title: Dual Energy Method for Breast Imaging: A Simulation Study.
abstract: Dual energy methods can suppress the contrast between adipose and glandular tissues in the breast and therefore enhance the visibility of calcifications. In this study, a dual energy method based on analytical modeling was developed for the detection of minimum microcalcification thickness. To this aim, a modified radiographic X-ray unit was considered, in order to overcome the limited kVp range of mammographic units used in previous DE studies, combined with a high resolution CMOS sensor (pixel size of 22.5 μm) for improved resolution. Various filter materials were examined based on their K-absorption edge. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) was used to simulate microcalcifications. The contrast to noise ratio (CNR tc ) of the subtracted images was calculated for both monoenergetic and polyenergetic X-ray beams. The optimum monoenergetic pair was 23/58 keV for the low and high energy, respectively, resulting in a minimum detectable microcalcification thickness of 100 μm. In the polyenergetic X-ray study, the optimal spectral combination was 40/70 kVp filtered with 100 μm cadmium and 1000 μm copper, respectively. In this case, the minimum detectable microcalcification thickness was 150 μm. The proposed dual energy method provides improved microcalcification detectability in breast imaging with mean glandular dose values within acceptable levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Patras, 265 00 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Koukou
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Patras, 265 00 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.affiliation: Radiation Physics, Materials Technology and Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Egaleo, 122 10 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michail
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Patras, 265 00 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sotiropoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratories, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Egaleo, 122 10 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fountzoula
authors.affiliation: Radiation Physics, Materials Technology and Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Egaleo, 122 10 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalyvas
authors.affiliation: Radiation Physics, Materials Technology and Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Egaleo, 122 10 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kandarakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Patras, 265 00 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nikiforidis
authors.affiliation: Radiation Physics, Materials Technology and Biomedical Imaging Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Egaleo, 122 10 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fountos
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D000465:Algorithms; D001940:Breast / Q000473:pathology*; D000071060:Breast Density; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D002114:Calcinosis; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D042361:Mammary Glands, Human / Q000002:abnormalities; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D014965:X-Rays
chemical_list: D017886:Durapatite