title: Experimental investigation of the dose and image quality characteristics of a digital mammography imaging system.
abstract: Our purpose in this study was to investigate the image quality and absorbed dose characteristics of a digital mammography imaging system with a CsI scintillator, and to identify an optimal x-ray tube voltage for imaging simulated masses in an average size breast with 50% glandularity. Images were taken of an ACR accreditation phantom using a LORAD digital mammography system with a Mo target and a Mo filter. In one experiment, exposures were performed at 80 mAs with x-ray tube voltages varying between 24 and 34 kVp. In a second experiment, the x-ray tube voltage was kept constant at 28 kVp and the technique factor was varied between 5 and 500 mAs. The average glandular dose at each x-ray tube voltage was determined from measurements of entrance skin exposure and x-ray beam half-value layer. Image contrast was measured as the fractional digital signal intensity difference for the image of a 4 mm thick acrylic disk. Image noise was obtained from the standard deviation in a uniformly exposed region of interest expressed as a fraction of the background intensity. The measured digital signal intensity was proportional to the mAs and to the kVp5.8. Image contrast was independent of mAs, and dropped by 21% when the x-ray tube voltage increased from 24 to 34 kVp. At a constant x-ray tube voltage, image noise was shown to be approximately proportional to (mAs)(-05), which permits the image contrast to noise ratio (CNR) to be modified by changing the mAs. At 80 mAs, increasing the x-ray tube voltage from 24 to 34 kVp increased the CNR by 78%, and increased the average glandular dose by 285%. At a constant lesion CNR, the lowest average glandular dose value occurred at 27.3 kVp. Increasing or decreasing the x-ray tube voltage by 2.3 kVp from the optimum kVp increased the average glandular dose values by 5%. These results show that imaging simulated masses in a 4.2 cm compressed breast at approximately 27 kVp with a Mo/Mo target/filter results in the lowest average glandular dose.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, 750 E. Adams Street, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA. hudaw@upstate.edu
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huda
authors.forename: Anthony M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sajewicz
authors.forename: Kent M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Ogden
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dance
mesh_terms: D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging / Q000592:standards*; D011786:Quality Control; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014481:United States