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Seeram Chapter
11:
Image Quality
Spatial Contrast
Resolution Resolution
Image
Noise Artifacts
Beam Subject
Characteristics Transmissivity
Slice
Dose
Thickness
Scatter
Reconstruction Display
Algorithm Resolution
Spatial Resolution
Quantifies image blurring
Ability to discriminate objects of varying
density a small distance apart against a
uniform background
Minimum separation required between two
high contrast objects for them to be
resolved as two objects
Spatial Resolution
Resolvable Object Size &
Limiting Resolution
Smallest resolvable high contrast object
Often expressed as line pairs / cm
Pair is one object + one space
One
Pair
Resolvable Object Size:
Limiting Resolution
Smallest resolvable high contrast object is
half the reciprocal of spatial frequency
Example:
Limited resolution = 15 line pairs per cm
Pair is 1/15th cm
1/15th cm
Object is half of pair
1/15th / 2
1/30th cm
.033 cm
0.33 mm
1/30th cm
Geometric Factors affecting
Spatial Resolution
Focal spot size
detector aperture width
slice thickness or
collimation
Less variation likely for
thinner slices
attenuation variations
within a voxel are
averaged
partial volume effect
Geometric Factors affecting
Spatial Resolution
focal spot - isocenter
Finite focal focal spot -
distance spot size detector
distance
Geometric Unsharpness
& CT
Decreased spatial Focal Spot
resolution if object
blurred over
several detectors Small
Object to be
Detector aperture Imaged
size
Detectors
must be < object
for object to be
resolved
Non-geometric Factors
affecting Spatial Resolution
# of projections
Display matrix size
512 X 512 pixels standard
Reconstruction algorithms
smoothing or enhancing of edges
Reconstruction Algorithm &
Spatial Resolution
Back projecting blurs image
Algorithms may be
anatomically specific
Special algorithms
edge enhancement
noise reduction
smoothing
soft tissue or bone emphasis
Hi-Resolution CT
Technique
Very small slice thicknesses
1-2 mm
High spatial frequency algorithms
increases resolution
increases noise
Noise can be offset by using higher doses
Radiography CT
10% <1%
CT Contrast Resolution
Depends Upon
reconstruction algorithm
low spatial frequency algorithm smooths
image
Loss of spatial resolution
Reduces noise
(xi - xmean)2
Noise () = -------------------
(n-1)
Xi = individual pixel value
Xmean = average of all pixel values in ROI
n =total # pixels in ROI
Noise Level
Units
CT numbers (HUs)
or
% contrast
Noise Measurement in CT
To achieve equivalent
noise with thinner
slices, dose (technique
factors) must be
increased
Noise Levels in CT:
Increasing slice width = less noise
BUT
Increasing slice width degrades spatial
resolution
less uniformity inside a larger pixel
partial volume effect
2() = kT/(td3R)
Where
is variance resulting from noise
k is a conversion factor (constant)
T is transmissivity (inverse of attenuation)
t is slice thickness
d is pixel size
R is dose
Noise Levels in CT:
When dose increases, noise decreases
dose increases # detected photons
Doubling spatial resolution (2X lp/mm)
requires an 8X increase in dose for
equivalent noise
Smaller voxels mean less radiation per voxel
2() = kT/(td3R)
To hold noise constant
Intensity
?
Quantifying Blurring
Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM)
width of point spread
function at half its
maximum value
Maximum value easy
to identify
Half maximum value
easy to identify
Maximum
Easy to quantify width
at half maximum
Half
Maximum
FWHM
Line Spread Function
LSF
Line object image blurred
Image width larger than object width
Intensity
?
Contrast Response Function
CTF or CRF
Measures contrast response of imaging
system as function of spatial frequency
Lower Higher
Frequency Frequency
Lower Higher
Frequency Frequency
Higher Lower
Contrast Contrast
CT Phantoms
Available from Measure
CT manufacturer
noise
private phantom
manufacturers spatial resolution
American Association contrast resolution
of Physicists in
Medicine
slice thickness
AAPM dose
CT Spatial vs. Contrast
Resolution
Spatial & contrast resolution interact
High contrast objects are easier to resolve
Omprove one at the expense of the other
Can only improve both by increasing dose
Increasing
object size
Increasing contrast
Contrast & Detail
Larger objects easy to see even at low
contrast
Increasing
object size
Increasing contrast
Contrast & Detail
Small objects only visible at high contrast
Increasing
object size
Increasing contrast
Contrast Detail
Contrast vs. object diameter
Relationship
less contrast means object must be larger to resolve
Visibility
Increasing
object size
Difference
in CT #
Freq. =
line pairs / cm
1
MTF
50%
Recorded
Contrast provided Contrast
0 to film (reduced by blur)
frequency
MTF
Can be derived from
point spread function
line spread function
MTF = 1 means
all contrast reproduced at this frequency
MTF = 0 means
no contrast reproduced at this frequency
MTF
If MTF = 1
all contrast reproduced at this frequency
t - W)
CT # = 1000 X ------------
W
Where:
ut = linear attenuation coefficient for tissue in pixel
uW = linear attenuation coefficient for water
Linearity
Linear relationship of CT #s to
object linear attenuation coefficients
Checked with phantom of several
known materials
average CT # of each material
obtained from ROI analysis
Compare CT #s with known
coefficients 77 -100
325
50 -44
Cross-Field Uniformity
Use uniform phantom (water)
CT pixel values should be uniform
anyplace in image
Take 5 ROI
1 center ROI
4 corners ROIs
Compare standard deviation between
ROIs
CT Artifacts
Distortion
Areas where image not
faithful to subject
Sources
patient
image process
equipment
CT Artifacts
Distortion
Phantoms with evenly distributed objects
Preview!
CT Artifacts: Causes
motion
metal & high-contrast
sharp edges
beam hardening
partial volume averaging
sampling
detectors
Motion Artifacts
Causes streaks in image
Algorithms have trouble coping because of
inconsistent data
Artifacts:
Abrupt High Contrast
Examples:
Changes
prostheses
dental fillings
surgical clips
Electrodes
bone
Metal absorbs all
radiation in ray
causes star-shaped artifact
Can be reduced by
software
CT Artifacts:
Beam Hardening
Increase in mean energy of polychromatic
beam as it passes through patient
Can cause broad dark bands or streaks
cupping artifact
Reduced by beam hardening correction
algorithms
CT Artifacts:
Partial Volume Effect
CT #s based on linear attenuation coefficient for
tissue voxels
If voxel non-uniform (contains several materials),
detection process will average
Partial Volume Effect
Can appear as
incorrect densities
streaks
bands
Minimizing
Use thinner slices
Image Artifacts:
Ring Artifact in 3rd
Causes
Generation
1 or more bad detectors
small offset or gain difference
of 1 detector compared to
neighbors
detector calibration required
Reason: rays measured by a
given detector are all tangent
to same circle
Quality Control in CT
Performance tested at prescribed intervals