Comprehensive assessment of the slice sensitivity profiles in breast tomosynthesis and breast CT

Nosratieh, Anita; Yang, Kai; Aminololama-Shakeri, Shadi; Boone, John M.

doi:10.1118/1.4764908

Cited by 23 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…The ability of a tomographic system to separate the slices is referred to as slice sensitivity profile (SSP). In digital breast tomosynthesis, SSP worsens with increasing object diameter and improves when the arc span is increased, whereas breast CT provides a constant SSP . That study also showed that for the 15 degree arc span used by a digital breast tomosynthesis system, the effective slice thickness is 8 mm even for a very small object, and was 0.5 mm for a breast CT system with voxel pitch of 0.23 mm.…”

Section: The Developing Role Of Breast Ctmentioning

confidence: 65%

The Potential Role of Dedicated 3D Breast CT as a Diagnostic Tool: Review and Early Clinical Examples

2014

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Mammography is the gold standard in routine screening for the detection of breast cancer in the general population. However limitations in sensitivity, particularly in dense breasts, has motivated the development of alternative imaging techniques such as digital breast tomosynthesis, whole breast ultrasound, breast specific gamma imaging, and more recently dedicated breast computed tomography or “breast CT”. Virtually all diagnostic work-ups of asymptomatic nonpalpable findings arise from screening mammography. In most cases, diagnostic mammography and ultrasound are sufficient for diagnosis, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) playing an occasional role. Digital breast tomosynthesis, a limited-angle tomographic technique, is increasingly being used for screening. Dedicated breast CT has full three-dimensional (3D) capability with near-isotropic resolution, which could potentially improve diagnostic accuracy. In current dedicated breast CT clinical prototypes, 300-500 low-dose projections are acquired in a circular trajectory around the breast using a flat panel detector, followed by image reconstruction to provide the 3D breast volume. The average glandular dose to the breast from breast CT can range from as little as a two-view screening mammogram to approximately that of a diagnostic mammography examination. Breast CT displays 3D images of the internal structures of the breast; therefore, evaluation of suspicious features like microcalcifications, masses, and asymmetries can be made in multiple anatomical planes from a single scan. The potential role of breast CT for diagnostic imaging is illustrated here through clinical examples such as imaging soft tissue abnormalities and microcalcifications. The potential for breast CT to serve as an imaging tool for extent of disease evaluation and for monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy response is also illustrated.

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Section: The Developing Role Of Breast Ctmentioning

confidence: 65%

The Potential Role of Dedicated 3D Breast CT as a Diagnostic Tool: Review and Early Clinical Examples

2014

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“…1] has been proposed as a method of assessing the resolution and characterizing reconstruction artifacts in breast tomosynthesis. [1][2][3] The full-width halfmaximum (FWHM) of a Gaussian fit to the SSP has been proposed as measurement to summarize the SSP for the purposes of QC tracking and equipment characterization. 1 Smaller FWHM values correspond to better resolution in the z-direction (perpendicular to the x-ray detector) and less out of plane artifacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Technical Note: Robust measurement of the slice-sensitivity profile in breast tomosynthesis

2016

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“…By comparison, the thickness of the breast under standard mammography is that of the entire breast, averaging about 5 cm for the typical woman. Although tomosynthesis breast images are produced every millimeter in depth on some systems, the effective slice thickness of these images is approximately 10–20 mm thick, depending upon the size of the contrast-forming objects (Nosratieh et al, 2012). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulated lesion, human observer performance comparison between thin-section dedicated breast CT images versus computed thick-section simulated projection images of the breast

et al. 2015

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Objectives The objective of this study was to compare the lesion detection performance of human observers between thin-section computed tomography images of the breast, with thick-section (>40 mm) simulated projection images of the breast. Methods Three radiologists and six physicists each executed a two alterative force choice (2AFC) study involving simulated spherical lesions placed mathematically into breast images produced on a prototype dedicated breast CT scanner. The breast image data sets from 88 patients were used to create 352 pairs of image data. Spherical lesions with diameters of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 11 mm were simulated and adaptively positioned into 3D breast CT image data sets; the native thin section (0.33 mm) images were averaged to produce images with different slice thicknesses; average section thicknesses of 0.33 mm, 0.71 mm, 1.5 mm, and 2.9 mm were representative of breast CT; the average 43 mm slice thickness served to simulate simulated projection images of the breast. Results The percent correct of the human observer’s responses were evaluated in the 2AFC experiments. Radiologists lesion detection performance was significantly (p<0.05) better in the case of thin-section images, compared to thick section images similar to mammography, for all but the 1 mm lesion diameter lesions. For example, the average of three radiologist’s performance for 3 mm diameter lesions was 92 % correct for thin section breast CT images while it was 67 % for the simulated projection images. A gradual reduction in observer performance was observed as the section thickness increased beyond about 1 mm. While a performance difference based on breast density was seen in both breast CT and the projection image results, the average radiologist performance using breast CT images in dense breasts outperformed the performance using simulated projection images in fatty breasts for all lesion diameters except 11 mm. The average radiologist performance outperformed that of the average physicist observer, however trends in performance were similar. Conclusions Human observers demonstrate significantly better mass-lesion detection performance on thin-section CT images of the breast, compared to thick-section simulated projection images of the breast, when the location of the lesion is known.

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Comprehensive assessment of the slice sensitivity profiles in breast tomosynthesis and breast CT

Cited by 23 publications

References 37 publications

The Potential Role of Dedicated 3D Breast CT as a Diagnostic Tool: Review and Early Clinical Examples

The Potential Role of Dedicated 3D Breast CT as a Diagnostic Tool: Review and Early Clinical Examples

Technical Note: Robust measurement of the slice-sensitivity profile in breast tomosynthesis

Simulated lesion, human observer performance comparison between thin-section dedicated breast CT images versus computed thick-section simulated projection images of the breast

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