Physical imaging performance of a compact computed radiography acquisition device.

A comprehensive investigation of the physical imaging performance of a Philips AC3 computed radiography system using fifth-generation image plate technology has been undertaken. Measurements include characteristic response, modulation transfer function (MTF) and Wiener spectra (WS) for standard and high resolution image plates sampled at 10 pixels/mm. These results were used to calculate noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) spectral descriptions of system performance. Luminescence noise and x-ray quantum noise components were separated. From an estimate of the luminescence noise power, the average system gain was calculated and results show a substantial improvement over earlier generations of computed radiography systems for standard image plates.