Example questions, Module 1

1. You are using CT to image a tumor in the liver that is more highly attenuating than the
surrounding healthy tissue. Next you image the same tumor in a different patient that has the
same tissue and tumor X-ray attenuation but noise amplitude is higher in this patient, resulting
in increased signal variance and lower SNR. How are contrast and CNR affected?

Contrast (|It-Ib|/Ib) is unaffected, CNR (|It-Ib|/σb) decreases with increasing noise amplitude
(increased standard deviation or variance) because σb and σt (if it is different from σb and
depending on which definition of CNR you use) increase in the definition of CNR.

2. If you could only change 1 part of the system, how would you design a new CT system with
higher spatial resolution?

Make the detectors smaller - this addresses the fundamental limit on spatial resolution in CT.
The limitation to spatial resolution may be different for other imaging modalities (X-ray, SPECT,
PET).

How would the change you made affect SNR?

SNR would be lower at the same dose due to decreased averaging at each detector. That is,
SNR is lower because there are fewer photons at each detector. See slide 57-58 of CT slides
(003).
(Also, it is more expensive to have a large number of very small detectors, this is why this is not
done already.)

3. Considering all X-rays arriving at the detector, are there more Bremsstrahlung or
characteristic X-rays? Explain why.

While either type could be useful for diagnostic imaging, more X-rays are Bremsstrahlung
because of the continuous nature of the process—electrons are redirected and lose energy,
resulting in X-rays at all energies/wavelengths. There are many low energy Bremsstrahlung X-
rays that are not useful for imaging and are filtered by the X-ray tube, filter, patient’s body, etc.,
but at the detector there will still be more total X-rays produced by Bremsstrahlung than
characteristic radiation. This can be seen on slide 32 of X-ray slides (002), and also this diagram
was part of HW1.
If the generated X-ray intensity is too low, what could we change at the X-ray source (by turning
a knob or changing a setting inside the existing system, not by building a new system) in order
to increase the intensity of generated X-rays?
Tube voltage
Tube current (filament current)

These are the best two answers. You could also say you would change the filter, rectification,
etc.
This is slide 10 of X-ray slides (002).