Limitations of anti-scatter grids when used with high resolution image detectors

Anti-scatter grids are used in fluoroscopic systems to improve image quality by absorbing scattered radiation. A stationary Smit Rontgen X-ray grid (line density: 70 lines/cm, grid ratio: 13:1) was used with a flat panel detector (FPD) of pixel size 194 micron and a high-resolution CMOS detector, the Dexela 1207 with pixel size of 75 microns. To investigate the effectiveness of the grid, a simulated artery block was placed in a modified uniform frontal head phantom and imaged with both the FPD and the Dexela for an approximately 15 x 15 cm field of view (FOV). The contrast improved for both detectors with the grid. The contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) does not increase as much in the case of the Dexela as it improves in the case of the FPD. Since the total noise in a single frame increases substantially for the Dexela compared to the FPD when the grid is used, the CNR is degraded. The increase in the quantum noise per frame would be similar for both detectors when the grid is used due to the attenuation of radiation, but the fixed pattern noise caused by the grid was substantially higher for the Dexela compared to the FPD and hence caused a severe reduction of CNR. Without further corrective methods this grid should not be used with high-resolution fluoroscopic detectors because the CNR does not improve significantly and the visibility of low contrast details may be reduced. Either an anti-scatter grid of different design or an additional image processing step when using a similar grid would be required to deal with the problem of scatter for high resolution detectors and the structured noise of the grid pattern.