Computer based x-ray computed tomography training system for engineering education

Abstract

X-ray computed tomography (called CT) scanner is a powerful and widely used medical imaging modality in the hospital. The CT machine is very expensive and it can produce dangerous radiation when a person operates the machine. This makes it difficult for biomedical engineers and radiographer students to learn its working principles. In order to overcome this problem, a computer based CT scanner trainer system has been developed. The system is implemented using National Instrument’s Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW). At the beginning, it was started with the studying of existing CT scan machine. After gathering information, development process continued to develop generator component, x-ray tube subsystem, detector subsystem, imaging subsystem, and finally is reconstruction subsystem. The trainer system that has been developed is able to be used to train students on how to use CT scanner especially to get high quality images with lowest possible radiation. This will help biomedical engineers and radiographer students to have a better understanding of CT scanner in term of its working principle and to prevent radiation hazard during the learning process.