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Full breast digital mammography with an amorphous silicon‐based flat panel detector: Physical characteristics of a clinical prototype
Author(s) -
Vedantham Srinivasan,
Karellas Andrew,
Suryanarayanan Sankararaman,
Albagli Douglas,
Han Sung,
Tkaczyk Eric J.,
Landberg Cynthia E.,
OpsahlOng Beale,
Granfors Paul R.,
Levis Ilias,
D'Orsi Carl J.,
Hendrick R. Edward
Publication year - 2000
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 - 10.1118/1.598895
Subject(s) - detective quantum efficiency , optics , digital mammography , flat panel detector , detector , optical transfer function , physics , mammography , amorphous silicon , materials science , digital radiography , nuclear medicine , silicon , optoelectronics , image quality , radiography , medicine , breast cancer , computer science , crystalline silicon , cancer , artificial intelligence , nuclear physics , image (mathematics)
The physical characteristics of a clinical prototype amorphous silicon‐based flat panel imager for full‐breast digital mammography have been investigated. The imager employs a thin thallium doped CsI scintillator on an amorphous silicon matrix of detector elements with a pixel pitch of 100 μm. Objective criteria such as modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum, detective quantum efficiency (DQE), and noise equivalent quanta were employed for this evaluation. The presampling MTF was found to be 0.73, 0.42, and 0.28 at 2, 4, and 5 cycles/mm, respectively. The measured DQE of the current prototype utilizing a 28 kVp, Mo–Mo spectrum beam hardened with 4.5 cm Lucite is ∼55% at close to zero spatial frequency at an exposure of 32.8 mR, and decreases to ∼40% at a low exposure of 1.3 mR. Detector element nonuniformity and electronic gain variations were not significant after appropriate calibration and software corrections. The response of the imager was linear and did not exhibit signal saturation under tested exposure conditions.