The intrinsic phosphor properties are of significant importance for the performance of phosphor screens used in medical imaging systems. In previous analytical-theoretical and Monte Carlo studies on granular phosphor materials, values of optical properties, and light interaction cross sections were found by fitting to experimental data. These values were then employed for the assessment of phosphor screen imaging performance. However, it was found that, depending on the experimental technique and fitting methodology, the optical parameters of a specific phosphor material varied within a wide range of values, i.e., variations of light scattering with respect to light absorption coefficients were often observed for the same phosphor material. In this study, x-ray and light transport within granular phosphor materials was studied by developing a computational model using Monte Carlo methods. The model was based on the intrinsic physical characteristics of the phosphor. Input values required to feed the model can be easily obtained from tabulated data. The complex refractive index was introduced and microscopic probabilities for light interactions were produced, using Mie scattering theory. Model validation was carried out by comparing model results on x-ray and light parameters (x-ray absorption, statistical fluctuations in the x-ray to light conversion process, number of emitted light photons, output light spatial distribution) with previous published experimental data on Gd2O2S: Tb phosphor material (Kodak Min-R screen). Results showed the dependence of the modulation transfer function (MTF) on phosphor grain size and material packing density. It was predicted that granular Gd2O2S: Tb screens of high packing density and small grain size may exhibit considerably better resolution and light emission properties than the conventional Gd2O2S: Tb screens, under similar conditions (x-ray incident energy, screen thickness).

Digital detectors based on complementary metaloxide-semiconductors (CMOS) active pixel sensor (APS) technology have been introduced recently in many scientific applications. This work is focused on the X-ray performance evaluation of a novel CMOS APS detector in low energy medical imaging applications using monochromatic synchrotron radiation (i.e. 17-35 keV), which also allows studying how the performance varies with energy. The CMOS sensor was coupled to a Thallium-activated structured cesium iodide (CsI:Tl) scintillator and the detector's X-ray performance evaluation was carried out in terms of sensitivity, presampling modulation transfer function (pMTF), normalized noise power spectrum (NNPS) and the resulting detective quantum efficiency (DQE). A Monte Carlo simulation was used to validate the experimentally measured low frequency DQE. Finally, the effect of iodine's secondary generated K-fluorescence X-rays on pMTF and DQE results was evaluated. Good agreement (within 5%) was observed between the Monte Carlo and experimentally measured low frequency DQE results. A CMOS APS detector was characterized for the first time over a wide range of low energies covering the mammographic spectra. The detector's performance is limited mainly by the detectability of the scintillator. Finally, we show that the current data could be used to calculate the detector's pMTF, NNPS and DQE for any mammographic spectral shape within the investigated energies.

Recent technologies, such as nanotechnology, provide new opportunities for next generation scintillation devices and instruments. New nanophosphor-based materials seem to be promising for further improvements in optical diffusion studies. In medical imaging, detector technology has found widespread use, offering improved signal capabilities. However, in spite of many spectacular innovations and the significant research in chemical synthesis on the detective material, improvement in signal quality is still an issue requiring further progress. Here, a sophisticated analysis is shown within the framework of Mie scattering theory and Monte Carlo simulation which demonstrates the optimum structural and optical properties of nanophosphors that are significantly promising in manufacture for further signal modulation improvement. A variety of structural and optical properties were examined: (1) phosphors of grain size (1 to 1000 nm), (2) packing density (50% to 99%), (3) light wavelength (400 to 700 nm), and (4) refractive index of nanophosphor (real part: 1.4-2.0, imaginary part: 10(-6)). Results showed that for a specific thickness of nanophosphor layer, the compromise between spatial resolution and sensitivity can be achieved by optimizing the structural (200 nm ≤ grain diameter ≤ 800 nm) and optical properties of the nanophosphor (1.7 ≤ refractive index ≤ 2.0). Finally, high optical modulation was accomplished employing grains of high refractive index and size above 200 nm.

Gd2O2S:Eu is an efficient phosphor potentially well suited to radiography and especially to some digital detectors sensitive to red light.

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