Radiation Dose Evaluation in a Photon-counting Digital Mammography Unit

Abstract

The purpose of our study was to evaluate radiation dose and beam quality in photon-counting digital mammography (PCDM) and compare them with those in a full-field digital mammography (FFDM) unit. Dose variation in the X-ray tube axis direction, aluminum half-value layer, average glandular and skin doses, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were evaluated for the PCDM and FFDM units. In PCDM, the dose variation in the X-ray tube axis direction was greater than that in FFDM. At a tube voltage of 28 kV, the first half-value layers were 0.407 mmAl for PCDM, 0.357 mmAl for FFDM with a molybdenum target and molybdenum filter (Mo/Mo), and 0.579 mmAl for FFDM with a tungsten target and rhodium filter (W/Rh). The average glandular doses with 45-mm-equivalent breast thickness were 0.723 mGy for the PCDM, 1.55 mGy for the FFDM with Mo/Mo in low-dose mode, and 0.835 mGy for the FFDM with W/Rh in low-dose mode. In PCDM, the skin dose was equivalent to or lower than that in FFDM. The CNR was 2.65±0.04, 2.35±0.04, and 2.52±0.03 for the PCDM, FFDM with Mo/Mo, and that with W/Rh, respectively. The CNR for PCDM was significantly higher than that for FFDM (p<0.001). It is therefore possible to reduce the radiation dose to the patient by using a PCDM unit while maintaining a significantly higher CNR than with the FFDM unit.

Effect of Different Breast Densities and Average Glandular Dose on Contrast to Noise Ratios in Full-Field Digital Mammography: Simulation and Phantom Study

“…CNR values were calculated from the measured pixel values according to the following previously published [27]:T1CNR=mBG−mAL|boldσboldBboldGbold2+boldσboldAboldLbold2/bold2where m A L is the mean pixel value of the 20 × 20 mm ROI with the aluminum plate in position, σ A L 2 is the corresponding pixel value standard deviation, m B G is the mean pixel value without the aluminum plate in place, and σ B G 2 is the corresponding pixel value standard deviation.…”