Performance of K-edge subtraction tomography as an application of parametric x-ray radiation

• Main Authors: Y. Hayakawa, K. Hayakawa, K. Nogami, T. Sakai, I. Sato, Y. Sumitomo, Y. Takahashi, T. Tanaka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Physical Society 2019-02-01
• Series: Physical Review Accelerators and Beams
• Online Access: http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.22.024701

We developed a novel method for element detection utilizing an x-ray source based on parametric x-ray radiation (PXR), an accelerator-based light source at the Laboratory for Electron Beam Research and Application (LEBRA), Nihon University. The method is a type of K-edge subtraction (KES) imaging that uses the drastic change of x-ray absorption around the K-shell absorption edge of the target element. Using the properties of PXR, simultaneous KES imaging is possible, and can easily be applied to 3-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT). We demonstrated the feasibility of simultaneous KES-CT in our previous work. In this study, we investigate the quantitative performance of simultaneous KES imaging for a sample containing the element strontium (Sr) for which the K-edge energy is 16.1 keV. Results of a simultaneous KES-CT experiment employing the LEBRA-PXR source confirm that the imaging method can provide a 3D distribution of the element with a value proportional to the Sr concentration. Concerning sensitivity to element concentration, at least in the region of 0.5%-concentration, the sample was successfully distinguished from the region without Sr in the 3D tomographic image obtained using the element-imaging technique.