Helical x-ray differential phase contrast computed tomography

Helical computed tomography revolutionized the field of x-ray computed tomography two decades ago. The simultaneous translation of an image object with a standard computed tomography acquisition allows for fast volumetric scan for long image objects. X-ray phase sensitive imaging methods have been studied over the past few decades to provide new contrast mechanisms for imaging an object. A Talbot-Lau grating interferometer based differential phase contrast imaging method has recently demonstrated its potential for implementation in clinical and industrial applications. In this work, the principles of helical computed tomography are extended to differential phase contrast imaging to produce volumetric reconstructions based on fan-beam data. The method demonstrates the potential for helical differential phase contrast CT to scan long objects with relatively small detector coverage in the axial direction.