Medical X-Ray Imaging with Scattered Photons

All medical x-ray imaging today is done by using the primary or transmitted x rays to form a shadow picture of the patient. Up to 90% of the photons approaching the image receptor, however, have been coherently or incoherently scattered, and an alternative is to use them to generate the image. Thus, scattered radiation is no longer just a nuisance to be suppressed, but a new source of information. The underlying physics and basic approaches to scatter imaging will be presented. Results from the first systematic feasibility analysis to determine the sensitivity of the technique for different imaging geometries will be presented. Current work on measuring the basic cross sections will be summarized.