Cone-beam breast computed tomography (CBCT) would be a promising modality in screening and diagnosis of breast, providing complete 3-dimensional images with little painful compression of breast during the imaging compared to conventional mammography and tomosynthesis. To date, all CBCT systems including a commercial one by Koning have been utilizing a typical filament-based x-ray tube. However, the filament-based x-ray tube even in a grid type has strict limitation in time resolution, of longer than few milliseconds, with a limited dose rate to cause a large motion blur in CBCT projection images. Micro-calcifications of less than 1 mm in early breast cancer could be hardly distinguished by using conventional CBCT systems. We tried to solve this problem by adopting a fast digital x-ray tube based on carbon nanotube (CNT) field emitters. We, for the first time, developed a rotational anode x-ray tube with CNT emitters for advanced CBCTs. The x-ray tube consisted of CNT paste-emitters and a rotating anode made of W/Re target, and was fully vacuum-sealed with a glass envelope. Ultra-short x-ray pulses of less than sub-ms with a moderate high current of more than 200 mA and a focal spot of ~0.3 in nominal value was successfully obtained. We performed preliminary studies on CBCT imaging using the digital x-ray tube and achieved 300 projection images for 10 s, great reducing motion blurs in the images. It is expected that the CNT digital x-ray tube developed improves CBCT imaging greatly and then promotes CBCT modality in breast screening and diagnosis.
KSP Keywords
3-dimensional, CBCT imaging, CNT paste, Carbon nano-tube(CNT), Carbon nanotube emitters, Computed tomography(C.T), Digital X-ray, Dose rate, Early breast cancer, Focal spot, High Current
Copyright Policy
ETRI KSP Copyright Policy
The materials provided on this website are subject to copyrights owned by ETRI and protected by the Copyright Act. Any reproduction, modification, or distribution, in whole or in part, requires the prior explicit approval of ETRI. However, under Article 24.2 of the Copyright Act, the materials may be freely used provided the user complies with the following terms:
The materials to be used must have attached a Korea Open Government License (KOGL) Type 4 symbol, which is similar to CC-BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License). Users are free to use the materials only for non-commercial purposes, provided that original works are properly cited and that no alterations, modifications, or changes to such works is made. This website may contain materials for which ETRI does not hold full copyright or for which ETRI shares copyright in conjunction with other third parties. Without explicit permission, any use of such materials without KOGL indication is strictly prohibited and will constitute an infringement of the copyright of ETRI or of the relevant copyright holders.
J. Kim et. al, "Trends in Lightweight Kernel for Many core Based High-Performance Computing", Electronics and Telecommunications Trends. Vol. 32, No. 4, 2017, KOGL Type 4: Source Indication + Commercial Use Prohibition + Change Prohibition
J. Sim et.al, “the Fourth Industrial Revolution and ICT – IDX Strategy for leading the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, ETRI Insight, 2017, KOGL Type 4: Source Indication + Commercial Use Prohibition + Change Prohibition
If you have any questions or concerns about these terms of use, or if you would like to request permission to use any material on this website, please feel free to contact us
KOGL Type 4:(Source Indication + Commercial Use Prohibition+Change Prohibition)
Contact ETRI, Research Information Service Section
Privacy Policy
ETRI KSP Privacy Policy
ETRI does not collect personal information from external users who access our Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP). Unathorized automated collection of researcher information from our platform without ETRI's consent is strictly prohibited.
[Researcher Information Disclosure] ETRI publicly shares specific researcher information related to research outcomes, including the researcher's name, department, work email, and work phone number.
※ ETRI does not share employee photographs with external users without the explicit consent of the researcher. If a researcher provides consent, their photograph may be displayed on the KSP.