Beam hardening correction in multi-spectral mammography

Abstract

Beam hardening is a phenomenon that distorts images taken with a non-monochromatic X-ray source. This report discusses the development of a correction for these distortions. The correction is part of a C++ application that uses spectral information to better detect early stages of breast cancer with X-ray imaging. First a correction using a single flat field image was completed to study the effects of correcting with such images. Afterwards a signal to thickness conversion was developed that made use of multiple flat field images. This final correction method offered interactive possibilities for the user. The code was developed by separating functionality into different modules. Whilst these modules deliver correct results, areas of improvement have been identified. The signal to thickness conversion shows some improvement over flat field correction, but the process still needs some refining as it currently uses linear interpolation.