title: Quantitative x-ray radiography using grating interferometry: a feasibility study.
abstract: X-ray grating interferometry is a promising tool for medical imaging because of its capability of providing additional and complementary information to conventional absorption-based methods. This technology can simultaneously measure absorption, differential phase and small-angle scattering signals from the sample, significantly improving the diagnostic content. In this work, we present a method which uses the image (dubbed the R image) obtained by taking the ratio of the absorption and small-angle scattering signals to gain quantitative insight from a radiographic x-ray projection. We demonstrate that with the help of the R image we can successfully distinguish among different (light-Z) plastic materials, which are usually used to mimic soft tissues. Two potential applications in medical imaging, such as quantitative x-ray radiography and volumetric breast density estimation, are demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Zhentian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stampanoni
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000166:cytology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D007368:Interferometry / Q000379:methods*; D008327:Mammography; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011859:Radiography / Q000379:methods*; D014965:X-Rays