Clinical Evaluation of a Digital Mammography Based on Micro-Lithography (BreastCancer)

摘要

A new digital prototype, developed by 3M Imaging Systems based on a novel photo-conductor sensor has been installed at Georgetown University for technical and clinical evaluation. The detector system has a multilayer structure containing a photo-conductor. The latent image produced by an x-ray is stored on the photo-conductor surface, and is then read out by scanning with a high intensity laser beam. The system has both a wider dynamic range (i.e., 2 to 3 order of magnitude) and spatial resolution compared to conventional screen-film and digital systems. Before conducting the clinical study, the physical characteristics of the system were studied on phantom images for image quality and radiation dose. The evaluation of the 3M system was divided into two parts: (1) system performance for different kVp and mAs, and (2) system optimization for mimmum patient dose. The performance of the system was tested on the body part images that are less radio-sensitive than breast images (i.e., extremities). The performance of the system was improved mainly by redesigning the detector structure and using different image processing parameter settings. By the completion of the second year study, the radiation exposure was optimized and the image quality was improved significantly.