Simulations of single-shot X-ray phase-contrast tomography based on edge illumination

Single-shot X-ray phase-contrast imaging can simplify acquisition processes and reduce the dose delivered to a patient, and also reduce the imaging time, which increases the usability of the system for computed tomography (CT) and dynamic planar imaging. Edge illumination (EI) is a promising method of X-ray phase-contrast imaging that is expected to be implemented in compact devices using conventional X-ray sources. EI-based single-shot X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) has attracted much attention in recent years. Although single-shot XPCT is possible, further studies are needed before this method is translated into real-world applications. In this paper, a simulation model was built to study EI-baesd single-shot XPCT, including the main hardware conditions (such as the source, mask, detector, objects, and geometric conditions) and some key factors (such as photon statistics, X-ray spectrum, pixel crosstalk, and X-ray absorption). The extraction of information and reconstruction in the absorption, phase, and differential phase signals were implemented, and the effects of pixel crosstalk, photon statistics, and mask thickness on the imaging results were studied. The results suggest that XPCT has significant potential for improving imaging quality and reducing the radiation dose compared to traditional absorption-based CT techniques. The effects of pixel crosstalk are negligible when σc, the standard deviation of the Gaussian function, is much smaller than the detector pixel as a considerable top width remains in the pixel point spread function. Besides, a mask of considerable thickness is required to ensure the reconstruction accuracy of the quantitative information.