Feasibility of using LODOX technology for mammography

Alyson Lease; Christopher Vaughan; Stephan Beningfield; Herman Potgieter; Andre Booysen

doi:10.1117/12.465611

Translator Disclaimer

3 May 2002 Feasibility of using LODOX technology for mammography

Alyson Lease, Christopher Vaughan, Stephan Beningfield, Herman Potgieter, Andre Booysen

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4682, Medical Imaging 2002: Physics of Medical Imaging; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.465611
Event: Medical Imaging 2002, 2002, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The LODOX (Low Dose X-ray) Scanner, created by De Beers, is currently being clinically tested at the Trauma Unit of Groote Schuur Hospital and the University of Cape Town in South Africa. High quality images with exceedingly low radiation suggest that the technology may also be used to identify breast cancer lesions and microcalcifications. The measured LODOX modulation transfer function averages 6 percent at 10 cycles per millimeter, while the detected quantum efficiency is approximately 25 percent at 1 cycle per millimeter. The mean glandular doses calculated for a breast thickness of 4 cm at various intensities -- ranging from 0.022 rad at 70mAs to 0.043 rad at 125mAs -- were approximately 10 times less than the value designated by the American College of Radiology (0.3 rad per breast image). At 40kV, LODOX exhibits an average half value layer of 1.59 mm of Al (compared to 0.3 to 0.4 mm recommended for mammography), illustrating the unfavorable higher penetration of LODOX X-rays. The extremely low radiation dose delivered by the LODOX suggests that the technology would be feasible for detecting and diagnosing cancers in the sensitive tissue of the breast, once adjustments to X-ray range and beam hardness had been accomplished.

Citation Download Citation

Alyson Lease, Christopher Vaughan, Stephan Beningfield, Herman Potgieter, and Andre Booysen "Feasibility of using LODOX technology for mammography", Proc. SPIE 4682, Medical Imaging 2002: Physics of Medical Imaging, (3 May 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.465611

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE