Simple method for modulation transfer function determination of digital imaging detectors from edge images

A simple variant of the edge method to determine the presampled modulation transfer function (MTF) of digital imaging detectors has been developed that produces sufficiently accurate MTF values for frequencies up to the Nyquist frequency limit of the detector with only a small amount of effort for alignment and computing. An oversampled edge spread function (ESF) is generated from the image of a slanted edge by rearranging the pixel data of N consecutive lines that correspond to a lateral shift of the edge of one pixel. The original data are used for the computational analysis without further data preprocessing. Since the number of lines leading to an edge shift of one pixel is generally a fractional number rather than an integer, a systematic error may be introduced in the MTF obtained. Simulations and theoretical investigations show that for all frequencies up to the Nyquist limit the relative error ∆MTF/MTF is below 1/(2N) and can thus be kept below a given threshold by a suitable choice of N. The method is especially useful for applications where the MTF is needed for frequencies up to the Nyquist frequency limit, like the determination of the detective quantum efficiency (DQE).