Paper 13405-131
Paper 13405-131
Feasibility of photon-counting micro-CT for intraoperative specimen imaging: a simulation study
17 February 2025 • 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM PST | Golden State Ballroom
Abstract
In this simulation study, we investigate the feasibility of photon-counting micro-CT for intraoperative virtual histopathology on tumor specimens, to visualize the tumor margin. We calculate the contrast-to-noise ratio for soft-tissue imaging and investigate its kVp dependence, for single-bin photon-counting mode and optimally energy-weighting mode. Furthermore, we use the Rose model to calculate the minimum detectable feature size as a function of exposure time. To understand the upper limit of detection capabilities, we assume an ideal detector. Our results show that when contrast-to-noise ratio is normalized with exposure time, the maximum studied tube voltage (150 kV) is optimal across tissue thicknesses. In contrast, when CNR is normalized for dose, lower tube voltage ranges are preferable for thinner tissues. Additionally, we find that soft-tissue features as small as 30 μm can be distinguished during a 30-min scan, suggesting that micro-CT may be a feasible alternative to histopathology for intraoperative tumor margin assessment.
Presenter
Mats U. Persson
KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden)
Mats Persson received his MSc in Engineering Physics in 2011 and his PhD in Physics in 2016, both from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. His PhD work, within the Physics of Medical Imaging Division at KTH Department of
Physics, was centered on photon-counting spectral CT imaging with a photon-counting silicon strip detector. After spending three years as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University and at General Electric Research Center, he returned to KTH in 2020 where he is now an Assistant Professor of Physics. His research interests is focused on image reconstruction and mathematical performance modeling for photon-counting spectral CT.