| 1. |
- Fredenberg, Erik, PhD, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
Optimization of mammography with respect to anatomical noise
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2011. - : SPIE.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Beam quality optimization in mammography traditionally considers detection of a target obscured by quantum noise on a homogenous background. It can be argued that this scheme does not correspond well to the clinical imaging task because real mammographic images contain a complex superposition of anatomical structures, resulting in anatomical noise that may dominate over quantum noise. Using a newly developed spectral mammography system, we measured the correlation and magnitude of the anatomical noise in a set of mammograms. The results from these measurements were used as input to an observer-model optimization that included quantum noise as well as anatomical noise. We found that, within this framework, the detectability of tumors and microcalcifications behaved very differently with respect to beam quality and dose. The results for small microcalcifications were similar to what traditional optimization methods would yield, which is to be expected since quantum noise dominates over anatomical noise at high spatial frequencies. For larger tumors, however, low-frequency anatomical noise was the limiting factor. Because anatomical structure has similar energy dependence as tumor contrast, optimal x-ray energy was significantly higher and the useful energy region wider than traditional methods suggest. Measurements on a tissue phantom confirmed these theoretical results. Furthermore, since quantum noise constitutes only a small fraction of the noise, the dose could be reduced substantially without sacrificing tumor detectability. Exposure settings used clinically are therefore not necessarily optimal for this imaging task. The impact of these findings on the mammographic imaging task as a whole is, however, at this stage unclear.
|
|
| 2. |
- Norell, Björn, et al.
(författare)
-
Lesion characterization using spectral mammography
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Medical Imaging 2012. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a novel method for characterizing mammographic findings using spectral imaging without the use of contrast agent. Within a statistical framework, suspicious findings are analyzed to determine if they are likely to be benign cystic lesions or malignant tissue. To evaluate the method, we have designed a phantom where combinations of different tissue types are realized by decomposition into the material bases aluminum and polyethylene. The results indicate that the lesion size limit for reliable characterization is below 10 mm diameter, when quantum noise is the only considered source of uncertainty. Furthermore, preliminary results using clinical images are encouraging, but allow no conclusions with significance.
|
|
| 3. |
- Svensson, Björn, et al.
(författare)
-
Variable height multi-slit collimator and optimized image reconstruction in a photon-counting system for digital mammography
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 648, s. S216-S219
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated a pre-breast collimator able to operate at variable heights for a photon-counting scanned multi-slit mammography system. A prototype system was built and used to evaluate how different collimator heights combined with optimized collimator slit widths affect dose efficiency and scan time. Moreover, new image construction software which takes into account the sub-pixel shift of each detector line was implemented and evaluated. With maintained scan time a collimator 79 mm above patient support improved dose efficiency for a 100 mu m disc by 12% and by 22% for a scan time extended by 10%. For image reconstruction and the same disc size a dose efficiency improvement of 32% +/- 9% was measured indicating a higher gain than expected. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 4. |
- Berglund, Johan, et al.
(författare)
-
Energy weighting improves dose efficiency in clinical practice : implementation on a spectral photon-counting mammography system.
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Medical Imaging. - 2329-4302 .- 2329-4310. ; 1:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In x-ray imaging, contrast information content varies with photon energy. It is, therefore, possible to improve image quality by weighting photons according to energy. We have implemented and evaluated so-called energy weighting on a commercially available spectral photon-counting mammography system. The technique was evaluated using computer simulations, phantom experiments, and analysis of screening mammograms. The CNR benefit of energy weighting for a number of relevant target-background combinations measured by the three methods fell in the range of 2.2 to 5.2% when using optimal weight factors. This translates to a potential dose reduction at constant CNR in the range of 4.5 to 11%. We expect the choice of weight factor in practical implementations to be straightforward because (1) the CNR improvement was not very sensitive to weight, (2) the optimal weight was similar for all investigated target-background combinations, (3) aluminum/PMMA phantoms were found to represent clinically relevant tasks well, and (4) the optimal weight could be calculated directly from pixel values in phantom images. Reasonable agreement was found between the simulations and phantom measurements. Manual measurements on microcalcifications and automatic image analysis confirmed that the CNR improvement was detectable in energy-weighted screening mammograms.
|
|
| 5. |
- Cederström, Björn, et al.
(författare)
-
Observer-model optimization of X-ray system in photon-counting breast imaging
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier BV. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 648:Supplement 1, s. S54-S57
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An ideal-observer model is applied to optimize the design of an X-ray tube intended for use in a multi-slit scanning photon-counting mammography system. The design is such that the anode and the heel effect are reversed and the projected focal spot is smallest at the chest wall. Using linear systems theory, detectability and dose efficiency for a 0.1-mm disk are calculated for different focal spot sizes and anode angles. It is shown that the image acquisition time can be reduced by about 25% with spatial resolution and dose efficiency improved near the chest wall and worsened further away. The image quality is significantly more homogeneous than for the conventional anode orientation, both with respect to noise and detectability of a small object. With the tube rotated 90°, dose efficiency can be improved by 20% for a fixed image acquisition time.
|
|
| 6. |
- Cederström, Björn, et al.
(författare)
-
The influence of anatomical noise on optimal beam quality in mammography
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : Wiley. - 0094-2405. ; 41:12, s. 121903-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Beam-quality optimization in digital mammography traditionally considers detection of a target obscured by quantum noise in a homogeneous background. This does not correspond well to the clinical imaging task because real mammographic images contain a complex superposition of anatomical structures, resulting in anatomical noise that may dominate over quantum noise. The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence on optimal beam quality in mammography when anatomical noise is taken into account. Methods: The detectability of microcalcifications and masses was quantified using a theoretical ideal-observer model that included quantum noise as well as anatomical noise and a simplified model of a photon-counting mammography system. The outcome was experimentally verified using two types of simulated tissue phantoms. Results: The theoretical model showed that the detectability of tumors and microcalcifications behaves differently with respect to beam quality and dose. The results for small microcalcifications were similar to what traditional optimization methods yield, which is to be expected because quantum noise dominates over anatomical noise at high spatial frequencies. For larger tumors, however, low-frequency anatomical noise was the limiting factor. Because anatomical structure noise has similar energy dependence as tumor contrast, the optimal x-ray energy was found to be higher and the useful energy region was wider than traditional methods suggest. A simplified scalar model was able to capture this behavior using a fitted noise mixing parameter. The phantom measurements confirmed these theoretical results. Conclusions: It was shown that since quantum noise constitutes only a small fraction of the noise, the dose could be reduced substantially without sacrificing tumor detectability. Furthermore, when anatomical noise is included, the tube voltage can be increased well beyond what is conventionally considered optimal and used clinically, without loss of image quality. However, no such conclusions can be drawn for the more complex mammographic imaging task as a whole. (C) 2014 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
|
|
| 7. |
- Chen, Han, et al.
(författare)
-
A photon-counting silicon-strip detector for digital mammography with an ultrafast 0.18-mu m CMOS ASIC
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A. - : Elsevier. - 0168-9002 .- 1872-9576. ; 749, s. 1-6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have evaluated a silicon-strip detector with a 0.18-mu m CMOS application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) containing 160 channels for use in photon-counting digital mammography. Measurements were performed at the Elettra light source using monochromatic X-ray beams with different energies and intensities. Energy resolution, Delta E/E-in, was measured to vary between 0.10 and 0.23 in the energy range of 15-40 keV. Pulse pileup has shown little effect on energy resolution.
|
|
| 8. |
- Chen, Han, et al.
(författare)
-
On imaging with or without grid in digital mammography
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 0277-786X .- 1996-756X. ; 9033, s. 903346-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The grids used in digital mammography to reduce scattered radiation from the breast are not perfect and lead to partial absorption of primary radiation at the same time as not all of the scattered radiation is absorbed. It has therefore lately been suggested to remove the grids and correct for effects of scattered radiation by post-processing the images. In this paper, we investigated the dose reduction that might be achieved if the gird were to be removed. Dose reduction is determined as a function of PMMA thickness by comparing the contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of images acquired with and without grid at a constant exposure. We used a theoretical model validated with Monte Carlo simulations and phantom studies. To evaluate the CNR, we applied aluminum filters of two different sizes, 4x8 cm2 and 1x1 cm 2. When the large Al filter was used, the resulting CNR value for the grid-less images was overestimated as a result of a difference in amount of scattered radiation in the background region and of the region covered by the filter, a difference that could be eliminated by selecting a region of interest close to the edge of the filter. The optimal CNR when the PMMA thickness was above about 4 cm was obtained with a grid, whereas removing the grid leaded to a dose saving in thinner PMMAs. The results suggest not removing grids in breast cancer screening.
|
|
| 9. |
- Fredenberg, Erik, PhD, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography with a photon-counting detector
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : Wiley. - 0094-2405. ; 37:5, s. 2017-2029
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Spectral imaging is a method in medical x-ray imaging to extract information about the object constituents by the material-specific energy dependence of x-ray attenuation. In particular, the detectability of a contrast agent can be improved over a lumpy background. We have investigated a photon-counting spectral imaging system with two energy bins for contrast-enhanced mammography. System optimization and the potential benefit compared to conventional non-energy-resolved imaging was studied.Methods: A framework for system characterization was set up that included quantum and anatomical noise, and a theoretical model of the system was benchmarked to phantom measurements.Results: It was found that optimal combination of the energy-resolved images corresponded approximately to minimization of the anatomical noise, and an ideal-observer detectability index could be improved more than a factor of two compared to absorption imaging in the phantom study. In the clinical case, an improvement close to 80% was predicted for an average glandularity breast, and a factor of eight for dense breast tissue. Another 70% was found to be within reach for an optimized system.Conclusions: Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography is feasible and beneficial with the current system, and there is room for additional improvements.
|
|
| 10. |
- Fredenberg, Erik, PhD, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
-
Energy filtering with x-ray lenses: Optimization for photon-counting mammography
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Radiation Protection Dosimetry. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0144-8420 .- 1742-3406. ; 139, s. 339-342
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chromatic properties of the multi-prism and prism-array x-ray lenses (MPL and PAL) can potentially be utilized for efficient energy filtering and dose reduction in mammography. The line-shaped foci of the lenses are optimal for coupling to photon-counting silicon strip detectors in a scanning system. A theoretical model was developed and used to investigate the benefit of two lenses compared to an absorption-filtered reference system. The dose reduction of the MPL filter was 15% compared to the reference system at matching scan time, and the spatial resolution was higher. The dose of the PAL-filtered system was found to be 20% lower than for the reference system at equal scan time and resolution, and only 20% higher than for a monochromatic beam. An investigation of some practical issues remains, including the feasibility of brilliant-enough x-ray sources and manufacturing of a polymer PAL.
|
|
