fastCAT: Fast cone beam CT (CBCT) simulation
Abstract
PURPOSE: To develop fastCAT, a fast cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) simulator. fastCAT uses pre-calculated Monte Carlo (MC) CBCT phantom-specific scatter and detector response functions to reduce simulation time for megavoltage (MV) and kilovoltage (kV) CBCT imaging.
METHODS: Pre-calculated x-ray beam energy spectra, detector optical spread functions and energy deposition, and phantom scatter kernels are combined with GPU raytracing to produce CBCT volumes. MV x-ray beam spectra are simulated with EGSnrc for 2.5- and 6 MeV electron beams incident on a variety of target materials and kV x-ray beam spectra are calculated analytically for an x-ray tube with a tungsten anode. Detectors were modeled in Geant4 extended by Topas and included optical transport in the scintillators. Two MV detectors were modeled-a standard Varian AS1200 GOS detector and a novel CWO high detective quantum efficiency detector. A kV CsI detector was also modeled. Energy-dependent scatter kernels were created in Topas for two 16 cm diameter phantoms: A Catphan 515 contrast phantom and an anthropomorphic head phantom. The Catphan phantom contained inserts of 1-5 mm in diameter of six different tissue types: brain, deflated lung, compact and cortical bone, adipose, and B-100.
RESULTS: fastCAT simulations retain high fidelity to measurements and MC simulations: MTF curves were within 3.5% and 1.2% of measured values for the CWO and GOS detectors, respectively. HU values and CNR in a fastCAT Catphan 515…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a simulation / modelling, done in computer models (in silico), not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Developing high safety Li-metal anodes for future high-energy Li-metal batteries: strategies and perspectives
- Structure and Energy Transfer in Photosystems of Oxygenic Photosynthesis
- Ground- and Space-Based Gamma-Ray Astronomy
- Energy Functions in De Novo Protein Design: Current Challenges and Future Prospects
- Electronic structure of ions and molecules in solution: a view from modern soft X-ray spectroscopies
- Arising 2D Perovskites for Ionizing Radiation Detection
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.