Sampling methods for a matrix ionization chamber system.

To achieve increased image acquisition speed or better image quality, several read-out methods for a matrix ionization chamber system have been investigated. In this device, which is applied for portal imaging in radiation therapy, 256 x 256 small liquid-filled ionization chambers are scanned by switching the polarizing voltage applied to rows of chambers. The ionization current of each column is measured by a separate amplifier. In this approach, instead of measuring row by row, more complex switching schemes can be applied for the polarizing voltage. These schemes are useful either for varying speed and spatial resolution of the imaging device or for coded sampling of the ionization signal. The former option allows for doubling or quadrupling the acquisition speed with a small loss in image quality, or for obtaining a large improvement in signal-to-noise ratio at the cost of image resolution. In the latter option, coded sampling, the image is reconstructed mathematically from the measured signals. It is shown that in this case the application of Hadamard or derived matrices for sampling leads, under certain circumstances, to a noise reduction in the reconstructed image.