Monte Carlo calculation of the spatial response (Modulated Transfer Function) of a scintillation flat panel and comparison with experimental results

Abstract

Phosphor screens are commonly used in many X-ray imaging applications. The design and optimization of these detectors can be achieved using Monte Carlo codes to simulate radiation transport in scintillation materials and to improve the spatial response.

This work presents an exhaustive procedure to measure the spatial resolution of a scintillation flat panel image and to evaluate the agreement with data obtained by simulation. To evaluate the spatial response we have used the Modulated Transfer Function (MTF) parameter. According to this, we have obtained the Line Spread Function (LSF) of the system since the Fourier Transform (FT) of the LSF gives the MTF.

The experimental images were carried out using a medical X-ray tube (Toshiba E7299X) and a flat panel (Hammamatsu C9312SK). Measurements were based on the slit methodology experimental implementation, which measures the response of the system to a line. LSF measurements have been performed using a 0.2 mm wide lead slit superimposed over the flat panel.

The detector screen was modelled with MCNP (version 6) Monte Carlo simulation code in order to analyze the effect of the acquisition setup configuration and to compare the response of scintillator screens with the experimental results. MCNP6 offers the possibility of studying the optical physics parameters (optical scattering and absorption coefficients) that occur in the phosphor screen.

The study has been tested for different X-ray tube voltages, from 100 to 140 kV. An acceptable convergence between the MTF results obtained with MCNP6 and the experimental measurements have been obtained.