title: Description and benefits of dynamic collimation in digital breast tomosynthesis.
abstract: X-ray field to image receptor active area alignment is usually tested in mammographic QC. In digital breast tomosynthesis (dBT), the source moves during the acquisition, generating a displacement of the X-ray beam edges relative to the detector, in or out of the detector active area. To minimise unnecessary radiation while maximising the useful field of view, a solution consisting in adjusting the collimation with the source rotation was implemented on the GE SenoClaire dBT system. This solution is described and tested using three different methods based on: (1) images from the detector, (2) a non-screen film and (3) a semi-conductor tool providing the X-ray intensity profile. Method 1 demonstrated a maximum positioning error of 0.3 mm. Method 2 was found non-applicable; Method 3 provided measurements within 1.5 mm. Dynamic collimation enables maintaining an X-ray field to detector congruence comparable with 2D. Measuring the position of the X-ray field edges using a dedicated tool makes routine QC possible.
authors.affiliation: Digital Guidance Solutions, GE Healthcare, 283 rue de la Minière, Buc 78530, France yana.popova@ge.com.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Popova
authors.affiliation: Digital Guidance Solutions, GE Healthcare, 283 rue de la Minière, Buc 78530, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hersemeule
authors.affiliation: Digital Guidance Solutions, GE Healthcare, 283 rue de la Minière, Buc 78530, France.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klausz
authors.affiliation: Digital Guidance Solutions, GE Healthcare, 283 rue de la Minière, Buc 78530, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Souchay
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011786:Quality Control; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D012666:Semiconductors; D014965:X-Rays