Methods for optimal design of new detectors for advanced medical-imaging procedures

由于在医疗诊断程序中与x射线照射有关的健康风险，因此必须设计x射线探测器，使其在使患者暴露于可接受的最低辐射水平的同时产生尽可能最佳的图像。探测器上的图像质量和x射线曝光之间的这种平衡用探测器的“探测量子效率”（DQE）来描述，这在计算机断层扫描（CT）成像中尤为重要，目前北美所有诊断性医疗曝光中有一半是由CT成像造成的。目前正在开发的新一代探测器可以测量x射线光子的能量，用于包括CT在内的高级成像程序。虽然这些系统的设计必须确保对患者的低剂量，但开发最佳设计所需的工具是原始的，不足以完成这项任务。因此，我们认为目前一些探测器几乎没有成功的机会，而另一些则没有开发出这些先进应用的全部潜力。

Due to the health risks associated with exposure to x rays in medical diagnostic procedures, it is essential that x-ray detectors be designed to produce the best possible images while exposing the patient to the lowest acceptable levels of radiation. This balance between image quality and x-ray exposure on the detector is described by the "detective quantum efficiency" (DQE) of the detector and is particularly important in computed tomography (CT) imaging which is now responsible for half of all diagnostic medical exposures in North America. A new generation of detectors is currently under development that can measure the energy of x-ray photons for use in advanced imaging procedures including CT. While it is essential that these systems be designed to ensure low dose to patients, the tools required to develop optimal designs are primitive and inadequate for the task. As a consequence, we believe some detectors currently under have little chance of success, while others are not being developed to exploit the full potential of these advanced applications.