Patent ID: 7676023

Claim:
A computer program product for generating a density calibration curve from a digital x-ray image of an anatomic structure, the x-ray image including a wedge-shaped calibration phantom having length (L) and thickness (I) that varies non-linearly along the length, the computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code thereon, the computer readable program code comprising: (a) program code for measuring attenuation at a multitude of points in the x-ray image of the calibration phantom; (b) program code for measuring attenuation of at least one point of known density in the x-ray image of the anatomical structure; (c) program code for generating a calibration curve that describes the relationship between attenuation measured in (a) and (b) and material thickness; and (d) program code for translating the calibration curve describing thickness into a curve describing calcium concentration.