Investigating focal spot position drift in a mobile imaging system equipped with a monobloc-based x-ray generator

Background: Misalignment or double-contouring artifacts can appear in high-resolution 3D cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, potentially indicating geometric accuracy issues in the projection data. Such artifacts may go unnoticed in low-resolution images and could be associated with changes in the focal spot (FS) position.

Purpose: High-resolution 3D-CBCT imaging by a mobile imaging device with a large gantry clearance offers more versatility for clinical workflows in image-guided brachytherapy (IGBT), intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), and spinal, as well as maxillofacial surgery. However, misalignment or double-contouring artifacts hinder workflow advancements in these domains. This paper introduces intrinsic calibration and geometrical correction methods as extensions to a well-established technique for addressing geometrical deviations resulting from factors such as gravity or mechanical inconsistencies. These extensions cover shifts and drifts of the FS depending on FS size selection, temperature, tube current, and tube potential. The proposed methods effectively mitigate artifacts in high-resolution CBCT images stemming from geometrical inaccuracies in projection data, without requiring additional equipment like a pinhole device.

Methods: Geometrical offsets and drifts of the x-ray tube FS were characterized on a mobile multi-purpose imaging system, the ImagingRing-m. A pinhole-like experiment was simulated by adjusting the movable collimation unit to a small rectangular aperture within the FS size range. The influence of filament selection, that is, FS size, temperature, the relatively low tube currents, as well as tube potential settings have been studied on two different monobloc types sharing the same x-ray tube insert. The Catphan 504 and an Alderson head phantom were used to assess resulting image artifacts.

Results: Switching the FS size to one different from what was used for geometrical (gravitation, mechanical variations) calibration induced the most notable position changes of the x-ray FS, resulting in double-contouring artifacts and blurring of high-resolution 3D-CBCT images. Incorporating these shifts into a geometrical correction method effectively minimized these artifacts. Thermal drifts exhibited the second largest geometrical changes, comparable to FS size shifts across the thermal operating conditions of the x-ray system. The proposed thermal drift compensation markedly reduced thermal drift effects. Tube current and potential had little impact within the range of available tube currents, eliminating the need for compensation in current applications.

Conclusions: Augmenting the geometrical calibration pipeline with proposed FS drift compensations yielded significant enhancements in image quality for high-resolution reconstructions. While compensation for thermal effects posed challenges, it proved achievable. The roles of tube current and potential were found to be negligible.