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Digital beam attenuator

Project Overview

Conventional X-Ray Computed Tomography, a medical imaging procedure, employs a system that creates a three dimensional image of a patient by taking two dimensional X-Rays upon a revolution of the patient. This construction is used in various medical diagnoses. A current drawback to this procedure is the use of a uniform incident beam despite the fact that the transmission through the patient varies significantly from point to point. This results in a non-uniform signal-to-noise ratio, a sub-optimal distribution of x-ray scatter, and significantly higher dose than necessary to some regions and insufficient dose to others.

The primary aim of this project is to design, develop, and implement a series of attenuating wedges between the X-Ray focal point and the patient that continually attenuate the incident beams in order to compensate for the variance in the patient's body. Our team seeks to engineer and test the series of wedges so that they are able to independently adjust to the correct positions based on the data received from the computer (collected from a preliminary scan for each plane in the revolution) and continually attenuate the beam for an optimal scan.

Team Picture

(Left to Right) Alexander Eaton, Sarvesh Periyasamy, Katherine Lake, Yue Henry Hu
(Left to Right) Alexander Eaton, Sarvesh Periyasamy, Katherine Lake, Yue Henry Hu

Images

This is the Siemens Medical Artis zeego C-Arm CT scanner that the DBA will be implemented in. X-Rays (A) are emitted from the source (B) and are detected on the opposite side by the detector (C).
This is the Siemens Medical Artis zeego C-Arm CT scanner that the DBA will be implemented in. X-Rays (A) are emitted from the source (B) and are detected on the opposite side by the detector (C).
This is the final prototype that we utilized this semester. The wedge is linearly actuated within a housing made of steel and plexiglass. The actuation method is a linear stepper motor (MDrive 23 Plus) .
This is the final prototype that we utilized this semester. The wedge is linearly actuated within a housing made of steel and plexiglass. The actuation method is a linear stepper motor (MDrive 23 Plus) .
These images show the demonstrable effect of the DBA on CT image noise. Both are scans of a phantom. In image A, there is clearly higher noise in the areas of the phantom with higher Density. In image B (with the use of DBA) the signal to noise is uniform. This results in a more clear final CT image. In addition, scan B used 22% less dosage than image A.
These images show the demonstrable effect of the DBA on CT image noise. Both are scans of a phantom. In image A, there is clearly higher noise in the areas of the phantom with higher Density. In image B (with the use of DBA) the signal to noise is uniform. This results in a more clear final CT image. In addition, scan B used 22% less dosage than image A.

Files

Contact Information

Team Members

  • Katherine Lake - Team Leader
  • Alexander Eaton - Communicator
  • Yue Hu - BSAC
  • Sarvesh Periyasamy - BWIG

Advisor and Client

  • Prof. Chris Brace - Advisor
  • Prof. Chuck Mistretta - Client

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