Development of a Phantom for Evaluation and Assurance Of Image Quality in CT Scanning

Abstract
The development and use of a phantom for evaluation, comparison, and quality assurance of CT scanners will be discussed. Examples of measurements on seven CT scanners using early prototypes of the phantom will be presented along with measurements on several scanners using the final phantom configuration. The phantom contains four modular sections which are removable to allow for future fabrication and replacement of individual sections for specialized applications. Section I is used to measure contrast sensitivity and scan slice geometry of the system. Section II is used to measure the sensitometric response of the system. Section III is used to determine the spatial resolution of the system at various contrast levels. Section IV is used to determine the noise, spatial uniformity, alignment, and MTF of the system. In addition, it contains a part with fittings where items may be placed such as in vitro samples, dosimeters, or a motion phantom.