Advantages of energy-binned photon counting detector

Abstract

We developed an energy-binned photon counting (EBPC) detector with a CdTe crystal, in which we can measure photons with four energy windows. The data acquired with the detector have information about the energy of x-rays that pass through the object, so that we can make a desired image by adding EBPC images after multiplying an appropriate weight to an image acquired with each energy window. With this energy weighting image we can improve the image contrast and reduce the beam hardening effects. This paper compared two data acquisition methods: one is an energy integration method and the other is the EBPC method. To compare these two methods we conducted Monte Carlo simulations and experiments with our newly developed EBPC detector. The results showed that the EBPC detector could improve the dynamic rage of acquired images. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.