Design and development of a phantom for tomosynthesis with potential for automated analysis via the cloud.

David Goodenough,Hildur Olafsdottir,Josh Levy,Ingvi Olafsson

doi:10.1002/acm2.12297

Abstract

This paper describes Development of a Phantom for Tomosynthesis with Potential for Automated Analysis via the Cloud. Several studies are underway to investigate the effectiveness of Tomosynthesis Mammographic Image Screening, including the large TMIST project as funded by the National Cancer Institute https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/clinical-trials/nci-supported/tmist. The development of the phantom described in this paper follows initiatives from the FDA, the AAPM TG245 task group, and European Reference Organization (EUREF) for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services Committee report noting, that no formal endorsement nor recommendation for use has been sought, or granted by any of these groups. This paper reports on the possibility of using this newly developed Tomosynthesis Phantom for Quality Assurance, field testing of image performance, including remote monitoring of DBT system performance, e.g., via transmission over the cloud. The phantom includes tests for: phantom positioning and alignment (important for remote analysis), scan geometry (x and y), chest wall offset, scan slice width and Slice Sensitivity Profile (SSP(z)) slice geometry (slice width), scan slice incrementation (z), z axis geometry bead, low contrast detectability using low contrast spheres, spatial resolution via Point Spread Function (PSF), Image uniformity, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), and Contrast to Noise Ratio (CNR) via readings over an Aluminum square. The phantom is designed for use with automated analysis via transmission of images over the cloud and the analysis package includes test of positioning accuracy (roll, pitch, and yaw). Data are shown from several commercial Tomosynthesis Scanners including Fuji, GE, Hologic, IMS‐Giotti, and Siemens; however, the focus of this paper is on phantom design, and not in general aimed at direct commercial comparisons, and wherever possible the identity of the data is anonymized. Results of automated analysis of the phantom are shown, and it is demonstrated that reliable analysis of such a phantom can be achieved remotely, including transmission of data through the cloud.

Highlights

The recent development of Tomosynthesis,[1,2] and in particular the commercialization of Digital Breast Tomography (DBT) has led to interest in developing Phantoms for assessment of image quality as well as Quality Assurance (QA)
This work was stimulated by initiatives from the FDA,[4] the AAPM TG245 task group, and “Protocol for the Quality Control of the Physical and Technical Aspects of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Systems”, 2013, European Reference Organization (EUREF) for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services, Committee Report no formal endorsement nor recommendation for use has been sought, or granted by either group
This paper reports on the possibility of using this newly developed Tomosynthesis Phantom for field testing, QA, and research

Summary

Introduction

The recent development of Tomosynthesis,[1,2] and in particular the commercialization of Digital Breast Tomography (DBT) has led to interest in developing Phantoms for assessment of image quality as well as Quality Assurance (QA). This work was stimulated by initiatives from the FDA,[4] the AAPM TG245 task group, and “Protocol for the Quality Control of the Physical and Technical Aspects of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Systems”, 2013, European Reference Organization (EUREF) for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services, Committee Report no formal endorsement nor recommendation for use has been sought, or granted by either group. The paper reports on some of the results of remote monitoring of DBT sites, e.g., via transmission over the Cloud utilizing a commercial service (Image Owl, Greenwich, NY, USA and Reykjavik, Iceland). This paper discusses much of the scientific foundation for the phantom, as opposed to the user manual which provides instructions for the use of the phantom

Methods

Results

Conclusion