Hong Liu PhD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Xizeng Wu PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the potential clinical benefits of high kVp phase sensitive x-ray breast imaging through a comparison with conventional mammography.

A contrast-detail phantom was imaged by an in-line phase sensitive x-ray imaging prototype and by a commercial digital mammography unit. The phase contrast prototype utilizes a microfocus x-ray source (50 um focal spot) operating at 120kVp and 4.5 mAs, and a CsI coated CMOS digital detector with a 50 um pixel pitch. In order to generate phase contrast, sufficiently large source to object and object to detector distances of 68.6 cm and 100 cm were used respectively. An innovative phase retrieval algorithm was applied to the acquired phase contrast images to generate phase-map images of the phantom. For a comparison, the same contrast-detail phantom was also imaged with a clinical GE Senographe DS flat panel digital mammography system, at 28 kVp and 54 mAs as well as 27 kVp and 131 mAs. The mean glandular doses with all images were calculated based on the measured exposure parameters and Monte Carlo simulations. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the target disks were measured, and observer-based subjective evaluations were also conducted to compare the disks detectability and absorbed doses of the high energy phase sensitive images and low energy conventional images.

For almost equal mean glandular doses, the measured disk SNR values were about three-times higher for the phase-map images than the images acquired with the clinical mammography system. Observer based contrast-detail analyses also demonstrated improved detectability by the high-energy phase sensitive images for both a similar and a reduced dose, as compared to the low energy conventional images.

This preliminary phantom study demonstrates the clinical potential of high-energy in-line phase sensitive mammography in improving the lesion detectability and reducing radiation dose to patients.

The study demonstrates the technical feasibility and potential clinical benefits of high-energy phase sensitive x-ray imaging as compared to conventional digital mammography.

Liu, H, Wu, X, Clinical Potential of High-energy Phase Sensitive Mammography.  Radiological Society of North America 2013 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, December 1 - December 6, 2013 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2013/13024173.html