title: SIMULATING LOCAL DENSE AREAS USING PMMA TO ASSESS AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE CONTROL IN DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY.
abstract: Current digital mammography (DM) X-ray systems are equipped with advanced automatic exposure control (AEC) systems, which determine the exposure factors depending on breast composition. In the supplement of the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis, a phantom-based test is included to evaluate the AEC response to local dense areas in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This study evaluates the proposed test in terms of SNR and dose for four DM systems. The glandular fraction represented by the local dense area was assessed by analytic calculations. It was found that the proposed test simulates adipose to fully glandular breast compositions in attenuation. The doses associated with the phantoms were found to match well with the patient dose distribution. In conclusion, after some small adaptations, the test is valuable for the assessment of the AEC performance in terms of both SNR and dose.
authors.affiliation: Dutch Reference Centre for Screening (LRCB), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (LRCB), PO Box 6873, Nijmegen 6503 GJ, The Netherlands r.bouwman@lrcb.nl.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Bouwman
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, UZ Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49 Box 7003, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Binst
authors.affiliation: National Coordinating Centre for Physics in Mammography (NCCPM), Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford GU2 7XX, UK Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dance
authors.affiliation: National Coordinating Centre for Physics in Mammography (NCCPM), Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford GU2 7XX, UK Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK.
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Dutch Reference Centre for Screening (LRCB), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (LRCB), PO Box 6873, Nijmegen 6503 GJ, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M J M
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Broeders
authors.affiliation: Dutch Reference Centre for Screening (LRCB), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (LRCB), PO Box 6873, Nijmegen 6503 GJ, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: den Heeten
authors.affiliation: Dutch Reference Centre for Screening (LRCB), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (LRCB), PO Box 6873, Nijmegen 6503 GJ, The Netherlands Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), Albinusdreef 2, Leiden 2333 ZA, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: W J H
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Veldkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, UZ Gasthuisberg, Herestraat 49 Box 7003, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bosmans
authors.affiliation: Dutch Reference Centre for Screening (LRCB), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (LRCB), PO Box 6873, Nijmegen 6503 GJ, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: van Engen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio
chemical_list: D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate