A high speed functional microCT detector for small animal studies

Dedicated microCT systems for noninvasive screening of small animals are now in routine use. However, speed of operation limits their use for functional studies. At RMD we are addressing this need by developing a digital X-ray detector that can simultaneously provide high speed, high sensitivity, and a large active imaging area. The system consists of a special high speed CCD detector optically coupled to a scintillator. In its current configuration, the system provides 5×5 cm² active area, spatial resolution of ∼100 μm, and can operate at speeds of up to 225 frames per second. The system has been used to acquire volumetric CT data with 360 projections in ∼12 seconds compared to several minutes needed for most commercial systems. This paper presents design of various system components and performance characterization along with the CT reconstruction data on a mouse phantom.