No abstract

No abstract

Phase contrast X-ray imaging has been studied intensively using X-rays from synchrotron radiation and microfocus X-ray tubes. However, these studies have revealed the difficulty of this technique's application to practical medical imaging. We have created a phase contrast imaging technique using practical X-ray tubes with small focal spot sizes. In a previous study, we identified the radiographic conditions for phase contrast magnification mammography with screen-film systems, where the edge effect due to phase contrast outweighs the geometrical unsharpness introduced by the 0.1mm-focal spot of a molybdenum-anode X-ray tube. In the present study, phase contrast images of a hand and a chest phantoms were obtained using computed radiography (Regius 150, Konica, Tokyo, Japan) and a geometrical magnification of two using a tungsten-anode X-ray tube with a 0. 1mm-focal spot. The digital images were printed so that objects were reproduced at their original size. Compared to conventional digital contact images obtained at the same X-ray dose, the life-sized digital phase contrast X-ray images displayed improved sharpness and resolution, and reduced grain. We describe the empirical results of digital phase contrast imaging, and discuss these performance improvements through simulation including X-ray scatter.

No abstract

No abstract