J ul 2 00 6 The dual - dose imaging technique : a way to enhance

We describe a method aiming at increasing the dynamic range of X-ray detectors. Two X-ray exposures of an object are acquired at different dose levels and constitute the only input data. The values of the parameters which are needed to process these images are determined from information contained in the images themselves; the values of two parameters are extracted from the input data. The two input images are finally merged in such a way as to create one image containing useful information in all its entirety. This selective use of parts of each image allows both the contour of the irradiated object to be visible and the high-attenuation areas to retain their image quality corresponding to the information contained in the high-dose image. The benefits of the method are demonstrated with an example involving a head phantom.