| 1. |
- Bakic, Predrag R., et al.
(författare)
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Artifact reduction in simultaneous tomosynthesis and mechanical imaging of the breast
- 2019
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2019 : Physics of Medical Imaging - Physics of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE. - 9781510625433 ; 10948
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mechanical imaging (MI) uses a pressure sensor array to estimate the stiffness of lesions. Recent clinical studies have suggested that MI combined with digital mammography may reduce false positive findings and negative biopsies by over 30%. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has been adopted progressively in cancer screening. The tomographic nature of DBT improves lesion visibility by reducing tissue overlap in reconstructed images. For maximum benefit, DBT and MI data should be acquired simultaneously; however, that arrangement produces visible artifacts in DBT images due to the presence of the MI sensor array. We propose a method for reducing artifacts during the DBT image reconstruction. We modified the parameters of a commercial DBT reconstruction engine and investigated the conspicuity of artifacts in the resultant images produced with different sensor orientations. The method was evaluated using a physical anthropomorphic phantom imaged on top of the sensor. Visual assessment showed a reduction of artifacts. In a quantitative test, we calculated the artifact spread function (ASF), and compared the ratio of the mean ASF values between the proposed and conventional reconstruction (termed ASF ratio, RASF). We obtained a mean RASF of 2.74, averaged between two analyzed sensor orientations (45° and 90°). The performance varied with the orientation and the type of sensor structures causing the artifacts. RASF for wide connection lines was larger at 45° than at 90° (5.15 vs. 1.00, respectively), while for metallic contacts RASF was larger at 90° than at 45° (3.31 vs. 2.21, respectively). Future work will include a detailed quantitative assessment, and further method optimization in virtual clinical trials.
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| 2. |
- Bakic, Predrag R., et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of a flat fielding method for simultaneous DBT and MI acquisition
- 2020
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Ingår i: 15th International Workshop on Breast Imaging, IWBI 2020. - : SPIE. - 1996-756X .- 0277-786X. - 9781510638310 ; 11513
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We are developing a prototype system for simultaneous digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and mechanical imaging (MI). MI maps the local pressure distribution during clinical exams, to distinguish breast abnormalities from the normal tissue. Both DBT alone, and MI when combined with digital mammography, have demonstrated the ability to reduce false positives; however, the benefit of combining DBT with MI has not been investigated. A practical limitation in simultaneous DBT and MI is the presence of the MI sensor in DBT images. Metallic elements of the sensor generate noticeable artifacts, which may interfere with clinical analysis. Previously, we shown that the sensor artifacts can be reduced by flat fielding, which combines projections of the sensor acquired with and without the breast. In this paper we evaluate the flat fielding by assessing artifact reduction and visibility of breast abnormalities. Images of a physical anthropomorphic breast phantom were acquired using a clinical wide-angle DBT system. Visual evaluation was performed by experienced medical physicists. Image quality descriptors were calculated in images with and without flat fielding. To evaluate the visibility of abnormalities we estimated the full width at half maximum (FWHM) for calcifications modeled in the phantom. Our preliminary results suggest a substantial reduction of artifacts by flat fielding (on average 83%). Few noticeable artifacts remain near the breast edge, in the reconstructed image with the sensor in focus. We observed a 17% reduction in the FWHM. Future work would include a detailed assessment, and method optimization using virtual trials as a design aid.
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| 3. |
- Bakic, Predrag R., et al.
(författare)
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Pre-processing for image quality improvement in simultaneous DBT and mechanical imaging
- 2020
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2020 : Physics of Medical Imaging - Physics of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE. - 1605-7422. - 9781510633919 ; 11312
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Simultaneous digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and mechanical imaging (MI) offer the potential to combine anatomic information from DBT with functional information from MI. This makes it possible to associate tissue stiffness with specific anatomic structures in the breast, a combination that can reduce false-positive findings by using the MI data to discriminate between ambiguous lesions in DBT. This, in turn, will reduce the frequency of negative biopsies. Simultaneous imaging requires that the MI sensor array be present during DBT acquisition. This introduces artifacts, since the sensor is attenuating. Previously, we demonstrated that the DBT reconstruction could be modified to reduce sensor conspicuity in DBT images. In this paper, we characterize the relative attenuation of the breast and the sensor, to calculate the artifact reduction in DBT reconstruction. We concentrate on pre-processing DBT projections prior to reconstruction. Using commercially available a DBT system, we have confirmed that the sensor array does not completely attenuate the x-rays. This suggests that a pre-processing method based upon flat fielding can be used to reduce artifacts. In a proof-of-concept study, we performed flat fielding by combining DBT projections of the MI sensor with and without an anthropomorphic breast phantom. Visual evaluation confirmed substantially improved image quality. The artifacts were reduced throughout the image for all sensor elements. Few residual artifacts are noticeable where the phantom thickness decreases. The investigation of additional pre-processing, including beam hardening correction is ongoing. Future work includes quantitative validation, noise stabilization, and method optimization in virtual clinical trials and subsequent patient studies.
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| 4. |
- Barufaldi, Bruno, et al.
(författare)
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Virtual Clinical Trials in Medical Imaging System Evaluation and Optimisation
- 2021
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Ingår i: Radiation Protection Dosimetry. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1742-3406 .- 0144-8420. ; 195:3-4, s. 363-371
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Virtual clinical trials (VCTs) can be used to evaluate and optimise medical imaging systems. VCTs are based on computer simulations of human anatomy, imaging modalities and image interpretation. OpenVCT is an open-source framework for conducting VCTs of medical imaging, with a particular focus on breast imaging. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the OpenVCT framework in two tasks involving digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). First, VCTs were used to perform a detailed comparison of virtual and clinical reading studies for the detection of lesions in digital mammography and DBT. Then, the framework was expanded to include mechanical imaging (MI) and was used to optimise the novel combination of simultaneous DBT and MI. The first experiments showed close agreement between the clinical and the virtual study, confirming that VCTs can predict changes in performance of DBT accurately. Work in simultaneous DBT and MI system has demonstrated that the system can be optimised in terms of the DBT image quality. We are currently working to expand the OpenVCT software to simulate MI acquisition more accurately and to include models of tumour growth. Based on our experience to date, we envision a future in which VCTs have an important role in medical imaging, including support for more imaging modalities, use with rare diseases and a role in training and testing artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
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| 5. |
- Sechopoulos, Ioannis, et al.
(författare)
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Radiation dosimetry in digital breast tomosynthesis : report of AAPM Tomosynthesis Subcommittee Task Group 223.
- 2014
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Ingår i: Medical physics. - : Wiley. - 2473-4209 .- 0094-2405. ; 41:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The radiation dose involved in any medical imaging modality that uses ionizing radiation needs to be well understood by the medical physics and clinical community. This is especially true of screening modalities. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has recently been introduced into the clinic and is being used for screening for breast cancer in the general population. Therefore, it is important that the medical physics community have the required information to be able to understand, estimate, and communicate the radiation dose levels involved in breast tomosynthesis imaging. For this purpose, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group 223 on Dosimetry in Tomosynthesis Imaging has prepared this report that discusses dosimetry in breast imaging in general, and describes a methodology and provides the data necessary to estimate mean breast glandular dose from a tomosynthesis acquisition. In an effort to maximize familiarity with the procedures and data provided in this Report, the methodology to perform the dose estimation in DBT is based as much as possible on that used in mammography dose estimation.
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| 6. |
- Teixeira, Joao P.V., et al.
(författare)
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Novel Perlin-based phantoms using 3D models of compressed breast shapes and fractal noise
- 2022
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Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2022 : Physics of Medical Imaging - Physics of Medical Imaging. - : SPIE. - 1605-7422. - 9781510649378 ; 12031
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Virtual clinical trials (VCTs) have been used widely to evaluate digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems. VCTs require realistic simulations of the breast anatomy (phantoms) to characterize lesions and to estimate risk of masking cancers. This study introduces the use of Perlin-based phantoms to optimize the acquisition geometry of a novel DBT prototype. These phantoms were developed using a GPU implementation of a novel library called Perlin-CuPy. The breast anatomy is simulated using 3D models under mammography cranio-caudal compression. In total, 240 phantoms were created using compressed breast thickness, chest-wall to nipple distance, and skin thickness that varied in a {[35, 75], [59, 130), [1.0, 2.0]} mm interval, respectively. DBT projections and reconstructions of the phantoms were simulated using two acquisition geometries of our DBT prototype. The performance of both acquisition geometries was compared using breast volume segmentations of the Perlin phantoms. Results show that breast volume estimates are improved with the introduction of posterior-anterior motion of the x-ray source in DBT acquisitions. The breast volume is overestimated in DBT, varying substantially with the acquisition geometry; segmentation errors are more evident for thicker and larger breasts. These results provide additional evidence and suggest that custom acquisition geometries can improve the performance and accuracy in DBT. Perlin phantoms help to identify limitations in acquisition geometries and to optimize the performance of the DBT prototypes.
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