Contemporary review of commercially available medical X-ray detectors

Abstract

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen became the father of diagnostic imaging when he discovered the eponymous rays on November 8, 1895. Since then, this medical discipline has undergone tremendous developments, especially in the last three decades. A multitude of new imaging modalities have emerged, among which tomographic, non-ionizing, and capable of dynamically visualizing the processes and structures of the human body. Among them a fundamental significance in the modern diagnostic imaging department is attributed to the new X-ray based methods, all of which rely on digital X-ray detectors. These detectors have superseded the original photographic plaques used in analogue radiography, thus enabling the creation of computed tomography, the optimization of image quality, and overall dose reduction for the patient. Current detectors comprise three types—photo stimulated storage phosphors, indirect semiconductor detectors, and direct semiconductor (photon-counting) detectors. In this work all three are viewed in a concise manner, with their physical principle, construction, advantages, and disadvantages being discussed.