Evaluation of the BreastSimulator software platform for breast tomography

G Mettivier,K Bliznakova,J M Boone,A Sarno,R Castriconi,P Russo,I Sechopoulos,F Di Lillo

doi:10.1088/1361-6560/aa6ca3

Abstract

The aim of this work was the evaluation of the software BreastSimulator, a breast x-ray imaging simulation software, as a tool for the creation of 3D uncompressed breast digital models and for the simulation and the optimization of computed tomography (CT) scanners dedicated to the breast. Eight 3D digital breast phantoms were created with glandular fractions in the range 10%–35%. The models are characterised by different sizes and modelled realistic anatomical features. X-ray CT projections were simulated for a dedicated cone-beam CT scanner and reconstructed with the FDK algorithm. X-ray projection images were simulated for 5 mono-energetic (27, 32, 35, 43 and 51 keV) and 3 poly-energetic x-ray spectra typically employed in current CT scanners dedicated to the breast (49, 60, or 80 kVp). Clinical CT images acquired from two different clinical breast CT scanners were used for comparison purposes. The quantitative evaluation included calculation of the power-law exponent, β, from simulated and real breast tomograms, based on the power spectrum fitted with a function of the spatial frequency, f, of the form S(f) = α/f β. The breast models were validated by comparison against clinical breast CT and published data. We found that the calculated β coefficients were close to that of clinical CT data from a dedicated breast CT scanner and reported data in the literature. In evaluating the software package BreastSimulator to generate breast models suitable for use with breast CT imaging, we found that the breast phantoms produced with the software tool can reproduce the anatomical structure of real breasts, as evaluated by calculating the β exponent from the power spectral analysis of simulated images. As such, this research tool might contribute considerably to the further development, testing and optimisation of breast CT imaging techniques.

Highlights

Mammography, and in particular digital mammography (DM), is a fundamental imaging technique in breast cancer screening and diagnosis
After computed tomography (CT) reconstruction of breast projections created with BreastSimulator, we evaluated the β coefficient from the resulting CT coronal slices; an example of PS plots and corresponding power-law fits is shown in figure 6c, together with PS data evaluated from clinical BCT scans at Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC) and University of California Davis Medical Center (UCDMC)
The three illustrative cases shown in fig. 6c were randomly selected between the simulated phantoms; in the case of real breast from the UCDMC set we selected a case with a β parameter equal to the measured mean value

Summary

Introduction

Mammography, and in particular digital mammography (DM), is a fundamental imaging technique in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Before the BCT can become a clinical procedure a number of issues should be optimized, such as the source and the detector design [Kalender et al 2012], the acquisition strategy [Linfords et al 2008; McKinley et al 2012], the reconstruction methods. To perform such investigations, there is a strong need of large databases of clinical images. When it is necessary to investigate parameters such as the detectability of lesions, the performance of image processing algorithms or the reconstruction algorithms, the use of a homogeneous background is a limitation, since the anatomical structure is not reproduced

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Conclusion