Optimizing detector thickness in dual-shot dual-energy x-ray imaging

As a result, there exist apparent limitations in the conventional two-dimensional (2D) radiography: One is that the contrast between the structure of interest and the background in a radiograph is much less than the intrinsic subject contrast (i.e. the difference between their attenuation coefficients; Another is that the superimposed anatomical structures in the 2D radiograph results in an anatomical background clutter that may decrease the conspicuity of subtle underlying features. These limitations in spatial and material discrimination are important motivations for the recent development of 3D (e.g. tomosynthesis) and dual energy imaging (DEI) systems. DEI technique uses a combination of two images obtained at two different energies in successive x-ray exposures by rapidly switching the kilovolage (kV) applied to the x-ray tube. Commercial DEI systems usually employ a 'single' of flat-panel detector (FPD) to obtain two different kV images. However, we have a doubt in the use of the same detector for acquiring two different projections for the low- and high-kV setups because it is typically known that there exists an optimal detector thickness regarding specific imaging tasks or energies used