Imaging Technology and Equipment Unit 1

IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT
PREPARED BY: ER.SARBESH CHAUDHARY, ELECTRONICS DEPT.,MMP
UNIT 1
MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION
Photographic film was the principal means for storing medical images for many years which has been
replaced by computers which provides new means of storing, processing, transferring and displaying images.
Computerized tomography, computers and digital image processing have revolutionized the way medical
images are produced and manipulated.
Now it is possible to acquire data, perform mathematical operations to produce images, emphasize details
or differences of images, & store and retrieve images from remote site by the means of various
communications system all without film.
In medical imaging system all the imaging systems such as photographic, x-ray, ultrasonic, radionuclide,
television etc. can be thought of as a cameras. All the cameras are limited by resolution, amplitude scale and
noise content.
The photographic images can be enlarged until it becomes quite grainy, and this graininess is the bound to
both resolution and noise. The x-ray image is resolution-limited by the dimensions of x-ray source and noise
limited by the beam intensity. The ultrasound images are limited by angular resolution of the transducer and
its ability to separate true signals from false signals and noise. The television image is limited by the electron
storage capacity of the camera sensor.
INFORMATION CONTENT OF AN IMAGE

In most of the cases, the information content of an image is the product of the number of discrete elements
called pixels and number of amplitude levels of each pixel.
Noise whether originating from photographic grain, electric charge or statistical variations of the number of
quanta (light, x-ray, or gamma ray) limits the amplification permitted in a channel. It is better to use
amplitude steps within the channel same as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).
RESOLUTION
Spatial resolution is the quantitative measure of the ability of a display system to produce separable images
of different points of an object with high fidelity. Resolution is expressed in terms of line pairs per millimetre
(lp/mm).
Resolution is defined this way so that objects and spaces between them are counted equally. A single
countable object requires at least one line pair (2 pixels) on each axis so that both, spaces between the
objects and object itself may be resolved.
Systems must be designed with adequate spatial resolution characteristics to guarantee that spatial details
of interest are preserved when a medical image is displayed. Portraying image data on a display with
insufficient resolution will affect the accuracy of the radiological interpretation.
IMAGE NOISE
All images are limited by both noise and spatial resolution. If we try to dissect an image to smaller and smaller
areas, we will find that the image is limited to some smallest element. The detectability of small objects and
objects of low contrast in medical images depends not only on their size and contrast but also on the
superimposed noise and noise in the immediate surroundings.
Noise is defined as any high-frequency fluctuations/ patterns (< 1 cm) that interfere with the detection of
the true signal.
CRT displays have several noise sources such as electronic noise, stochastic noise in the conversion of the
video signal to photons, and structured noise. Thus, CRT display system noise has both temporal and spatial
components.
The temporal noise behaves similar to quantum noise and appears to be determined by random fluctuations
in the number of luminescence photons detected by the human eye. Spatial noise is a fixed-pattern noise
that originates from the granular structure of the CRT phosphor screen.
Typically, temporal noise is small compared to spatial noise, except at the lowest luminance levels. The
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of spatial noise is usually independent of the luminance level.
MODULATIO TRANSFER FUNCTION (MTF)

MTF is the modified form of spatial frequency response of an element or entire imaging system. As the name
suggests, the modulation transfer function is, a measure of the transfer of modulation (or contrast) from the
subject to the image. In other words, it measures how faithfully the camera reproduces (or transfers) detail
from the object to the image produced by the camera.
The resolution of a system cannot be a faithful indicator of system performance because for example it may
resolve a 2.0 mesh/mm copper screen at high contrast but it may perform poorly showing the low contrast
image of gall bladder.
For measuring MTF, it is better to use sinusoidal test objects to modulate the input signal as it covers band
of frequencies from zero to the maximal frequency but it is harder to make. Thus, generally square- bar
patterns are used for measuring the MTF of x-ray and other photographic imaging system as shown below.
As shown in the diagram above it consists of series of black bars and white spaces starting at low frequency
and increasing in frequency (i.e. spacing decreasing gradually). The test objects of different frequencies are
tested independently by the camera lens.
The detector of the camera consists of a microscope with small slit in the local plane of the microscope lens,
behind which there is a photomultiplier tube whose output is further fed to a recorder. This recorder records
the square-wave amplitude as a function of frequency.
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The square-wave amplitudes can be converted into the equation of sine-wave amplitude by taking the matrix
inversion of Fourier-series expansion of square-wave terms. Thus, MTF as a function of spatial frequency can
be given by the formula,
S(f) = =
() +
[
(3)
3
(5)
5
(7)
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Where, S(f) = amplitude of sine wave at frequency f.

M(f)= Measured values on square-wave amplitudes at f, 3f, 5f, 7f and so on.
The Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) curve for a typical x-ray system is shown in the figure below. Here,
limiting resolution 4 cycles/mm is indicated at 0.05 contrast level. In x-axis, spatial frequency f is plotted in
cycles/mm which is same as line pairs per mm and in y-axis related spatial frequency response is plotted.
Here, S(f) is squared and integrated to give noise equivalent bandwidth Ne.
Thus, in this way it is possible to convert square-wave data to sine-wave data required for obtaining the
MTF.
NOISE-EQUIVALENT BANDWIDTH
For a system having amplitude response as a function of spatial frequency, S(f) = MTF, the noise-equivalent
bandwidth (Ne) is that of an equivalent system that has 100% amplitude response from zero frequency to
Ne and zero response above Ne . The Ne is obtained by integrating the square of the MTF amplitudes and is
expressed as,
Ne = 0 2 ()
The value of Ne is an excellent measure for calculating the noise performance of any imaging system. Thus,
it is being a useful and practical means for describing system performance rather than limiting resolution.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography is based on the lattice properties of silver bromide crystals in the film emulsion. Light
photons ejects electron from the bromide atoms and some of these electrons are caught by the silver
atoms which neutralizes it and form metallic silver atoms.
For a single silver atom, the neutralizing electron may be lost thermally and the silver atom again go
back to their lattice structure. Thus, if five or more contiguous silver atoms are freed at the same time
then the probability of the silver atom remaining in the metallic state will be high.
During the chemical processing (developing), the silver ions in the grain accumulates around the metallic
silver atom to form a grain of about 109 metallic silver atom. And the remaining silver bromide is carried
away by the solution (fixer).
Let 25 atoms are required to produce the first 5 silver atom to make a single grain capable of being
developed in the required sensitivity site. Then, we can say that, for a given type of emulsion and
development, the number of grains per unit area and the size of the grain can be varied but the amount
of light required per grain is constant.
Thus, we can say that, fine grained film requires more lights per unit area and coarse-grained film
requires less light per unit area.
Image formed in the film before chemical development is called latent image. There is the possibility of
some metallic silver atoms to return back to their lattice because of slow thermal effect, this is called
latent image fading.
All the films have some range of exposure time such that, constant-light-intensity-time product will
bring the emulsion to a particular value of density. Where density is defined as D=log 1/T, where T is
light transmission on film.
The value of Ne is about 40 lp/mm for most photographic negative. Electron-beam recording on the film
permit the use of 8-mm film to record about 30 times as much as information as light exposure.
Since each requires 25 photons captured, 2X1010 photons are required to take a picture. The lesser
exposure increases the noise or say decreases the gray scale. The optical defocussing reduces the noise
due to graininess but this increases the cell size which in turn decreases the resolution.
TELEVISION SYSTEM
The television system consists of a TV camera, optional image storage unit, image processing unit and display
monitor. In fluoroscopic system, the television camera is coupled through a lens to the output of the x-ray
image intensifier. The camera detects the light signal, blanks it at the edge of the image frame and adds
synchronising pulses, which helps storage and display devices to get synchronized with the camera scanning.
For the storage of medical images magnetic tape/disks or optical discs are used and small computer are used
to process the image. Because of computer processing, rapid communication and diagnosis from the distant
is possible with the aid of internet and other communication technologies.
Television camera
The television comprises of a sensor, which has a matrix or surface of photodetector and capacitors. The
characteristics and thickness of the photodetector determine the light sensitivity and the capacitance
determines the noise properties and dynamic range of the sensor. The two basic type of geometries like
electron-beam-scanned camera tube and charge coupled device (CCD) are used in TV camera.
Figure below shows the construction of the vidicon camera tube which is an electron-beam-scanned
camera tube. It consists of the following parts:
Indirectly heated cathode (electron gun or electron source). Four grids (G1 to G4).
Face plate made of optically flat screen. Target plate having two sides. The side facing the light is known
as signal plate. It has a thin coating of tin oxide (SnO2) which is transparent to light and is good conductor
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of electricity. The back side of the target plate faces electron gun and has a coating of antimony trisulphide
which is a semiconductor or may have a coating of lead oxide (PbO2) which acts as a photoconductors.
Deflection coils, which allows an electron beam to scan the target horizontally and vertically.
Focus coil, mounted outside the tube to sharpen the electron beam. Alignment coil, which keeps the beam
aligned when there is no deflection.
Working or operation:
The electron gun produces the scanning electron beam by heating the cathode and scan the target
containing the photoconducting layer.
The grid G1 surrounds the cathode and controls the beam current. Whereas G2 accelerates the electron.
Focus grid G3 slows down the electrons, so that, the beam should fall perpendicularly on the target at low
speed without causing of secondary emission.
Grid G4 is a wire mesh and works as a muzzle of electron gun. When light falls on the photoconductive
plates its resistance about to 2m. When an optical image is focused on the target, the illuminated pixels
becomes conducting and gets partially discharged. This charged image corresponds to the optical image
focused on it. Therefore, a pattern of positive charges is formed on the side of the target plate facing
electron gun.
When the electron beam falls on the target plate, it leaves electrons on the target plate. This electrons
neutralizes the positive charge on the target plate. This causes an electric current to flow.
The current at any spot of scanning is proportional to the electrons deposited by the beam and is
therefore proportional to the intensity of brightness of the spot. Each element in the target plate is
scanned every 40 ms.
The sensitivity of the vidicon tube coated with antimony trisulphide on the target can be adjusted by
changing the target voltage but it cannot be adjusted if the target plate is coated with lead oxide (PbO 2).
The detector in video fluoroscopic X-ray systems, vidicon camera tube is replacing by the charge coupled
device (CCD) which provides improved image quality than the vidicon tube. Each elemental circuit in CCD has
a photodiode, a charging circuit, a capacitor and a charge transfer circuit. It offers high resolution, so for
certain application where 2048X2048 pixel matrices are required, CCD is preferable. Commonly CCD have
about 250X350 pixel matrices. CCD are also used abundantly in dental radiography.
Image processing
During processing, the analog vidicon camera tube information is quantized by sampling and digitized for the
input to computers and CCD images are quantized by pixel-by-pixel information.
Because of the storage facility the medical image can be stored and can be seen continuously which prevents
regular exposure of X-ray to the patient. In fluoroscopy, even if the X-rays are turned off, the last image can
be obtained as a last image hold.
RADIOGRAPHY
Radiography is the photography of internal organ of the body that uses other kinds of radiation rather
than visible light which is called X-ray. X-rays were first discovered by the German physicist named
Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen in November 1895. He called this new kind of ray, the X-ray, where X means
unknown.
X-ray photons are electromagnetic radiations similar as light photons but has 104 times energy than light
photons i.e. 10 to 150 KeV. Because of such high energy X-ray photons are more penetrating. Streams
of X-rays can dissociate molecules by ionization, so, they are also called ionizing radiation.
The modern unit of radiation is gray (Gy), which is defined as absorbed energy of 1joule per Kg. the
modern unit of exposure is sievert (Sv) which is also known as biologically equivalent dose.
A radiological examination is one of the main diagnostic aid available in the medical science. The X-ray
picture is called a radiograph, which is a shadow picture produced by x-rays radiating from a point
source. The X-ray picture is usually obtained on photographic film placed in image plane.
It is based on the fact that various anatomical structures of the body have different densities for the Xrays. When X-rays from a point source penetrate a part of the body, the internal body structure absorb
varying amount of radiation. The radiation that leaves the body has a spatial intensity variation, i.e. an
image of internal structure of the body.
Properties of X-ray
The properties of X-ray which makes them useful in medical examination are as follows:
1. X-rays are able to penetrate through any materials because of its short wavelength (in the range of
0.01 to 10 nanometres) and high energy.
2. Produces ionization in some materials.
3. Produces fluorescence in some materials to help them emit light.
4. It affect photographic film in the same way as ordinary visible light.
Effects of X-ray
Despite the benefits, excessive X-rays may cause harm to the human body. The effects of X-ray are as follows:
1. The children of pregnant patients may suffer from congenital abnormalities as a result of
irradiation.
2. X-rays may also cause abnormal cellular proliferation resulting in cancer development.
3. It may cause reddened skin on the area of exposure.
GENERATION OF X-RAYS
A simple X-ray system consists of a high voltage generator, an x-ray tube, a collimator, the object or
patient, an intensifying screen and the film as shown in the figure below. A simple X-ray generator has a
line circuit breaker, a variable autotransformer, an exposure timer and contactor, a step-up transformer
and rectifier & a filament control for the tube.
The X-ray tube is a temperature-limited vacuum diode with a heated cathode located opposite to the
target anode. The beam electron strikes the anode and produces X-ray through two mechanisms i.e.
bremsstrahlung and characteristic radiation.
The X-rays are produced by bremsstrahlung mechanism by deceleration of the arriving electrons by
positively charged nuclei of the anode atoms. The X-rays are produced through characteristic radiation
when anodes innermost electron is knocked out of the orbit by arriving electrons which is then replaced
by the outer shell electrons.
As shown in the figure above the X-ray tube generates the x-ray. The lowest energy x-rays are absorbed
in the anode metal and the glass envelope of the tube. Further an AI filter reduces the low energy x-rays
which do not penetrate through the body which would only increase the patient dose.
High energy x-rays from an AI filter is restricted by the aperture of the collimator and which is then falls
on the patient body part of interest.
The scattered secondary radiation from the body is trapped by the grid whereas primary radiation strike
the screen phosphor. The resulting light then exposes the film which will give us the x-ray of the patient
body part required for the diagnosis.
The intensity of x-rays depends upon the current through the tube and wavelength depends on the target
material and the velocity of the electron holding the target. The X-ray equipment for the diagnostic
purpose uses the target voltage of 30 to 100 kV, current of 300 mA, time period of 0.1 s and more than
100kW of power level.
COMPUTED RADIOGRAPHY
Computed radiography (CR) are rapidly replacing screen-film imaging systems in many countries. CR uses
photostimulable phosphor (PSP) plates which must be transported to a scanner (or reader) and scanned with
a laser beam to convert the stored image to a digital image.
These systems rely on picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) for transmission and storage of
the digital images.
CR systems use a PSP plate to store the image resulting from the interaction of x-rays with the phosphor.
This stored image is then stimulated by a laser beam with a very small focus (0.1 mm or less). This stimulation
results in the emission of light which is captured, amplified and digitized to produce the digital array. The
image thus obtained must be of higher resolution than the resolution of display monitor so that magnified
portion (i.e. Region of Interest (ROI)) can be viewed clearly.
The advantages of this technology is that;
It reduced cassette handling for the radiographer in the clinical setting.
The various features of image (like sharpness, contrast, brightness, aspect ratio etc.) obtained by CR can
be emphasized and even the noise level can be reduced using computer processing.
Image fusion can also be achieved through CR in which the image of same body part obtained from CR
and other imaging sources like MRI, CT scan, ultrasound etc. can be superimposed on a single monitor for
the diagnosis.
Figure below shows the block diagram of Computed radiography system, which consists of x-ray system,
reusable PSP detector (film), image reader, image scanner and image recorder. The process of CR image
acquisition is given below;
First, the X-ray system produces x-rays which strikes the phosphor plate through patient. Then latent
image is formed on the phosphor plate where low energy electrons in the phosphors are elevated and
trapped in a metastable energy state.
Plate is placed in an image reader processor where it is scanned with a red laser light by the image
scanner. Laser light inputs energy into the plate knocking the electron out of the trap. As the electron
returns to lower energy level it emits the excess energy as visible light.
These visible light energy is detected by a collection of Photo-multiplier Tubes or photodiodes which
provides amplified analog electrical signal of an image.
The analog electrical signal is converted to a digital image via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). ADC of
lower bit capacity but faster response must be used to generate clean signals of wide dynamic range.
Now, once the digital image is obtained it can be stored in image recorder and can be viewed in monitor
screen as a high resolution X-ray image.
COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
The Computed Tomography (CT) also known as Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) is the medical-imaging
systems which generates images of internal body structures using complex x-ray and computer-aided
tomographic imaging techniques. It was developed in 1970s because of the limitation of a traditional X-ray
image.
The idea behind the development of CT evolved for imaging the brain. By using CT we can obtain the
information about internal organs and body structures which could not be done by conventional X-ray
photograph. CT scan is one of the major developments in medical instrumentation. Actual image dimensions
of CT are generally 256x256 or 512x512 pixels.
Main application of CT scan in medical field is to detect the injury in the human brain and to detect inner
wounds.
Working principle
The x-ray images used to generate the tomographic images are generated first by exposing the patient to a
fan-shaped x-ray beam and then detecting the projected image on a thin semi-circular, digital x-ray detector
as shown in the figure below.
Figure: The patient is exposed to a fan-shaped x-ray beam and the projected image is detected on a thin,
semi-circular digital x-ray detector.
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The patient is placed between the source and detector, and the detector is configured with its geometric
centre located at the x-ray source. Each image is an x-ray projection of a very thin transverse slice of the
body.
To collect the multitude of x-ray projections necessary to generate a tomographic CT image, both the x-ray
source and detector are rotated about a patient within a supporting gantry. While the source and detector
rotate, images are collected and stored.
Photodetector arrays used in CT imaging have as many as 1000 detectors in the long dimension along the
semi-circular detector arch; 16 or more detectors are positioned in the shorter dimension tangential to the
arch. The number of detectors in the short dimension determines the number of available image slices.
Detection operation
Early CT imaging systems accomplished x-ray detection using both scintillation crystals and photomultiplier
tubes. The scintillation crystals converted x-rays to light and the photomultiplier tubes converted these light
signals to a usable electrical signal. Modern CT systems now employ more sophisticated scintillation crystal
materials and solid-state photodetector diodes for this purpose.
The output from each photodiode is a current proportional to the light striking the diode. The signals from
the photodiode array are then routed to the digital acquisition system (DAS) which amplifies and converts
the signals to a digital format using high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs).
An alternative method routes the signals from every photodiode to an integrator in the DAS. In these
implementations, the integrated current signals are converted to a voltage, sampled at the same time, and
multiplexed into the input of an ADC.
ADCs with 16-bit resolution or greater are commonly used. The outputs of the ADCs are routed to an image
signal processor over a high-speed bus for further signal processing and image reconstruction.
The output may be displayed on the cathode ray tube or photographed with a camera to produce
a hard copy record.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI)

MRI was discovered in 1947 simultaneously by two physicist Felix Bloch and Edward Mills Purcell. The first
clinical images was obtained in 1977. MRI is a non-invasive technique which uses magnetic field and radio
frequencies rather than ionising radiation as used in X-ray and CT scan for the diagnosis. Magnetic field
strength of an MRI machine is measured in Tesla (T). For clinical diagnosis MRI machine uses magnetic field
strength of 1.5 to 3 T, this produces a strong magnetic field which is much more than the earth magnetic
field i.e. 0.00003T.
Construction
The schematic diagram of a typical MRI machine is shown in the figure below.
It consists of Primary magnet to generate strong static magnetic field.
The gradient coils to generate magnetic field altering the primary magnetic field.
The RF transmitter and RF receiver coils to produce and receive RF pulses.
The computer system i.e image processing system.
The monitor to view the MRI image.
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Working principle
The human body contains of 70% of water which is the composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. MRI relies
on the magnetic properties of hydrogen atoms to produce an images. Hydrogen nucleus is composed of a
single proton and the elements having odd number of proton like hydrogen have magnetic properties. Such
spinning charged particles like hydrogen proton produces magnetic field which is called magnetic moment.
Normally the hydrogen protons are oriented randomly so there is no magnetic field. When a person is
subjected to the strong magnetic field the hydrogen atoms align parallel or anti-parallel to the primary
magnetic field B0, this is called longitudinal magnetisation. Greater proportion of the hydrogen atom align
parallel to the magnetic field (i.e low energy state) than anti-parallel to the magnetic field (i.e high energy
state), thus, the net magnetic vector M is in the direction of the primary magnetic field B0 oriented along the
z-axis.
The proton spin along the axis of the primary magnetic field which is known as precession and this precession
rate is termed as Larmor frequency. When protons precess together it is called in-phase and when the proton
precess separately it is called out-of-phase. The frequency changes with respect to the magnetic field, which
is given by the Larmor relationship as
= B
where, = 2 times the Larmor frequency f.
= gyrometric ratio i.e 42
B = magnetic field strength.
so, at magnetic strength of 1.5 T Larmor frequency is 63.9MHz.
There are three gradient coils which are named according to the axis on they work, they are X-gradient coil,
Y-gradient coil and Z-gradient coil. The gradient coils generates secondary magnetic field which is less than
the primary field. The arrangement of these gradient coils gives the MRI the capacity to image directionally
along the Z, X, and Y axis.
Gradient magnets alter the strength of the primary magnetic field thereby changing the precession frequency
between the slices which can then be used for slice selection along X, Y and Z-axis, this is called spatial
encoding of MRI imaging. The Z-gradient runs along the Z-axis to produce axial images, the X-gradient runs
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along the horizontal axis to produce sagittal images and Y-gradient runs along the vertical axis to produce
coronal images.
The RF transmitter coil is used for transmitting radio frequency equal to Larmor frequency to produce
resonance and the RF receiver coil is used to receive the radio frequency from the body due to resonating
hydrogen atom. The RF coils are designed according to the specific body parts to be examined. The RF
transmitter transmits the RF pulse which disturbs the proton alignment.
The parallel atoms when subject to such pulse flips to the anti-parallel state decreasing longitudinal
magnetisation and the protons becomes synchronised and precess in-phase. As a result the net magnetic
vector M from the longitudinal plane turns towards the transverse plane i.e at right angle to the primary
magnetic field, this is known as transverse magnetisation.
After the application of the RF pulse the protons stats to decay to its equilibrium state giving out the energy
to the lattice which is called relaxation. The two types of energy decay are called spin-lattice decay or T1
relaxation and spin-spin decay or T2 relaxation. These time constants T1 and T2 are quite long, ranging from
milliseconds to seconds and they depends upon the type of tissues and surrounding material.
The RF signal received by the RF receiver coil is fed to the computer system, the analog signal from the RF
receiver is then converted to digital signal by the analog-to-digital converter.
During data acquisition the digital signal representing the imaged body part is stored in the image space
called K-space. Then the K-space image is sent to the image processor where the mathematical formula called
Fourier Transformation is applied and the image of the MRI scan is displayed in the monitor.
NUCLEAR MEDICINE
In the diagnostic imaging there are two kinds of modalities, one is the anatomical imaging which provides a
very accurate visualization of the internal structures of the human body; and the other is the functional
imaging, which is aimed to measure the physiological processes taking place inside the human body without
influencing them. One of the most widely spread practices used for functional imaging are contained in the
Nuclear Medicine Diagnostics. In nuclear medical diagnostics, vital processes such as blood circulation,
metabolism and vitality of organs and tumours can be displayed as functional images.
The main principle of the Nuclear Medical Diagnostics is to determine physiological processes through the
non-invasive techniques. A radio-nuclide is a radioactive drug used for diagnosis or therapy which is also
known as tracer or radiopharmaceutical. In a nuclear medicine test, small amounts of
radiopharmaceuticals are introduced into the body by injection, swallowing, or inhalation. This tracer is
distributed, metabolized, and excreted according to their chemical structure. The biological functions can be
displayed as images, numerical data or time-activity curves.
According with the physiological process that is being targeted there are different pharmaceuticals available.
Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) and iodine-123 labelled substances are the most important radio-nuclide used to
examine the brain, liver, lungs, bones, thyroid, kidney, heart etc. The amount of radiopharmaceutical used
is carefully selected to provide the least amount of radiation exposure to the patient but ensure an accurate
test. Radio-nuclides can be obtained from the nuclear reactors or nowadays can also be generated in the
hospital itself with the help of machine called cyclotron, which is expensive.
During diagnostic, after some minutes of giving radio-pharmaceuticals to the patient, the radio-nuclide from
the targeted body part starts emitting gamma rays as they starts decaying. A special camera (PET, SPECT or
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gamma camera) is then used to detect those gamma rays emitting from the body and take pictures of your
body.
In nuclear medicine the most used detectors are the scintillation crystals. Normally, radiation from
radioactive materials interacts with matter by causing ionization and/or excitation of atoms and molecules.
In this process energy is released. In the case of the scintillation crystals, part of this energy is released as
light. The camera detects the radiopharmaceutical in the organ, bone or tissue and forms images that provide
data and information about the area in question.
Nuclear medicine differs from an x-ray, ultrasound or other diagnostic test because it determines the
presence of disease based on biological changes rather than changes in anatomy. Nuclear medicine tests
(also known as scans, examinations, or procedures) are safe and painless.
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) & Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are two
radio-nuclide imaging techniques which provide a means of examining regional cerebral blood flow,
metabolism, and pharmacology of living organisms under both resting and activating conditions. These
molecular imaging techniques rely on radiolabelled molecules called tracers that bind to enzyme sites or
surface receptors. PET utilizes short-lived positron emitting isotopes (O-15, C-11, F-18, Br-76), whereas SPECT
uses lower energy -emitting isotopes (I-123, Tc-99m). Both techniques can detect nano-moles of tracer.
The main difference between these two techniques is really in the radioactive materials used as tracers and
the sensitivity of the detection methods. In both procedures the image acquisition takes place by use
of scintillation crystals resulting in 3D images. Some differences between PET and SPECT are given below:
S.no
PET
1. PET traces two gamma rays moving in
180oopposite directions, which can trace the
location of the radio-pharmaceuticals better.
2. Radio-pharmaceuticals have short life time so
PET has to be close to the facility that makes the
tracers.
3. Radio-isotopes are produced by cyclotron, thus,
it is more expensive to produce.
4. Better image sensitivity.
SPECT
SPECT only traces one single radiation or a
general radiation, not a simultaneous double
one.
Radio-pharmaceuticals have longer life time so
SPECT should not be close to the facility that
makes the tracers.
Radio-isotopes for it are not so expensive to
produce.
Poorer image sensitivity due to the use of
collimator (made up of lead) which blocks 99% of
incoming radiation.
5. The photon energy of the detected radiation in The photon energy of the detected radiation in
PET is 511 keV.
SPECT is 140 keV.
6. PET imaging gives a precise measurement of SPECT imaging does not gives a precise
the activity distribution within the patients measurement.
body.
7. Higher resolution (2-3mm)
Lower resolution (6-8mm)
ULTRASONOGRAPHY
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Ultrasonography is the non-invasive technique used for diagnosis. The ultrasonic energy used for medical
applications does not harm the tissues like the ionizing radiation of x-rays.
The frequency range audible to the human beings is 20 Hz to 20 KHz and the frequencies of sound above 20
KHz are called Ultrasound. Ultrasound waves are longitudinal compression waves. The ultrasonic waves obey
the laws of reflection and refraction. The reflected energy is dependent on the difference between the
densities of the two media and the angle at which the transmitted wave hits the medium.
The depth of penetration of the ultrasonic wave is inversely proportional to the frequency and attenuation.
The depth of penetration increases as the frequency is decreased and vice-versa. The depth at which the
ultrasound energy is attenuated to half of the applied amount is known as half value layer (HVL). The HVL
indicates the amount of energy absorbed by the material. Table below shows the HVL for various materials.
Type of material Frequency Half-Value-Layer (HVL)
Blood
1.0
35
Muscle
0.8
2.1
Fat
0.8
3.3
Bone
0.8
0.23
Table: Ultrasound Absorption
An important characteristics of ultrasound frequency used in biomedical instrumentation is Doppler Effect.
If the reflected ultrasonic energy frequency is increased or decreased by the moving interface, the frequency
shift is given by;
Where, f= reflected wave frequency shift

v = interface velocity
= transmitted ultrasound wavelength
Thus, we can say that frequency increases if the interface moves towards the transducer and frequency
decreases if the interface moves away from the transducer. This measured frequency shift is proportional to
the velocity. Velocity of the ultrasonic waves depends upon the frequency of the wave and density of the
medium.
Besides its other applications like detecting submarines, seismology, non-destructive testing of metals
(aeroplane wings, bridges etc) it is also vastly used in the medical diagnosis like cardiology, abdominal
imaging, brain studies, eye analysis, obstetrics and gynaecology.
Principle of Ultrasonic Diagnosis
For the diagnostic purpose in ultrasonography an ultrasound machine makes use of a piezo-electric
transducer which has the properties of the ceramics such barium titanate or similar materials.
When stressed these materials produces a voltage across their electrodes and similarly when voltage pulse
is applied the ceramics deforms. If short pulse is applied then the ceramic element rings at its mechanical
resonating frequency generating ultrasonic waves.
With appropriate electronic circuits, the ceramic is pulsed to transmit short burst of ultrasonic energy as a
miniature loudspeaker and then switched to act as a microphone to receive signal reflected from the
interfaces of various tissues inside the body.
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The time delay between the transmitted pulse and its echo is a measure of the depth of the tissue interface.
Fine structures of tissues like blood vessels, muscle sheaths and connective tissue produce extra echo within
uniform tissue structures. The frequency of echo is different for various types of tissues and each change of
tissue type reflection occurs.
Figure below shows simple diagram for ultrasonic scanner which shows how the body structure produce the
echoes which identifies their locations. This type of simple ultrasonic scanner was used in early days to
measure the displacement of the brain midline.
MODES OF ULTRASOUND TRANSMISSION

The ultrasound is transmitted in various forms. The modes of transmissions are as follows;
1) Pulsed ultrasound: It is transmitted in pulsed form for the duration of about 1 microsecond. The returning
echoes are displayed with respect to time. The echoes are proportional to the distance from the source
to the interface. It is used in most of the imaging applications.
2) Continuous Doppler: Here, continuous ultrasound signal is transmitted and a separate receiving
transducer receive the echoes. Using this mode frequency shifts due to moving interfaces are detected
and the average velocity of the target is determined as a function of time. It is used in blood flow
measurements.
3) Pulsed Doppler: In this mode also short pulse of ultrasound are transmitted and returning echoes are
received. The frequency shifts are observed and thus, the velocity and distance of moving target is
measured.
4) Range-gated Pulsed Doppler: A gating circuit is used in this mode for the measurement of velocity of
target at specific distance from the transducer. Using this mode, the velocity of blood can be measured
as a function of time and also as a function of distance from the vessel wall.
DISPLAY MODES
Depending upon the mode of transmission used ultrasound images are displayed in various modes. The
received information is amplified and displayed in one of the three display modes listed below.
1) A-Mode: This display mode is also known as Amplitude mode. It is the oldest and simplest display mode.
A-mode shows the echo intensity as a voltage-time plot on a x-y plane as shown in the figure below. The
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applications of A-mode are in ophthalmology (eye length, tumors), localization of brain midline, liver
cirrhosis, myocardium infarction.
Figure: A-mode scan

2) M-Mode: This display mode is also known as Motion mode. It is just a repeated A-mode displaying the
echoes from the various tissues in separate rows in conjunction with ECG. It is useful in viewing rates and
motion. The applications of M-mode are cardiac and fetal diagnosis.
3) B-Mode: This display mode is also known as Brightness mode. It is a 2-D image of a stationary organ. The
brightness of the oscilloscope is controlled by the returning echoes. The B-scan transducer is moved with
respect to the body and the vertical deflection of the oscilloscope corresponds to the movement of the
transducer.
END OF UNIT-1
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Imaging Technology and Equipment Unit 1

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Imaging Technology and Equipment Unit 1

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IMAGING TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT

PREPARED BY: ER.SARBESH CHAUDHARY, ELECTRONICS DEPT.,MMP

MEDICAL IMAGING SYSTEM

INFORMATION CONTENT OF AN IMAGE