Development of a Multi-Axis X-ray CT for Metal Artifact Reduction

As an established non-destructive diagnostic/inspection technique, X-ray CT that can generate cross-sectional images of an object has been pervasive in our lives. Despite its ubiquity, technical problems related to artifacts have remained. In particular, when metallic objects such as tooth implants or conductive wire made of lead are contained the object, a strong radial noise called metal artifacts are generated from the metallic portions. So far we have proposed reconstruction algorithms to reduce metal artifacts; however, it is difficult to apply in cases where the transmitted X-ray intensities are saturated. In this paper, we propose a new CT system based on a two axes rotation mechanism to avoid saturation of X-rays. The feasibility and potency are verified by simulation experiments. As a result of applying our proposed method, it was confirmed that metal artifacts generated from electronic devices could be reduced efficiently.