Fundamental relationship between the noise properties of grating-based differential phase contrast CT and absorption CT: Theoretical framework using a cascaded system model and experimental validation

Purpose: Using a grating interferometer, a conventional x-ray cone beam computed tomography (CT) data acquisition system can be used to simultaneously generate both conventional absorption CT (ACT) and differential phase contrast CT (DPC-CT) images from a single data acquisition. Since the two CT images were extracted from the same set of x-ray projections, it is expected that intrinsic relationships exist between the noise properties of the two contrast mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to investigate these relationships. Methods: First, a theoretical framework was developed using a cascaded system model analysis to investigate the relationship between the noise power spectra (NPS) of DPC-CT and ACT. Based on the derived analytical expressions of the NPS, the relationship between the spatial-frequency-dependent noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) of DPC-CT and ACT was derived. From these fundamental relationships, the NPS and NEQ of the DPC-CT system can be derived from the corresponding ACT system or vice versa. To validate these theoretical relationships, a benchtop cone beam DPC-CT/ACT system was used to experimentally measure the modulation transfer function (MTF) and NPS of both DPC-CT and ACT. The measured three-dimensional (3D) MTF and NPS were then combined to generate the corresponding 3D NEQ. Results: Two fundamental relationships have been theoretically derived and experimentally validated for the NPS and NEQ of DPC-CT and ACT: (1) the 3D NPS of DPC-CT is quantitatively related to the corresponding 3D NPS of ACT by an inplane-only spatial-frequency-dependent factor 1/f(2), the ratio of window functions applied to DPC-CT and ACT, and a numerical factor C-g determined by the geometry and efficiency of the grating interferometer. Note that the frequency-dependent factor is independent of the frequency component f(z) perpendicular to the axial plane. (2) The 3D NEQ of DPC-CT is related to the corresponding 3D NEQ of ACT by an f(2) scaling factor and numerical factors that depend on both the attenuation and refraction properties of the image object, as well as C-g and the MTF of the grating interferometer. Conclusions: The performance of a DPC-CT system is intrinsically related to the corresponding ACT system. As long as the NPS and NEQ of an ACT system is known, the corresponding NPS and NEQ of the DPC-CT system can be readily estimated using additional characteristics of the grating interferometer. (c) 2013 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.4788647]