The aim of this research program is to develop an x-ray image sensor system based on a 2048x2048 pixel CCD type solid state image sensor that has been successfully demonstrated in Phase I to have 2000 pixel spatial resolution and wide dynamic range compared to photographic film and image intensifier based x-ray imaging systems. The Phase II effort will be concentrated on the """"""""camera"""""""" portion of a clinical x-ray system; in this case the optics that focuses an x-ray phosphor screen image onto the 4 million pixel image sensor and the CCD digital television camera itself. The optics and CCD response will be optimized to the emission spectrum and resolution of commercially available x-ray phosphor screens, and the camera will be designed to produce 16 bit per pixel digital video suitable for computer processing y image enhancement software and equipment. The improvement in spatial resolution, linearity, dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio afforded by the large format CCD based camera will allow digital image enhancement programs to extract and display expanded contrast and finer spatial detail than is currently possible from scanning x-ray film or image tube television cameras. It should also be noted that there is no inherent lifetime limitation in CCDs. The commercial market for digital x-ray cameras is well established.
