First results from a hybrid prototype CT scanner for exploring benefits of quantum-counting in clinical CT

We introduce a novel hybrid prototype scanner built to explore benefits of the quantum-counting technique in the context of clinical CT. The scanner is equipped with two measurement systems. One is a CdTe-based counting detector with 22cm field-of-view. Its revised ASIC architecture allows configuration of the counter thresholds of the 225 mu m small sub-pixels in chess patterns, enabling data acquisition in four energy bins or studying high-flux scenarios with pile-up trigger. The other one is a conventional GOS-based energy-integrating detector from a clinical CT scanner. The integration of both detection technologies in one CT scanner provides two major advantages. It allows direct comparison of image quality and contrast reproduction as well as instantaneous quantification of the relative dose usage and material separation performance achievable with counting techniques. In addition, data from the conventional detector can be used as complementary information during reconstruction of the images from the counting device. In this paper we present CT images acquired with the hybrid prototype scanner, illustrate its underlying conceptual methods, and provide first experimental results quantifying clinical benefits of quantum-counting CT.