Geant4-Based Monte Carlo Simulator for Fan-and Cone-Beam X-ray CT

An X-ray computed tomography (CT) simulator based on Geant4 toolkit was developed for simulation of both fan- and cone-beam CT scanners. There major components X-ray tube, phantom and detector are simulated. Different to analytical simulation, this simulation is accordance with imaging physics by adopting the Geant4 toolkit. Compared with ordinary statistical simulation, acceleration investigation and parameters optimization are considered. Also,experiments on beam-hardening and scatter are simulated. As expected, this simulator is not only a tool for acquiring scanning data, but also a tool for evaluating dose, the effect of physical, geometrical and potential artifacts and corresponding correction schemes in CT system.