significantly the performance of existing four-slice multi-row detectors. The main emphasis is put on the development of the detector array and the accompanying electronic devices for data acquisition. In the first year extensive simulation studies were performed; based on these results the design of the detector structure was specified. A first prototype of a structured ceramic scintillator has already been produced and the construction of a prototype area detector is on its way. The requirements on detector electronics have been analyzed in detail and appropriate concepts and specifications for the realization of the data acquisition system have been made. Furtheron, the prototypes will be tested and implemented in an experimental CT scanner. Extensive image quality measurements with this CT scanner are planned.