Spektr: A computational tool for x‐ray spectral analysis and imaging system optimization

Abstract

A set of computational tools are presented that allow convenient calculation of x‐ray spectra, selection of elemental and compound filters, and calculation of beam quality characteristics, such as half‐value layer, mR/mAs, and fluence per unit exposure. The TASMIP model of Boone and Seibert is adapted to a library of high‐level language (Matlab™) functions and shown to agree with experimental measurements across a wide range of kVp and beam filtration. Modeling of beam filtration is facilitated by a convenient, extensible database of mass and mass‐energy attenuation coefficients compiled from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The functions and database were integrated in a graphical user interface and made available online at http://www.aip.org/epaps/epaps.html. The functionality of the toolset and potential for investigation of imaging system optimization was illustrated in theoretical calculations of imaging performance across a broad range of kVp, filter material type, and filter thickness for direct and indirect‐detection flat‐panel imagers. The calculations reveal a number of nontrivial effects in the energy response of such detectors that may not have been guessed from simple K‐edge filter techniques, and point to a variety of compelling hypotheses regarding choice of beam filtration that warrant future investigation.