SINDBAD: a Simulation Software Tool for Multi-energy X-Ray Imaging

The computer simulation of realistic radiographs has been proved to be an efficient tool for the design of X-ray systems, the specification of their components, the development of dedicated image processing methods and the final validation. Sindbad software has been developed at LDET laboratory for that purpose. The goal of this paper is to describe new developments of Sindbad allowing taking into account recently emerged semiconductor based X-ray detectors that offer new capabilities in counting mode with energy discrimination. A model of such detectors is proposed, considering both physical and electronics phenomena. The integration into Sindbad offers spectral imaging simulation functionalities in both radiography and tomographic mode. Examples highlight the energetic dependency of contrast. Validation has been performed, using for comparison semiconductor detectors developed in our laboratory. An example of quantification of beam-hardening artefact illustrates the influence of detector characteristics on image quality.