The design, development and evaluation of a portable x-ray detector are described. The completed detector has a pixel pitch of 100 micrometers , an active imaging area of 22.5 x 27.5 cm² (9 x 11 inch²), package outer dimensions of 32.5 x 32.5 cm², a thickness of only 20 mm, and a weight of around 2.8 kg. A number of significant advances in the design and production processes were needed to produce such a compact detector with such a small pixel pitch, while maintaining the image quality achieved a current detector (CXDI-22) which has a 160 mm pixel pitch. These include the development of a low power readout IC, advances in detector packaging design, concentrating on lightweight and strong components, and redesign of the pixel structure to improve the fill-factor. A comparison is made of the imaging characteristics of this new detector with the CXDI-22 detector, and it is shown that the new detector demonstrates improved CTF, and NEQ. The new detector is also shown to demonstrate superior performance in a contrast-detail phantom evaluation. This new detector should be useful for limb and joint examinations as it offers high spatial resolution, combined with the same freedom in positioning provided by conventional screen-film cassettes.

Date Published: 28 June 2001
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4320, Medical Imaging 2001: Physics of Medical Imaging, (28 June 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.430918

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4320:
Medical Imaging 2001: Physics of Medical Imaging
Larry E. Antonuk; Martin Joel Yaffe, Editor(s)