Design, analysis and simulation for development of the first clinical micro-CT scanner.
In this article, we propose to develop the first clinical micro-CT (CMCT) system for human temporal bone imaging in vivo. This CMCT system consists of medical CT and micro-CT scanners either as separate components or in a combination, a cross-modality registration mechanism such as a facial surface scanner, and associated software. This system integrates the strengths of state-of-the-art medical CT and micro-CT techniques to achieve a spatial resolution that is much higher than currently available for inner ear imaging at acceptable dose levels. Our design, analysis, and simulation results demonstrate that the CMCT system is feasible for inner ear imaging and other clinical applications. For example, the CMCT system has the potential to improve the safety of guiding cochlear implant electrodes within the inner ear and assist the placement of inner ear microcatheters for delivery of gene modification therapy or administration of neurotrophic factors. Imaging of microarchitectures of the cancellous bone would be also an important application.
Wang
Ge
G
CT/Micro-CT Laboratory, Department of Radiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. ge-wang@uiowa.edu
Zhao
Shiying
S
Yu
Hengyong
H
Miller
Charles A
CA
Abbas
Paul J
PJ
Gantz
Bruce J
BJ
Lee
Seung Wook
SW
Rubinstein
Jay T
JT
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D004869:Equipment Safety / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011859:Radiography; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015898:Tomography Scanners, X-Ray Computed / Q000592:standards*