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SU‐E‐I‐64: X‐Ray Coherent Scatter Mammography Simulation
Author(s) -
Hassan L R,
MacDonald C A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.4888014
Subject(s) - mammography , optics , monte carlo method , coherent backscattering , tilt (camera) , scattering , signal to noise ratio (imaging) , attenuation , electromagnetic shielding , medical imaging , physics , signal (programming language) , contrast (vision) , computer science , mathematics , medicine , artificial intelligence , geometry , cancer , statistics , quantum mechanics , breast cancer , programming language
Purpose: Conventional mammography has poor contrast between healthy and cancerous tissues due to the small difference in attenuation properties. Coherent scatter potentially provides more information because interference of coherently scattered radiation depends on the average intermolecular spacing, and can be used to characterize tissue types. However, typical coherent scatter analysis techniques are not compatible with rapid low dose screening modalities. Coherent scatter slot scan imaging is a novel imaging technique which provides new information with higher contrast. In this work a simulation was performed of coherent scatter slot scan imaging to assess its performance and provide system optimization. Methods: In coherent scatter imaging, the coherent scatter is exploited using a conventional slot scan mammography system with anti‐scatter grids tilted at the characteristic angle of cancerous tissues. A Monte Carlo simulation was used to simulate the coherent scatter imaging. System optimization was performed across several parameters, including source voltage and filtration, tilt angle, source and grid distances, grid ratio, and shielding geometry. Results: The contrast was high and increased as the grid tilt angle was increased beyond the characteristic angle for the modeled carcinoma, and as the source voltage increased. Source filtration did not have a significant effect on contrast. Increasing grid ratio improved contrast at the expense of decreasing the signal to noise ratio (SNR). As the tumor size is decreased, additional shields to block the fat signal are necessary in order to detect the cancer signal. Conclusion: Coherent scatter analysis using a wide slot setup is promising as an enhancement for screening mammography. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health, # 7 R01EB009715