Maximizing microcalcification detectability in low-dose dedicated cone-beam breast CT: parallel cascades-based theoretical analysis

Thomas Larsen; Hsin Wu Tseng; Rachawadee Trinate; Zhiyang Fu; Jing-Tzyh Alan Chiang; Andrew Karellas; Srinivasan Vedantham

doi:10.1117/1.JMI.11.3.033501

15 May 2024 Maximizing microcalcification detectability in low-dose dedicated cone-beam breast CT: parallel cascades-based theoretical analysis

Thomas Larsen, Hsin Wu Tseng, Rachawadee Trinate, Zhiyang Fu, Jing-Tzyh Alan Chiang, Andrew Karellas, Srinivasan Vedantham

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Medical Imaging, Vol. 11, Issue 3, 033501 (May 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.11.3.033501

Abstract

Purpose

We aim to determine the combination of X-ray spectrum and detector scintillator thickness that maximizes the detectability of microcalcification clusters in dedicated cone-beam breast CT.

Approach

A cascaded linear system analysis was implemented in the spatial frequency domain and was used to determine the detectability index using numerical observers for the imaging task of detecting a microcalcification cluster with 0.17 mm diameter calcium carbonate spheres. The analysis considered a thallium-doped cesium iodide scintillator coupled to a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor detector and an analytical filtered-back-projection reconstruction algorithm. Independent system parameters considered were the scintillator thickness, applied X-ray tube voltage, and X-ray beam filtration. The combination of these parameters that maximized the detectability index was considered optimal.

Results

Prewhitening, nonprewhitening, and nonprewhitening with eye filter numerical observers indicate that the combination of 0.525 to 0.6 mm thick scintillator, 70 kV, and 0.25 to 0.4 mm added copper filtration maximized the detectability index at a mean glandular dose (MGD) of 4.5 mGy.

Conclusion

Using parallel cascade systems’ analysis, the combination of parameters that could maximize the detection of microcalcifications was identified. The analysis indicates that a harder beam than that used in current practice may be beneficial for the task of detecting microcalcifications at an MGD suitable for breast cancer screening.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas Larsen, Hsin Wu Tseng, Rachawadee Trinate, Zhiyang Fu, Jing-Tzyh Alan Chiang, Andrew Karellas, and Srinivasan Vedantham "Maximizing microcalcification detectability in low-dose dedicated cone-beam breast CT: parallel cascades-based theoretical analysis," Journal of Medical Imaging 11(3), 033501 (15 May 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JMI.11.3.033501

Received: 6 October 2023; Accepted: 29 April 2024; Published: 15 May 2024

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KEYWORDS

X-rays

Scintillators

Tunable filters

Modulation transfer functions

Copper

Breast

Photons

Purpose

Approach

Results

Conclusion

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