Kumakhow Optics for Clinical Dual-Energy Angiography

Conventional coronary angiography requires cardiac catheterization to inject an iodine contrast agent. If dual-energy digital subtraction angiography could be performed in clinical practice using intravenous iodine injections, patient risk could be substantially reduced. Additionally, x-ray exposure of the angiographer and other technical personnel during the catheter manipulation/placement would be eliminated. This project would evaluate combining two newly developed capabilities to achieve such a dual-energy angiography system. Science Research Laboratory (SRL) has constructed a compact high-flux characteristic-line x-ray anode source for dual-energy angiography. The effectiveness of this source would be greatly enhanced if the high energy continuum photon flux in the x-ray spectrum could be attenuated. Recent advances in Kumakhov optics utilizing x-ray capillary optics have demonstrated the ability to focus x-ray beams and to filter out high-energy photons. The expected result is a complete system would sequentially provide two very narrow x-ray spectra which bound the iodine K-edge for use in dual-energy digital subfraction angiography. The research performed in Phase I will establish the feasibility of filtering the characteristicline x-ray spectrum with a capillary optic. In Phase II, a Kumakhow x-ray will be constructed and tested with the SRL x-ray source.