Image quality in two phosphor-based flat panel digital radiographic detectors

Abstract

Two general types of phosphor screens are currently used in indirect digital radiographic systems: structured phosphor screens and turbid phosphor screens. The purpose of the study was to experimentally compare the image quality characteristics of two flat-panel digital radiography detectors with similar electronics and pixel sizes (0.127 mm), but otherwise equipped with the two types of screens (0.6-mm-thick structured CsI and Lanex Regular). The presampled modulation transfer functions (MTFs) of the detectors were assessed using an edge method. The noise power spectra (NPS) were measured by two-dimensional Fourier analysis of uniformly-exposed radiographs at 50-100 kVp with 19 mm added Al filtration. The detective quantum efficiencies (DQEs) were assessed from the MTF, the NPS, and estimates of the ideal signal-to-noise ratio. The MTF measures of the two detectors were generally similar above a spatial frequency of 2 mm(-1), with approximately 2.5 and approximately 3.8 mm(-1) spatial frequencies corresponding to 0.2 MTF and 0.1 MTF, respectively. Below 2 mm(-1), the MTF for the CsI-based detector was slightly higher by an average of 0.07. At 70 kVp, the measured DQE values in the diagonal (and axial) direction(s) at spatial frequencies of 0.15 mm(-1) and 2.5 mm(-1) were 78% (78%) and 26% (20%) for the CsI-based detector, and 20% (20%) and 7% (6%) for the Lanex-based detector, respectively. The comparative findings experimentally confirm that in indirect flat-panel detectors, structured phosphor screens provide a more favorable tradeoff between resolution and noise compared to turbid-phosphor screens, effectively increasing the detection efficiency of the detector without a negative impact on the detector's spatial resolution response.