Promotionsvortrag Physik: “IMulti-Spectral Analysis of Computed Tomography for Multi-Material Quantification”

Ankündigung des Promotionsvortrags von: Herrn Jonas Neumann

Since its introduction in 1972, X-ray computed tomography (CT) has become one of the most widely used techniques in medical imaging. Currently, CT systems that acquire dual-spectral data are widely available. These systems can quantify two materials with an arbitrary mass density dis-tribution in a single CT scan. In 2021, clinical CT systems equipped with a photon-counting detec-tor (PCD) became available. These systems enable multi-material quantification (MMQ), meaning they can quantify three or more suitable materials in a single CT scan. This paves the way for new clinical applications.

In this talk, I will first introduce CT and two-material quantification using dual-spectral CT. Then, I will discuss the challenges of generalizing this concept to MMQ using multi-spectral CT. One such challenge is the need for a new drug based on an element with a sufficiently high atomic number to make the MMQ clinically applicable. I will present an approach to MMQ based on multi-spectral data. Finally, I will show how this approach was tested on the first clinical PCD system using ex-perimental drugs that enable the MMQ: First, we examined the quantification of the iron load in liver-equivalent samples incorporating tungsten in vitro. Second, we examined the delineation of structures filled with iodine and tungsten within a biological specimen.

(Vortrag auf Englisch)

Dem Vortrag schließt sich eine Diskussion von 15 Minuten an. Vortrag und Diskussion sind öffentlich. Diesen Verfahrensteilen folgt ein nicht öffentliches Rigorosum von 45 Minuten.