An alternate design for the Defrise phantom to quantify resolution in digital breast tomosynthesis

Raymond J. Acciavatti; William Mannherz; Margaret Nolan; Andrew D. A. Maidment

doi:10.1117/12.2253986

9 March 2017 An alternate design for the Defrise phantom to quantify resolution in digital breast tomosynthesis

Raymond J. Acciavatti, William Mannherz, Margaret Nolan, Andrew D. A. Maidment

Proceedings Volume 10132, Medical Imaging 2017: Physics of Medical Imaging; 1013223 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2253986
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2017, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Our previous work analyzed the Defrise phantom as a test object for evaluating image quality in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). The phantom is assembled from multiple plastic plates, which are arranged to form a square wave. In our previous work, there was no explicit analysis of how image quality varies with the thickness of the plates. To investigate this concept, a modified design of the phantom is now considered. For this purpose, each rectangular plate was laser-cut at an angle, creating a slope along which thickness varies continuously. The phantom was imaged using a clinical DBT system, and the relative modulation of the plastic-air separations was calculated in the reconstruction. In addition, a theoretical model was developed to determine whether modulation can be optimized by modifying the x-ray tube trajectory. It is demonstrated that modulation is dependent on the orientation of the frequency. Modulation is within detectable limits over a broad range of phantom thicknesses if frequency is parallel with the tube travel direction. Conversely, there is marked loss of modulation if frequency is oriented along the posteroanterior direction. In particular, as distance from the chest wall increases, there is a smaller range of thicknesses over which modulation is within detectable limits. Theoretical modeling suggests that this anisotropy is minimized by introducing tube motion along the posteroanterior direction. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates that the Defrise phantom is a tool for analyzing the limits of resolution in DBT systems.

Citation Download Citation

Raymond J. Acciavatti, William Mannherz, Margaret Nolan, and Andrew D. A. Maidment "An alternate design for the Defrise phantom to quantify resolution in digital breast tomosynthesis", Proc. SPIE 10132, Medical Imaging 2017: Physics of Medical Imaging, 1013223 (9 March 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2253986

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