Radiographic systems evaluation: obtaining the MTF by simulation

Although the transfer function method has been considered the most accurate and complete in evaluating radiological imaging systems performance, it is limited only to a few well equipped laboratories or radiological centers due to the sophisticated experimental apparatus used. Therefore, this paper proposes a new simpler way of performing this quality evaluation, using a computer simulation. This new method provides the MTF determination from a focal spot size and shape knowledge, which can be determined from a pinhole image. Simulation tests were made for an actual mammographic system and for focal spot sizes presented in a previous work by Doi, Fromes & Rossmann. The simulation results were in agreement with those obtain by the conventional method.