UC Irvine

X-ray induced acoustic computed tomography (XACT) is an emerging imaging modality capable of reconstructing three-dimensional distributions of X-ray energy deposition from a single projection. While XACT provides strong functional contrast, its image quality is often degraded by limited acoustic detection geometries, leading to reconstruction artifacts and reduced spatial accuracy. In this work, we present a dual-modality XACT imaging framework that integrates transmission X-ray imaging to improve three-dimensional reconstruction robustness. A pulsed X-ray source was used to generate acoustic signals via thermoelastic expansion, which were detected by a planar ultrasound array for volumetric XACT reconstruction. Simultaneously acquired transmission X-ray images were processed to extract structural priors that were co-registered with the XACT coordinate system and incorporated into an iterative reconstruction scheme. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach substantially suppresses limited-view artifacts and improves geometric fidelity compared with conventional XACT reconstructions. This work highlights the potential of hybrid XACT–radiographic imaging to enable more accurate and reliable three-dimensional imaging, advancing XACT toward practical and image-guided interventional applications.