This article highlights the performance measurements of an optical device which aims at upgrading preclinical irradiators. The evaluated device allows acquiring X-ray as well as bioluminescence images with a
single sensor. The latter consists of a supercooled camera equipped with a 1024x1024 charge coupling
device (each element measuring 13x13µm²). X-ray imaging is feasible, thanks to a conversion phosphor
screen. Phantom acquisitions revealed a spatial resolution of 2.5 line pairs per millimetre (0.2mm) for Xray imaging and between 0.4 and 0.7mm for bioluminescence images. Image homogeneity was 0.8 for
radiographic images with preclinical imaging parameters and higher than 0.9 for optical images. For
functional imaging, contrast to noise ratio (CNR) ranged from 1.3 (for contrast of 2:1 and 0.1s acquisition)
up to 253 (for contrast of 32:1 and 5s acquisition). CNR was related to acquisition duration. The device’s
overall performance revealed that it is suitable to upgrade existing irradiators and improve laboratory
capabilities toward image-guided radiotherapy.
Imaging Performance of a Multimodal Module to Enhance Preclinical Irradiator Capabilities
