Single-exposure dual-energy computed radiography: improved detection and processing.

Recent reports have emphasized the potential for dual-energy computed radiographic applications. An improved method for single-exposure material-selective imaging with a photostimulable phosphor computed radiography system was investigated. The essential elements of the technique are (a) prefiltration with gadolinium, which divides the incident broad-beam x-ray spectrum into low-energy and high-energy peaks; (b) a cassette consisting of four photostimulable phosphor plates that record images of increasing mean energies, with a computed energy separation of 23 keV from the front to the rear plate; (c) spatially dependent scatter and beam-hardening corrections; and (d) a noise-reduction algorithm based on noise correlations between bone-selective and soft-tissue-selective dual-energy images. These elements result in improved material cancellation and signal-to-noise ratio throughout the image.