Contrast detail phantom comparison on a commercially available unit. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) versus full-field digital mammography (FFDM).
The performance of a commercial digital mammographic system working in 2D planar versus tomosynthesis mode was evaluated in terms of the image signal difference to noise ratio (SDNR). A contrast detail phantom was obtained embedding 1 cm Plexiglas, including 49 holes of different diameter and depth, between two layers containing a breast-simulating material. The phantom was exposed with the details plane perpendicular to the X-ray beam using the manufacturer's standard clinical breast acquisition parameters. SDNR in the digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) images was higher than that of the full-field digital mammography (FFDM) for 38 out of 49 details in complex background conditions. These differences (p < 0.05) are statistically significant for 19 details out of 38. The relative SDNR results for DBT and FFDM images showed a dependence on the diameter of the details considered. This paper proposes an initial framework for a global image quality evaluation for commercial systems that can operate with different image acquisition modality using the same detector.
Bertolini
Marco
M
Servizio di Fisica Medica Sanitaria, Azienda Ospedaliera S. Maria Nuova, Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Nitrosi
Andrea
A
Borasi
Giovanni
G
Botti
Andrea
A
Tassoni
Davide
D
Sghedoni
Roberto
R
Zuccoli
Giulio
G
D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*