Extracting material parameters from x-ray attenuation: a CT feasibility study using kilovoltage synchrotron x-rays incident upon low atomic number absorbers.

The work reported here is a feasibility study of the extraction of material parameters from measurements of the linear x-ray attenuation coefficient of low atomic number absorbers. Computed tomography (CT) scans of small samples containing several liquids and solids were carried out with synchrotron radiation at the Australian National Beamline Facility (BL 20B) in Japan. Average values of the x-ray linear attenuation coefficient were extracted for each material for x-ray energies ranging from 11 keV to 20.5 keV. The electron density was estimated by applying results derived from a parametrization of the x-ray linear attenuation coefficient first developed by Jackson and Hawkes and extended for this work. Average estimates for the electron density of triethanolamine and acetic acid were made to within +5.3% of the actual value. Other materials examined included furfuraldehyde, perspex and teflon, for which average estimates of the electron density were less than 10% in excess of the calculated value.