Control System Of Proof-of-Principle Device For Phase-Contrast CT

The X-ray imaging devices have been evolved and made a big progress for more than one hundred years.Every advancement in X-ray imaging science has triggered a revolution in medical technology and equipment.Conventional X-ray imaging devices are based on an absorption contrast mechanism and have many drawbacks such as low absorption contrast,high radiation dose,and limitations of contrast agents on human organs.The research of the new generation of high-contrast low-dose X-ray phase-contrast CT devices(referred to as phase-contrast CT devices)is the National Key Scientific Instrument and Equipment Development Project supported by the Ministry of Finance.The project is based on the new principle of multi-slit independent illumination of hard X-ray structure gratings.Based on the traditional absorption contrast imaging mechanism,phase and scattering contrast imaging mechanisms are introduced to overcome the low contrast and high radiation dose limitation of current medical diagnostic X-ray CT device when imaging on human soft tissues.The implementation of the project is divided into two stages.At the first stage,we developed the proof-of-principle test device and the proof-of-principle prototype device for principle verification.The second stage is the development of the engineering prototype device.This paper focuses on the target of the first stage of phase-contrast CT devices,mainly introduces the design and development of the control system of the proof-of-principle test device and the proof-of-principle prototype device.The control system of the proof-of-principle test device for phase-contrast CT is developed using the upper and lower machine structure.The software of the upper machine is developed using a cross-platform PyQt framework and multithreading technology.The software consists of user management,scan control,image display,device maintenance,security interlock,operation log,and help documentation and so on.The upper machine communicates with the lower machine through Ethernet.The lower machine is composed of a sequence controller,a motion controller,a high-voltage power supply controller,an interlock controller,etc.to realize the control of the front-end equipment,coordinate the working order among the equipment,and provide the safety interlock function of the human and the equipment.The development of the proof-of-principle test device for phase-contrast CT has been completed,and the overall integrated commissioning and imaging experiment of the device have been performed.During the experiment process,the control system is stable and the interface is friendly,the design goals are reached.Based on the hardware and software architecture of the control system of the proof-of-principle test device,the development of the control system of the proof-of-principle prototype device is currently under way.During the development of the control system of the proof-of-principle prototype device,the high portability and strong compatibility of the control system of the proof-of-principle test device have been fully reflected,and this also gives us experience for the subsequent development of the control system of the engineering prototype device.