Evaluation of fully 3-D emission mammotomography with a compact cadmium zinc telluride detector.
A compact, dedicated cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) gamma camera coupled with a fully three-dimensional (3-D) acquisition system may serve as a secondary diagnostic tool for volumetric molecular imaging of breast cancers, particularly in cases when mammographic findings are inconclusive. The developed emission mammotomography system comprises a medium field-of-view, quantized CZT detector and 3-D positioning gantry. The intrinsic energy resolution, sensitivity and spatial resolution of the detector are evaluated with Tc-99m (140 keV) filled flood sources, capillary line sources, and a 3-D frequency-resolution phantom. To mimic realistic human pendant, uncompressed breast imaging, two different phantom shapes of an average sized breast, and three different lesion diameters are imaged to evaluate the system for 3-D mammotomography. Acquisition orbits not possible with conventional emission, or transmission, systems are designed to optimize the viewable breast volume while improving sampling of the breast and anterior chest wall. Complications in camera positioning about the patient necessitate a compromise in these two orbit design criteria. Image quality is evaluated with signal-to-noise ratios and contrasts of the lesions, both with and without additional torso phantom background. Reconstructed results indicate that 3-D mammotomography, incorporating a compact CZT detector, is a promising, dedicated breast imaging technique for visualization of tumors < 1 cm in diameter. Additionally, there are no outstanding trajectories that consistently yield optimized quantitative lesion imaging parameters. Qualitatively, imaging breasts with realistic torso backgrounds (out-of-field activity) substantially alters image characteristics and breast morphology unless orbits which improve sampling are utilized. In practice, the sampling requirement may be less strict than initially anticipated.
Brzymialkiewicz
Caryl N
CN
Multi-Modality Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University Medical Center, DUMC-3949, Durham, NC 27710, USA. cnb3@duke.edu
Tornai
Martin P
MP
McKinley
Randolph L
RL
Bowsher
James E
JE
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D015902:Gamma Cameras; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008904:Miniaturization; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013691:Tellurium; D014054:Tomography / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014159:Transducers; D017967:Zinc Compounds
D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D013691:Tellurium; C028337:cadmium telluride