DUAL-ENERGY CONE-BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY WITH A MULTIPLE SOURCE, SINGLE-DETECTOR CONFIGURATION

摘要

The present invention is directed to a system and method for dual-energy (DE) or multiple-energy (spectral) cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) using a configuration of multiple x-ray sources and a single detector. The x-ray sources are operated to produce x-ray spectra of different energies (peak kilovoltage (kVp) and/or filtration). Volumetric 3D image reconstruction and dual or triple energy 3D image decomposition can be executed using data from the CBCT scan. The invention allows for a variety of selections in energy and filtration associated with each source and the order of pulsing for each source ("firing pattern"). The motivation for distributing the sources along the z direction in CBCT includes extension of the longitudinal field of view and reduction of cone-beam artifacts.