Patent ID: 7469034

Claim:
A method of analyzing and displaying x-ray projection images using an x-ray examination unit, comprising the steps of: radiographing an object using x-rays originating from a radiation source and a focus of the radiation source; measuring the x-rays penetrating the object by a detector field having a plurality of detector elements, the detector field arranged opposite the focus and after the object relative to an x-radiation direction; determining x-ray attenuation values from local x-ray intensity values captured by the detector field and from initial x-ray intensity values, the initial x-ray intensity values related to the x-rays before penetrating the object; generating and displaying a projection image of the object based upon the determined x-ray attenuation values; and determining a functional relationship between the x-ray attenuation values and a material-equivalent coefficient variable relative to an energy spectrum of the x-rays, wherein the material-equivalent coefficient variable is assigned a value characteristic for one specific material and displayed as an image value when displaying the projection image, wherein the functional relationship is determined according to the formula f U ⁡ ( b ) = ∫ 0 eU ⁢ exp ⁢ ⁢ ( - b ⁢ ⁢ α W ⁡ ( E ) ) ⁢ S U ⁢ ⁢ ⅆ E wherein: S U =an energy-dependent standardized attenuation value, b=a path length of the x-radiation, α W (E)=an energy-dependent mass attenuation coefficient.