Luminescent materials are used as X-ray detectors of medical imaging
systems. Out of a large variety of materials, Terbium (Tb)-activated phosphors and
needle-like columnar structured CsI:Tl phosphors are currently the most widely used
ones. Parameters commonly used to assess the imaging performance of luminescent
materials are: the Quantum Detection Efficiency, the Luminescence Efficiency (LE),
the Optical Spectral Distribution (OSD), the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF),
the Noise Power Spectrum (NPS), the Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) and the
Information Capacity (IC). The scope of the MISCIRLU project is an in depth
theoretical and experimental analysis of the performance of scintillator materials as Xray
detectors. The theoretical analysis is performed through Mie scattering theory,
Monte Carlo simulation and analytical modeling. The experimental analysis is
performed through LE, OSD, MTF and NPS measurements. The initial results of the
MISCIRLU project are focused in the theoretical analysis of the luminescent materials
like the effect of the grain size, detector thickness, activator importance and
scintillator crystal intrinsic conversion efficiency non-proportionality. In addition MTF and NPS have been evaluated via free software tools.