title: A moving slanted-edge method to measure the temporal modulation transfer function of fluoroscopic systems.
abstract: Lag in fluoroscopic systems introduces a frame-averaging effect that reduces measurements of image noise and incorrectly inflates measurements of the detective quantum efficiency (DQE). A correction can be implemented based on measurements of the temporal modulation transfer function (MTF). We introduce a method of measuring the temporal MTF under fluoroscopic conditions using a moving slanted edge, a generalization of the slanted-edge method used to measure the (spatial) MTF, providing the temporal MTF of the entire imaging system. The method uses a single x-ray exposure, constant edge velocity, and assumes spatial and temporal blurring are separable. The method was validated on a laboratory x-ray image intensifier (XRII) system by comparison with direct measurements of the XRII optical response, showing excellent agreement over the entire frequency range tested (+/- 100 Hz). With proper access to linearized data and continuous fluoroscopy, this method can be implemented in a clinical setting on both XRII and flat-panel detectors. It is shown that the temporal MTF of the CsI-based validation system is a function of exposure rate. The rising-edge response showed more lag than the falling edge, and the temporal MTF decreased with decreasing exposure rate. It is suggested that a small-signal approach, in which the range of exposure rates is restricted to a linear range by using a semitransparent moving edge, would be appropriate for measuring the DQE of these systems.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Research Laboratories, Robarts Research Institute, 100 Perth Drive, London, Ontario N6A 5K8, Canada.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Cunningham
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007753:Laboratories; D016014:Linear Models; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014965:X-Rays