Photon-Counting Detector-Based Computed Tomography

Photon-counting detector-based computed tomography (PCD CT) offers the unique ability to capture X-ray attenuation information at multiple user-defined energy ranges. This is achieved using novel semiconductor technology where X-rays are directly converted to electronic measurements without having to first convert to visible light, as performed conventionally in current clinical CT detectors. This allows a reduction in detector pixel sizes to enable high-resolution CT imaging without any dose penalty. Acquiring energy-resolved X-ray information using PCDs provides several benefits such as electronic noise reduction, artifact reduction, improved image contrast through uniform X-ray weighting, and K-edge imaging to discriminate contrast pharmaceuticals and targeted biomarkers. In this chapter, we introduce the basic principles of PCD CT, preclinical applications pertaining to neurological imaging, and a case report demonstrating dose efficient high-resolution CT imaging using a whole-body research PCD-CT system.