Medical imaging applications of next-generation spectroscopic x-ray imaging detectors

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MOTIVATION: Medical x-ray imaging has revolutionized modern medicine; greater than 200 million x-ray imaging procedures are performed each year in North America. However, x-ray imaging procedures have been associated with cancer risks, with an estimated 20,000 cancers worldwide per year attributed to radiation exposure from x-ray imaging. There is therefore an urgent need to reduce radiation exposures from x-ray imaging. The efficiency with which x-rays are used to produce an image is limited by x-ray detector technology. Improving the dose efficiency of x-ray detectors is therefore expected to reduce the amount of radiation required for x-ray imaging procedures. Advances in x-ray detector technology have led to spectroscopic x-ray detectors, which are capable of estimating the energy of individual x-ray photons at rates adequate for a wide range of medical imaging procedures. This is an entirely different approach to x-ray detection than that used in clinically-available systems, and may potentiate a new paradigm of low-dose x-ray imaging.RESEARCH PROBLEM: More research is needed to optimize spectroscopic x-ray detectors for specific imaging tasks and to provide evidence-based data on their dose efficiency relative to existing approaches. This is challenging because the development of spectroscopic x-ray detectors preceded a comprehensive analytical framework for optimizing their imaging performance and for comparing optimized spectroscopic methods with conventional x-ray imaging methods. This critical limitation impedes the development and optimization of spectroscopic x-ray systems, which subsequently impairs identification of the spectroscopic systems that have the best potential for successful clinical implementation.OBJECTIVES: This research program will develop analytical tools for quantitative evaluation of the imaging performance of spectroscopic x-ray imaging methods, which will enable: 1) guiding the development of novel spectroscopic systems; 2) establishing performance benchmarks for comparison with experimental results, and; 3) identifying which spectroscopic x-ray systems will improve x-ray image quality while reducing associated risks.IMPACT: Spectroscopic x-ray imaging is the next generation of medical x-ray imaging, enabling advanced medical imaging applications not possible with existing clinical technology. This research program will provide image scientists and medical-imaging-system developers with the analytical tools that are urgently required to identify which spectroscopic x-ray imaging systems, and applications thereof, will improve disease detectability while minimizing associated risks. The results of this research will enable academia and industry to target valuable research resources at designing and testing the spectroscopic systems that have the best potential for successful clinical implementation.