Effects of projection-view distributions on image quality of calcifications in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) reconstruction

Yao Lu; Heang-Ping Chan; Mitch Goodsitt; Jun Wei; Lubomir Hadjiiski; Andrea Schmitz; Jeffrey W. Eberhard; Bernhard E. H. Claus

doi:10.1117/12.844481

18 March 2010 Effects of projection-view distributions on image quality of calcifications in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) reconstruction

Yao Lu, Heang-Ping Chan, Mitch Goodsitt, Jun Wei, Lubomir Hadjiiski, Andrea Schmitz, Jeffrey W. Eberhard, Bernhard E. H. Claus

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7622, Medical Imaging 2010: Physics of Medical Imaging; 76220D (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.844481
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We are investigating factors affecting the detection of microcalcifications in digital breast tomography (DBT). In this study, we analyzed the effects of projection-view (PV) distribution on spatial blurring of calcifications on the tomosynthesized slices (X-Y plane) and along the depth (Z) direction. DBT scans of a breast phantom with simulated microcalcifications were acquired with a GE prototype system at 21 angles in 3° increments over a ±30° range. Six subsets of 11 PVs were selected from the full set to simulate DBT of different angular ranges and angular increments. SART was applied to each subset to reconstruct the DBT slices. The FWHMs of the line profiles of calcifications within their in-focus DBT slices and FWHMs of the inter-plane artifact spread function (ASF) in the Z-direction for the different PV distributions were compared. The results indicate that DBT acquired with a large angular range or a reasonable number of PVs at large angles yield superior ASF with smaller FWHM in the Z-direction. PV distributions with a narrow angular range have stronger inter-plane artifacts. In the X-Y focal planes, the effect of PV distributions on spatial blurring depends on the directions. The normalized line profiles of the calcifications reconstructed with the different PV distributions are similar in the X-direction. The differences in the FWHMs between the different PV distributions are less than half a pixel. In the Y-(x-ray tube motion) direction, the normalized line profiles of the calcifications reconstructed with DBT acquired with a narrow angular range or a reasonable number of PVs at small angles have less blurring in terms of smaller FWHMs of the line profiles. PV distributions with a wide angular range have stronger in-plane artifacts in the Y-direction. Further study is underway to compare different reconstruction techniques and parameters. The information will be useful for optimization of DBT for detection of microcalcifications.

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Yao Lu, Heang-Ping Chan, Mitch Goodsitt, Jun Wei, Lubomir Hadjiiski, Andrea Schmitz, Jeffrey W. Eberhard, and Bernhard E. H. Claus "Effects of projection-view distributions on image quality of calcifications in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) reconstruction", Proc. SPIE 7622, Medical Imaging 2010: Physics of Medical Imaging, 76220D (18 March 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.844481

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