P. Suortti

Instrumentation of the ESRF medical imaging facility

Abstract At the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) a beamport has been instrumented for medical research programs. Two facilities have been constructed for alternative operation. The first one is devoted to medical imaging and is focused on intravenous coronary angiography and computed tomography (CT). The second facility is dedicated to pre-clinical microbeam radiotherapy (MRT). This paper describes the instrumentation for the imaging facility. Two monochromators have been designed, both are based on bent silicon crystals in the Laue geometry. A versatile scanning device has been built for pre-alignment and scanning of the patient through the X-ray beam in radiography or CT modes. An intrinsic germanium detector is used together with large dynamic range electronics (16 bits) to acquire the data. The beamline is now at the end of its commissioning phase; intravenous coronary angiography is intended to start in 1999 with patients and the CT pre-clinical program is underway on small animals. The first in vivo images obtained on animals in angiography and CT modes are presented to illustrate the performances of these devices.

First human transvenous coronary angiography at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The first operation of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) medical beamline is reported in this paper. The goal of the angiography project is to develop a reduced risk imaging technique, which can be used to follow up patients after coronary intervention. After the intravenous injection of a contrast agent (iodine) two images are produced with monochromatic beams, bracketing the iodine K-edge. The logarithmic subtraction of the two measurements results in an iodine enhanced image, which can be precisely quantified. A research protocol has been designed to evaluate the performances of this method in comparison with the conventional technique. Patients included in the protocol have previously undergone angioplasty. If a re-stenosis is suspected, the patient is imaged both at the ESRF and at the hospital with the conventional technique, within the next few days. This paper reports the results obtained with the first patients. To date, eight patients have been imaged and excellent image quality was obtained.

Feasibility study of x-ray diffraction computed tomography for medical imaging

A feasibility study of soft-tissue imaging based on x-ray wide-angle diffraction contrast has been performed at the medical beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The technique employs computed-tomography algorithms to reconstruct from one data set the spatial distribution of several tissues differentiated by their diffraction properties. Radial diffraction profiles are measured in parallel projections from the sample and decomposed into material-selective weighting factors, which form the sinograms for the reconstructions. Attenuation effects--inherent in imaging techniques using scattered radiation--are efficiently corrected for by a ray-tracing method applied to the corresponding absorption image. Images of 7 cm diameter samples composed of fat, bone and muscle were generated at 60 and 80 keV x-ray energy. The highest surface-absorbed dose was 24 mGy, but substantial contrast could still be obtained at 7 mGy, indicating potential applicability in medical imaging. The dominant noise contribution in the images stems from the detection system, pointing to a possible decrease in the surface-absorbed dose for an optimized system of more than a factor of 2.

A single crystal bent Laue monochromator for coronary angiography

Abstract A new monochromator has been developed for the human coronary angiography project at the National Synchrotron Light Source. It is a single bent crystal of silicon in the Laue transmission geometry. The design, testing and use of this monochromator in a human imaging procedure will be discussed.

Scanning X-ray spectrometer for high-resolution Compton profile measurements at ESRF

A scanning-type crystal spectrometer for high-resolution Compton profile measurements has been constructed at the High Energy Inelastic Scattering Beamline (ID15B) of the ESRF. Radiation from a seven-period asymmetrical permanent-magnet wiggler or from a superconducting wavelength shifter is focused horizontally onto the sample by a bent-crystal monochromator. Typical energies are 30, 50 and 60u2005keV, the flux on the sample is 1012u2005photonsu2005s−1, and the relative energy bandwidth is 3xa0×xa010−4. The spectrometer operates in the Rowland circle geometry, where the sample is fixed and the cylindrically bent analyser crystal and the detector move on the focusing circle by synchronized translations and rotations. The main detector is a large-diameter NaI scintillation counter, the incident beam is monitored by an Si diode, and scattering from the sample is detected using a Ge detector. The recorded spectrum is corrected for the energy-dependent response of the spectrometer, background and multiple scattering, and converted to the momentum scale. The resolution of the spectrometer is calculated from the geometrical factors and the reflectivity curve of the analyser crystal, and the result is checked against the widths of the elastically scattered line and fluorescent lines. So far, 0.1u2005a.u. resolution in electron momentum has been achieved. The typical average count rate over the Compton profile is about 1000u2005countsu2005s−1 from a weakly absorbing sample.

Fixed-exit monochromator for computed tomography with synchrotron radiation at energies 18–90 keV

A fixed-exit monochromator has been constructed for computed tomography (CT) studies at the Medical Beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. A non-dispersive pair of bent Laue-type crystals is used, and the first crystal is water-cooled. The monochromator operates at energies from 18 to 90 keV, and the maximum width of the beam is 150 mm. The performance of the monochromator is studied with respect to the beam intensity and energy distributions, and a close agreement is found between the calculated and experimental results. The intensity is between 10(9) and 10(10) photons s(-1) mm(-2) under typical operating conditions. The harmonic content of a 25 keV beam is about 30% at the minimum wiggler gap of 25 mm (field 1.57 T) and decreases by an order of magnitude when the gap is increased to 60 mm (field 0.62 T). The experimental set-up for CT studies includes dose monitors, goniometers and translation stages for positioning and scanning the object, and a 432-element linear-array Ge detector. Examples from phantom studies and in vivo animal experiments are shown to illustrate the spatial resolution and contrast of the reconstructed images.

Experiments with Very High Energy Synchrotron Radiation

The use of synchrotron radiation with very high photon energies has become possible only with the latest generation of storage rings. All high-electron-energy synchrotron sources will have a dedicated program for the use of very high photon energies. The high-energy beamline ID15 at the ESRF was the first beamline built and dedicated to this purpose, and it has now been in user operation for more than three years. The useful energy range of this beamline is 30-1000 keV and the superconducting insertion device for producing the highest attainable photon energies is described in detail. The techniques most often used today are diffraction and Compton scattering; an overview of the most important experiments is given. Both techniques have been used in the investigation of magnetic systems, and, additionally, the high resolution in reciprocal space, which can be achieved in diffraction, has led to a series of applications. Other fields of research are addressed, and attempts to indicate possible future research areas of high-energy synchrotron radiation are made.

On High-Resolution Reciprocal-Space Mapping with a Triple- Crystal Diffractometer for High-Energy X-rays

High-energy X-rav diffraction by means of triple-crystal techniques is a powerful tool for investigating dislocations and strain in bulk materials. Radiation with an energy typically higher than 80 keV combines the advantage of low attenuation with high resolution at large momentum transfers. The triple-crystal diffractometer at the High Energy Beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility is described. It is shown how the transverse and longitudinal resolution depend on the choice of the crystal reflection, and how the orientation of a reciprocal-lattice distortion in an investigated sample towards the resolution element of the instrument can play an important role. This effect is demonstrated on a single crystal of silicon where a layer of macro pores reveals satellites around the Bragg reflection. The resulting longitudinal distortion can be investigated using the high transverse resolution of the instrument when choosing an appropriate reflection.

HOLE DEPLETION AND LOCALIZATION DUE TO DISORDER IN INSULATING PRBA2CU3O7-DELTA : A COMPTON SCATTERING STUDY

The (mostly) insulating behaviour of PrBa2Cu3O7-d is still unexplained and even more interesting since the occasional appearance of superconductivity in this material. Since YBa2Cu3O7-d is nominally iso-structural and always superconducting, we have measured the electron momentum density in these materials. We find that they differ in a striking way, the wavefunction coherence length in PrBa2Cu3O7-d being strongly suppressed. We conclude that Pr on Ba-site substitution disorder is responsible for the metal-insulator transition. Preliminary efforts at growth with a method to prevent disorder yield 90K superconducting PrBa2Cu3O7-d crystallites.

High energy scattering beamlines at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The scientific background and scope of research at the High Energy Scattering Beamlines of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility are reviewed briefly. The beamline has two different insertion devices (IDs), a permanent magnet multipole wiggler and a superconducting wavelength shifter. The IDs can be used alternatingly, and both provide circularly polarized radiation off the orbit plane up to energies of several hundreds of keV. Measurements of the spectral brightness and the polarization components by energy dispersive powder diffraction and Compton scattering from iron in an alternating magnetic field are presented and compared with calculations based on source parameters. The beamline optics are based on use of horizontally reflecting bent Si crystals. These provide various focusing geometries, and the calculated flux of monochromatic radiation is given at energies between 30 and 175 keV. The maximum of 2×1012 photons/s is reached at 80 keV. The main experimental apparatus in the initial operation...