Development of X-Ray Talbot-Lau Interferometer with a Practical X-Ray Tube for Medical Imaging

The purpose of this study was to design an X-ray Talbot-Lau interferometer for the imaging of bone cartilage using a practical X-ray tube and to develop that imaging system for clinical use. Wave-optics simulation was performed to design the interferometer with a practical X-ray tube, a source grating, two X-ray gratings, and an X-ray detector. An imaging system was created based on the results of the simulation. The specifications were as follows: the focal spot size was 0.3 mm of an X-ray tube with a tungsten anode. The tube voltage was set at 40 kVp with an additive aluminum filter. The pixel size of the X-ray detector was 85 mu m. The amplitude grating was a Ronchi-type grating whose pitch was 5.3 lam. Imaging performance of the system was examined with X-ray doses of 0.5, 1 and 3 mGy so that the bone cartilage of a chicken wing was clearly depicted with X-ray doses of 3 mGy. This was consistent with the simulation's predictions. Further optimization of the system will follow to reduce the X-ray dose for clinical use.