Performance improvements of energy-resolved fan-beam coherent scatter computed tomography

Energy-resolved fan-beam coherent scatter computed tomography (CSCT) is a novel X-ray based tomographic imaging method revealing structural information on the molecular level, namely the momentum-transfer dependence of the coherent scatter cross-section. Since the molecular structure is the source of contrast a very good material discrimination and possibly also medical diagnosis of structural changes of tissue can be achieved with this technique. For the design of a medical or baggage inspection CSCT-scanner acquisition speed is of particular importance. Several performance improvements for CSCT were investigated. The multi-slit fan beam collimator and multi-line scatter detector allow increasing the detected photon flux without compromising angular resolution. Analysis of the noise in reconstructed data leads to the possibility to adjust scan time to the size of the objects to be analyzed. Improved energy resolution of the detector improves momentum-transfer resolution such that angular resolution becomes the limiting factor. Overall, the implemented improvements now enable the real-world application of CSCT.