Apparatus and method for removing scatter from an x-ray image

• US 5,648,997 A
• Filed: 12/29/1995
• Issued: 07/15/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Advanced Optical Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Optical Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Chao, Yong-Sheng
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, DON KITSUN
• Application Number:
  US08/580,602
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• Field of Search: 378/98.11, 378/984, 378/98.12, 378/98.2, 378/98.9, 378/901, 378/4, 378/147, 378/149, 378/154, 378/19, 378/62
• US Class Current: 378/98.4
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/06 Diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4035 the source being combined with a filter or grating
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/405 Source units specially adapted to modify characteristics of the beam during the data acquisition process A61B6/4021, A61B6/4035 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4241 using energy resolving detectors, e.g. photon counting
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/482 involving multiple energy imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01T 1/1648 Ancillary equipment for scintillation cameras, e.g. reference markers, devices for removing motion artifacts, calibration devices adapted for flow studies G01T1/1647
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/006 Inverse problem, transformation from projection-space into object-space, e.g. transform methods, back-projection, algebraic methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2211/408 Dual energy
• CPC Class Codes: G21K 1/025 using multiple collimators, e.g. Bucky screens; other devices for eliminating undesired or dispersed radiation
• CPC Class Codes: H05G 1/60 Circuit arrangements for obtaining a series of X-ray photographs or for X-ray cinematography
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 378/901 Computer tomography program or processor

Abstract

An apparatus, for producing scatter-free two-dimensional X-ray images and eliminating scattering effects on integrated detector arrays, includes, in physical sequence from front to back, an X-ray source, a front two-dimensional detector positioned behind a subject for detecting both primary and scatter X-rays produced from striking the subject with the source'"'"'s radiation, a collimator with holes for passing a portion of the primary X-rays, and a rear two-dimensional detector for receiving this portion. A method for producing scatter-free images which includes the steps of; X-raying the subject with high and low energy, retrieving an image pair I_rHl and I_rLl from the rear detector, normalizing and subtracting dark signals from I_rHl and I_rLl to yield an image pair D_rHl and D_rLl, solving D_rHl and D_rLl to determine b and s, retrieving an image I_fh from the front detector, normalizing and subtracting dark signals from I_fh to yield D_fh representing the primary and scatter X-rays sum, determining D_fSl of image D_fh at the detector cells using b and s, interpolating D_fSl for the front detector cells to yield D_fSh, subtracting D_fSh from D_fh to yield D_fPh representing the two-dimensional scatter-free image of the subject.

Claims

1. A two-dimensional x-ray imaging system for taking images of a subject, said system comprising:

(a) in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector assembly, a collimator, and a rear two-dimensional x-ray detector assembly, said subject being located between said x-ray source and said front detector assembly;

(b) said x-ray source adapted to emit x-rays for passage through said subject;

(c) said x-rays including primary x-rays having their direction of travel unaltered by interaction with said subject;

(d) said x-rays including scatter x-rays having their direction of travel altered by interaction with said subject;

(e) said front detector assembly receiving said primary x-rays and said scatter x-rays;

(f) said collimator being adjacent to said front detector assembly, said collimator permitting the passage of a portion of said primary x-rays and blocking the passage of the remainder of said primary x-rays and said scatter x-rays; and

(g) said rear detector assembly being adjacent to said collimator, said rear detector receiving only said portion of said primary x-rays passing through said collimator.

2. The x-ray imaging system of claim 1 wherein said x-ray source emits x-rays with an energy in the range of from approximately 10 keV to approximately 500 keV.

3. The x-ray imaging system of claim 1 wherein said front detector assembly includes a plurality of detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side.

4. The x-ray imaging system of claim 1 wherein said collimator is composed substantially of an x-ray-absorbent material having a large number of through holes, the axes of said holes being parallel to said direction of travel of said primary x-rays.

5. The x-ray imaging system of claim 4 wherein the thickness of said collimator is between approximately 1 cm and 10 cm.

6. The x-ray imaging system of claim 4 wherein said collimator holes have a substantially round cross-section with a diameter between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm and a pitch of between approximately 5 mm and 50 mm.

7. The x-ray imaging system of claim 4 wherein said collimator holes have a substantially square cross-section with a dimension between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm and a pitch of between approximately 5 mm and 50 mm.

8. The x-ray imaging system of claim 1 wherein said rear detector assembly includes a rear detector array having a plurality of detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side and said x-ray source emits two x-ray pulses of differing energies, one of said pulses being in the range of from 10 keV to 100 keV and the other of said pulses being in the range of from 30 keV to 500 keV.

9. The x-ray imaging system of claim 1 wherein said rear detector assembly includes, in physical sequence, a rear low-energy detector, a rear x-ray energy spectral filter, and a rear high-energy detector.

10. The x-ray imaging system of claim 9 wherein said rear low-energy detector includes a plurality of detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side, said rear high-energy detector includes a plurality of detector cells, the arrangement and quantity of said rear high-energy detector cells being substantially the same as the arrangement and quantity of said rear low-energy detector cells.

11. The x-ray imaging system of claim 9 wherein said front detector assembly includes, in physical sequence, a front low-energy detector, a front x-ray energy spectral filter, and a front high-energy detector.

12. The x-ray imaging system of claim 11 wherein said front low-energy detector includes a plurality of detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side, said front high-energy detector includes a plurality of detector cells, the arrangement and quantity of said front high-energy detector cells being substantially the same as the arrangement and quantity of said front low-energy detector cells.

13. A two-dimensional x-ray imaging system for taking images of a subject, said system comprising:

(a) in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector assembly, a collimator, and a rear two-dimensional x-ray detector assembly, said subject being located between said x-ray source and said front detector assembly;

(b) said x-ray source adapted to emit x-rays with an energy in the range of from approximately 20 keV to approximately 100 key for passage through said subject;

(c) said x-rays including primary x-rays having their direction of travel unaltered by interaction with said subject;

(d) said x-rays including scatter x-rays having their direction of travel altered by interaction with said subject;

(e) said front detector assembly receiving said primary x-rays and said scatter x-rays;

(f) said collimator being adjacent to said front detector assembly, said collimator permitting the passage of a portion of said primary x-rays and blocking the passage of the remainder of said primary x-rays and said scatter x-rays, collimator being composed substantially of an x-ray-absorbent material having a large number of through holes, the axes of said holes being parallel to said direction of travel of said primary x-rays, said collimator holes having a pitch of between approximately 5 mm and 50 mm;

(g) said rear detector assembly being adjacent to said collimator, said rear detector receiving only said portion of said primary x-rays passing through said collimator.

14. The x-ray imaging system of claim 13 wherein said front detector assembly includes a plurality of front detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side, said rear detector assembly includes a rear detector array having a plurality of rear detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side, and said x-ray source emits two x-ray pulses of different energies, one of said energies being in the range of from 10 to 100 keV and the other of said energies being in the range of from 30 keV to 500 keV.

15. The x-ray imaging system of claim 13 wherein said front detector assembly includes a plurality of detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side and said rear detector assembly includes, in physical sequence, a rear low-energy detector, a rear x-ray energy spectral filter, and a rear high-energy detector, said rear low-energy detector including a plurality of rear low-energy detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side and said rear high-energy detector including a plurality of rear high-energy detector cells, the arrangement and quantity of said rear high-energy detector cells being the same as the arrangement and quantity of said rear low-energy detector cells.

16. The x-ray imaging system of claim 15 wherein said front detector assembly includes, in physical sequence, a front low-energy detector, a front x-ray energy spectral filter, and a front high-energy detector, said front low-energy detector including a plurality of front low-energy detector cells arranged in a substantially square matrix with from 32 to 8192 cells on a side and said front high-energy detector including a plurality of front high-energy detector cells, the arrangement and quantity of said front high-energy detector cells being the same as the arrangement and quantity of said front low-energy detector cells.

17. The x-ray imaging system of claim 13 wherein said collimator holes have a substantially round cross-section with a diameter between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm.

18. The x-ray imaging system of claim 13 wherein said collimator holes have a substantially square cross-section with a dimension between approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm.

23. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 18 wherein said low-resolution image D_fPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using second order approximation methods.

19. A method for taking a two-dimensional x-ray image of a subject using a two-dimensional x-ray imaging system, said system including, in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source emitting x-rays, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (x,y), a collimator having a plurality of through holes axially aligned with said x-rays and permitting the passage of a portion of primary x-rays and blocking substantially all scatter x-rays, a rear low-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear low-energy detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (i,j), a rear x-ray energy spectral filter, and a rear high-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear high-energy detector cells on the same coordinate system as said rear low-energy detector cells, a plurality of projection lines extending radially from said x-ray source through said collimator holes, said subject being substantially composed of two different materials having area densities of A and B in terms of interaction with said x-rays and being located between said x-ray source and said front detector, said method comprising:

(a) illuminating said subject with said x-rays;

(b) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fh from substantially all of said front detector cells and processing said image I_fh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(c) constructing a low-resolution image D_fl from the portion of said image D_fh retrieved from said front detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(d) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rHl from said rear high-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rHl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rHl, said image D_rHl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(e) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rLl from said rear low-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rLl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rLl, said image D_rLl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(f) calculating a low-resolution primary x-ray image D_fPl of said front detector from a low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair composed of said image D_rHl and said image D_rLl ;

(g) calculating a low-resolution scatter x-ray image D_fSl of said front detector by subtracting said image D_fPl from said image D_fl ;

(h) calculating a high-resolution scatter image D_fSh by extending said low-resolution scatter image D_fSl to the entire image area of said front detector through interpolation; and

(i) calculating a high-resolution primary image D_fPh by subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fSh from said high-resolution image D_fh ;

(j) whereby said high-resolution primary image D_fPh is a two-dimensional image of said subject at said front detector after scatter x-rays have been substantially eliminated, said image D_fPh having a spatial resolution as high as said front detector can provide.

20. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 19 wherein said low-resolution primary image of said front detector D_fPl is calculated by:

(a) solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair from said rear detector for said area densities A and B, wherein D_rHl (i,j)=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))]×

S_rH (E)dE and D_rLl (i,j)=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))]×

S_rL (E)dE; and

(b) inserting said A and B solutions into the equation for said image D_fPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp((-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE, wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear high-energy detector cell (i,j) and said rear low-energy detector cell (i,j), Φ

₀ (E) is the energy spectrum of said x-rays, μ

_A (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density A, μ

_B (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density B, and S_f (E) is the spectral sensitivity of said front detector.

21. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 19 wherein said low-resolution image D_fPl is calculated by combining a process for solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair D_rHl, D_rLl from said rear detector for said area densities A and B and the equation for said low-resolution image D_fPl =∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE into one process using a direct quantitative relationship D_fPl (x(i),y(j))=D_fPl (D_rL (i,j),D_rH (i,j)), wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear high-energy detector cell (i,j).

22. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 19 wherein said low-resolution image D_fPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using linear approximation.

24. A method for taking a two-dimensional x-ray image of a subject using a two-dimensional x-ray imaging system, said system including, in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source emitting x-rays, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (x,y), a collimator having a plurality of through holes axially aligned with said x-rays and permitting the passage of a portion of primary x-rays and blocking substantially all scatter x-rays, a rear two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (i,j), a plurality of projection lines extending radially from said x-ray source through said collimator holes, said subject being substantially composed of two different materials having area densities of A and B in terms of interaction with said x-rays and being located between said x-ray source and said front detector, said method comprising:

(a) illuminating said subject with x-rays of energy level H;

(b) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fHh from substantially all of said front detector cells and processing said image I_fHh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fHh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(c) constructing a low-resolution image D_fHl from the portion of said image D_fHh retrieved from said front detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(d) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rHl from said rear detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rHl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rHl, said image D_rHl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(e) illuminating said subject with x-rays of energy level L;

(f) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fLh from substantially all of said front detector cells and processing said image I_fLh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fLh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(g) constructing a low-resolution image D_fLl from the portion of said image D_fLh retrieved from said front detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(h) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rLl from said rear detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rLl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rLl, said image D_rLl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(i) calculating a pair of low-resolution primary x-ray images D_fLPl and D_fHPl of said front detector from a low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair composed of said image D_rHl and said image D_rLl ;

(j) calculating a pair of low-resolution scatter x-ray images D_fLSl and D_fHSl of said front detector by subtracting said image D_fLPl from said image D_fLl and subtracting said image D_fHPl from said image D_fHl ;

(k) calculating a pair of high-resolution scatter images D_fLSh and D_fHSh by extending said pair of low-resolution scatter images D_fLSl and D_fHSl to the entire image area of said front detector through interpolation; and

(l) calculating a pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh by subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fLSh from said high-resolution image D_fLh and subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fHSh from said high-resolution image D_fHh ;

(m) whereby said pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh is a pair of high-resolution two-dimensional dual-energy x-ray images of said subject at said front detector after scatter x-rays have been substantially eliminated, said primary image pair D_fLPh and D_fHPh having a spatial resolution as high as said front detector can provide.

25. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 24 wherein said area densities A and B are calculated from said pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh, said material compositions having a resolution as high as said front detector can provide.

26. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 24 wherein said pair of low-resolution images of said front detector D_fHPl and D_fLPl are calculated by:

(a) solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair for said area densities A and B, wherein D_rHl (i,j)=∫

[Φ

_0H (E)×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))]×

S_r (E)dE and D_rLl (i,j)=∫

[Φ

_0L (E)×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))]×

S_r (E)dE; and

(b) inserting said A and B solutions into the equations for said image pair D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

_0L (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE and D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

_0H (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE, wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear detector cell (i,j), Φ

_0L (E) is the energy spectrum of said x-rays of energy L, Φ

_0H (E) is the energy spectrum of said x-rays of energy H, μ

_A (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density A, μ

_B (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density B, and S_f (E) is the spectral sensitivity of said front detector.

27. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 24 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fLPl, D_fHPl is calculated by combining a process for solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray image pair D_rHl, D_rLl for said having area densities A and B and the equation pair for said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

_0H (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE, D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

_0L (E)×

S_f (E)]×

exp((-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE into one process using direct quantitative relationships D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=D_fHPl (D_rL (i,j),D_rH (i,j)) and D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=D_fHPl (D_rL (i,j),D_rH (i,j)), wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear high-energy detector cell (i,j).

28. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 24 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl and D_fLPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using linear approximation.

29. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 24 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl and D_fLPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using second order approximation methods.

30. A method for taking a two-dimensional x-ray image of a subject using a two-dimensional x-ray imaging system, said system including, in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source emitting x-rays, a front low-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front low-energy detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (x,y), a front x-ray energy spectral filter, a front high-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front high-energy detector cells on the same coordinate system as said front low-energy detector cells, a collimator having a plurality of through holes axially aligned with said x-rays and permitting the passage of a portion of primary x-rays and blocking substantially all scatter x-rays, a rear low-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear low-energy detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (i,j), a rear x-ray energy spectral filter, and a rear high-energy two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear high-energy detector cells on the same coordinate system as said rear low-energy detector cells, a plurality of projection lines extending radially from said x-ray source through said collimator holes, said subject being substantially composed of two different materials having area densities of A and B in terms of interaction with said x-rays and being located between said x-ray source and said front detector, said method comprising:

(a) illuminating said subject with x-rays;

(b) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fLh from substantially all of said front low-energy detector cells and processing said image I_fLh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fLh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(c) constructing a low-resolution image D_fLl from the portion of said image D_fLh retrieved from said front low-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(d) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fHh from substantially all of said front high-energy detector cells and processing said image I_fHh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fHh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(e) constructing a low-resolution image D_fHl from the portion of said image D_fHh retrieved from said front high-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(f) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rLl from said rear low-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rLl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rLl, said image D_rLl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(g) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rHl from said rear high-energy detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rHl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rHl, said image D_rHl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(h) calculating a pair of low-resolution primary x-ray images D_fLPl of said front low-energy detector and D_fHPl of said front high-energy detector from a low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair composed of said image D_rHl and said image D_rLl ;

(j) calculating a pair of low-resolution scatter x-ray images D_fLSl of said front low-energy detector and D_fHSl of said front high-energy detector by subtracting said image D_fLPl from said image D_fLl and subtracting said image D_fHPl from said image D_fHl ;

(k) calculating a pair of high-resolution scatter images D_fLSh and D_fHSh by extending said pair of low-resolution scatter images D_fLSl and D_fHSl to the entire image area of said front low-energy detector and said front high-energy detector through interpolation; and

(l) calculating a pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh by subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fLSh from said high-resolution image D_fLh and subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fHSh from said high-resolution image D_fHh ;

(m) whereby said pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh is a pair of high-resolution two-dimensional dual-energy x-ray images of said subject at said front low-energy detector and said front high-energy detector after scatter x-rays have been substantially eliminated, said primary image pair D_fLPh and D_fHPh having a spatial resolution as high as said front detector can provide.

31. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 30 wherein said area densities A and B are calculated from said pair of high-resolution primary images D_fLPh and D_fHPh, said material compositions having a resolution as high as said front detectors can provide.

32. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 30 wherein said pair of low-resolution images of said front detector D_fLPl and D_fLPl are calculated by:

(a) solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray imaging pair for said area densities A and B; and

(b) inserting said A and B solutions into the equations for said image pair D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_fL (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE and D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_fH (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE, wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front low-energy detector cell and said front high-energy detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear high-energy detector cell (i,j) and said rear low-energy detector cell (i,j), Φ

₀ (E) is the energy spectrum of said x-rays, S_fL (E) is the spectral sensitivity of said front low-energy detector, S_fH (E) is the spectral sensitivity of said front high-energy detector, μ

_A (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density A, and μ

_B (E) is the mass absorption coefficient of said material having area density B.

33. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 30 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fLPl, D_fHPl is calculated by combining a process for solving said low-resolution dual-energy primary x-ray image pair D_rHl, D_rLl for said having area densities A and B and the equation pair for said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_fH (E)]×

exp(-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE, D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=∫

[Φ

₀ (E)×

S_fL (E)]×

exp((-(μ

_A (E)×

A(i,j)+μ

_B (E)×

B(i,j)))dE into one process using direct quantitative relationships D_fHPl (x(i),y(j))=D_fHPl (D_rL (i,j),D_rH (i,j)) and D_fLPl (x(i),y(j))=D_fHPl (D_rL (i,j),D_rH (i,j)), wherein (x(i),y(j)) is the coordinate of said front detector cell intersected by said projection line that also intersects said rear high-energy detector cell (i,j).

34. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 30 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl and D_fLPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using linear approximation.

35. The two-dimensional x-ray image method of claim 30 wherein said low-resolution image pair D_fHPl and D_fLPl is obtained from said image pair D_rLl (i,j),D_rHl (i,j)) by using second order approximation methods.

36. A method for taking a two-dimensional x-ray image of a subject using a two-dimensional x-ray imaging system, said system including, in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source emitting x-rays that can be approximated as having a single energy E₀, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (x,y), a collimator having a plurality of through holes axially aligned with said x-rays and permitting the passage of a portion of primary x-rays and blocking substantially all scatter x-rays, a rear two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (i,j), a plurality of projection lines extending radially from said x-ray source through said collimator holes, said subject being substantially composed of two different materials having area densities of A and B in terms of interaction with said x-rays and being located between said x-ray source and said front detector, said method comprising:

(a) illuminating said subject with said x-rays;

(b) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fh from substantially all of said front detector cells and processing said image I_fh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(c) constructing a low-resolution image D_fl from the portion of said image D_fh retrieved from said front detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(d) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rl from said rear detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rl, said image D_rl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(e) calculating a low-resolution primary x-ray image D_fPl of said front detector from said image D_rl by multiplying said image D_rl by a predetermined value C, the energy reduction constant of said collimator at said energy E₀ ;

(f) calculating a low-resolution scatter x-ray image D_fSl of said front detector by subtracting said image D_fPl from said image D_fl ;

(g) calculating a high-resolution scatter image D_fSh by extending said low-resolution scatter image D_fSl to the entire image area of said front detector through interpolation; and

(h) calculating a high-resolution primary image D_fPh by subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fSh from said high-resolution image D_fh ;

(i) whereby said high-resolution primary image D_fPh is a two-dimensional image of said subject at said front detector after scatter x-rays have been substantially eliminated, said image D_fPh having a spatial resolution as high as said front detector can provide.

37. A method for taking a two-dimensional x-ray image of a subject using a two-dimensional x-ray imaging system, said system including, in physical sequence from front to back, an x-ray source emitting x-rays that can be approximated as having an average energy E₀, a front two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of front detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (x,y), a collimator having a plurality of through holes axially aligned with said x-rays and permitting the passage of a portion of primary x-rays and blocking substantially all scatter x-rays, a rear two-dimensional x-ray detector having a plurality of rear detector cells on a coordinate system represented by the notation (i,j), a plurality of projection lines extending radially from said x-ray source through said collimator holes, said subject being substantially composed of two different materials having area densities of A and B in terms of interaction with said x-rays and being located between said x-ray source and said front detector, said method comprising:

(a) illuminating said subject with said x-rays;

(b) retrieving a high-resolution image I_fh from substantially all of said front detector cells and processing said image I_fh to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_fh, which is composed of primary x-ray signals and scatter x-ray signals;

(c) constructing a low-resolution image D_fl from the portion of said image D_fh retrieved from said front detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines;

(d) retrieving a low-resolution image I_rl from said rear detector cells that are intersected by said projection lines and processing said image I_rl to normalize it and to subtract dark signals, yielding an image D_rl, said image D_rl being composed of substantially only primary x-ray signals;

(e) calculating a low-resolution primary x-ray image D_fPl of said front detector from said image D_rl by multiplying said image D_rl by a predetermined value C, the energy reduction constant of said collimator at said energy E₀ ;

(f) calculating a low-resolution scatter x-ray image D_fSl of said front detector by subtracting said image D_fPl from said image D_fl ;

(g) calculating a high-resolution scatter image D_fSh by extending said low-resolution scatter image D_fSl to the entire image area of said front detector through interpolation; and

(h) calculating a high-resolution primary image D_fPh by subtracting said high-resolution scatter image D_fSh from said high-resolution image D_fh ;

(i) whereby said high-resolution primary image D_fPh is a two-dimensional image of said subject at said front detector after scatter x-rays have been substantially eliminated, said image D_fPh having a spatial resolution as high as said front detector can provide.