Relative calibration of energy thresholds on multi-bin spectral x-ray detectors

Accurate and reliable energy calibration of spectral x-ray detectors used in medical imaging is essential for avoiding ring artifacts in the reconstructed images (computed tomography) and for performing accurate material basis decomposition. A simple and accurate method for relative calibration of the energy thresholds on a multi-bin spectral x-ray detector is presented. The method obtains the linear relations between all energy thresholds in a channel by scanning the thresholds with respect to each other during x-ray illumination. The method does not rely on a model of the detector's response function and does not require any identifiable features in the x-ray spectrum. Applying the same method, the offset between the thresholds can be determined also without external stimuli by utilizing the electronic noise as a source. The simplicity and accuracy of the method makes it suitable for implementation in clinical multi-bin spectral x-ray imaging systems.