A simulated comparison of turnstile and Poisson photons for x-ray imaging

X-rays are used for diagnostic imaging because they produce images with excellent resolution in a cost-effective manner. Due to their carcinogenic potential, however, a trade-off must be made between the amount of x-rays used (dose) and image quality desired Some noise in x-ray images is attributed to the random nature in which x-rays are emitted from a normal x-ray source. So-called turnstile photon devices have been developed, which release photons in a controlled manner, one at a time. A simple Monte Carlo simulation was created to model specimen radiography, or x-ray of a thin slab. The simulation models two different types of x-ray emitters: regular (Poisson statistics) and turnstile. Projected images were produced for a wide range of doses. These images were compared using mean square error and entropy measures. Results show that image quality would be significantly improved or dose reduced if turnstile photon sources were developed to replace conventional x-ray sources.