Comparison of iodine K-edge subtraction and fluorescence subtraction imaging in an animal system

K-Edge Subtraction (KES) utilizes the discontinuity in the X-ray absorption across the absorption edge of the selected contrast element and creates an image of the projected density of the contrast element from two images acquired just above and below the K-edge of the contrast element. KES has proved to be powerful in coronary angiography, micro-angiography, bronchography, and lymphatic imaging. X-ray fluorescence imaging is a successful technique for the detection of dilute quantities of elements in specimens. However, its application at high X-ray energies (e.g. at the iodine K-edge) is complicated by significant Compton background, which may enter the energy window set for the contrast material's fluorescent X-rays. Inspired by KES, Fluorescence Subtraction Imaging (FSI) is a technique for high-energy (>20 keV) fluorescence imaging using two different incident beam energies just above and below the absorption edge of a contrast element (e.g. iodine). The below-edge image can be assumed as a “background” image, which includes Compton scatter and fluorescence from other elements. The above-edge image will contain nearly identical spectral content as the below-edge image but will contain the additional fluorescence of the contrast element. This imaging method is especially promising with thick objects with dilute contrast materials, significant Compton background, and/or competing fluorescence lines from other materials. A quality factor is developed to facilitate the comparison. The theoretical value of the quality factor sets the upper limit that an imaging method can achieve when the noise is Poisson limited. The measured value of this factor makes two or more imaging methods comparable. Using the Hard X-ray Micro-Analysis (HXMA) beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), the techniques of FSI and KES were critically compared, with reference to radiation dose, image acquisition time, resolution, signal-to-noise ratios, and quality factor.