Monte Carlo simulation of breast tomosynthesis: visibility of microcalcifications at different acquisition schemes

Hannie Petersson; Magnus Dustler; Anders Tingberg; Pontus Timberg

doi:10.1117/12.2081942

18 March 2015 Monte Carlo simulation of breast tomosynthesis: visibility of microcalcifications at different acquisition schemes

Hannie Petersson, Magnus Dustler, Anders Tingberg, Pontus Timberg

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9412, Medical Imaging 2015: Physics of Medical Imaging; 94121H (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2081942
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2015, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Microcalcifications are one feature of interest in mammography and breast tomosynthesis (BT). To achieve optimal conditions for detection of microcalcifications in BT imaging, different acquisition geometries should be evaluated. The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of acquisition schemes with different angular ranges, projection distributions and dose distributions on the visibility of microcalcifications in reconstructed BT volumes.

Microcalcifications were inserted randomly in a high resolution software phantom and a simulation procedure was used to model a MAMMOMAT Inspiration BT system. The simulation procedure was based on analytical ray tracing to produce primary images, Monte Carlo to simulate scatter contributions and flatfield image acquisitions to model system characteristics. Image volumes were reconstructed using the novel method super-resolution reconstruction with statistical artifact reduction (SRSAR). For comparison purposes, the volume of the standard acquisition scheme (50^° angular range and uniform projection and dose distribution) was also reconstructed using standard filtered backprojection (FBP).

To compare the visibility and depth resolution of the microcalcifications, signal difference to noise ratio (SDNR) and artifact spread function width (ASFW) were calculated. The acquisition schemes with very high central dose yielded significantly lower SDNR than the schemes with more uniform dose distributions. The ASFW was found to decrease (meaning an increase in depth resolution) with wider angular range. In conclusion, none of the evaluated acquisition schemes were found to yield higher SDNR or depth resolution for the simulated microcalcifications than the standard acquisition scheme.

Citation Download Citation

Hannie Petersson, Magnus Dustler, Anders Tingberg, and Pontus Timberg "Monte Carlo simulation of breast tomosynthesis: visibility of microcalcifications at different acquisition schemes", Proc. SPIE 9412, Medical Imaging 2015: Physics of Medical Imaging, 94121H (18 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2081942

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available