Simultaneous fluorescence and Compton scattering computed tomography based on linear polarization X-ray

Purpose To propose a method for simultaneous fluorescence and Compton scattering computed tomography by using linearly polarized X-rays.Methods Monte Carlo simulations were adopted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. In the simulations, the phantom is a polytetrafluoroethylene cylinder inside which are cylindrical columns containing aluminum, water, and gold(Au)-loaded water solutions with Au concentrations ranging between 0.5 and 4.0 wt%, and a parallel-hole collimator imaging geometry was adopted. The light source was modeled based on a Thomson scattering X-ray source. The phantom images for both imaging modalities were reconstructed using a maximumlikelihood expectation maximization algorithm.Results Both the X-ray fluorescence computed tomography(XFCT) and Compton scattering computed tomography(CSCT) images of the phantom were accurately reconstructed. A similar attenuation contrast problem for the different cylindrical columns in the phantom can be resolved in the XFCT and CSCT images. The interplay between XFCT and CSCT was analyzed, and the contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) of the reconstruction was improved by correcting for the mutual influence between the two imaging modalities. Compared with K-edge subtraction imaging, XFCT exhibits a CNR advantage for the phantom.Conclusion Simultaneous XFCT and CSCT can be realized by using linearly polarized X-rays. The synergy between the two imaging modalities would have an important application in cancer radiation therapy