Abstract
An X-ray grating interferometer (GI) suitable for clinical mammography must comply with quite strict dose, scanning time and geometry limitations, while being able to detect tumors, microcalcifications and other abnormalities. Such a design task is not straightforward, since obtaining optimal phase-contrast and dark-field signals with clinically compatible doses and geometrical constraints is remarkably challenging. In this work, we present a wave propagation based optimization that uses the phase and dark-field sensitivities as figures of merit. This method was used to calculate the optimal interferometer designs for a commercial mammography setup. Its accuracy was validated by measuring the visibility of polycarbonate samples of different thicknesses on a Talbot-Lau interferometer installed on this device and considering some of the most common grating imperfections to be able to reproduce the experimental values. The optimization method outcomes indicate that small grating pitches are required to boost sensitivity in such a constrained setup and that there is a different optimal scenario for each signal type.
Highlights
The contribution that X-ray grating based phase-contrast imaging can make to mammography has been investigated by several research groups in the last few years [1]
The thickest block (40 mm) visibility could not be measured with the 26 kVp spectrum, because the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) was not enough to provide a reliable value
A grating interferometer (GI)-design optimization procedure employing the phase and dark-field sensitivities as figures of merit was developed, validated and used to calculate the optimal parameters for an interferometer that can be fitted into a Philips Microdose Mammography setup
Summary
The contribution that X-ray grating based phase-contrast imaging can make to mammography has been investigated by several research groups in the last few years [1]. Stampanoni et al [2] measured native mastectomy samples on a Talbot-Lau grating interferometer (GI) and demonstrated that the differential phase-contrast and dark-field signals provided complementary information to the conventional attenuation signal. Anton et al [4] investigated six mastectomy samples on a Talbot-Lau interferometer They demonstrated that it was possible to see important structures on the dark-field images with significantly higher contrast than on the traditional mammogram. Scherer et al [5] applied a bi-directional phase-contrast mammography approach to a freshly dissected cancerous breast sample and were able to reliably detect tumor structures independently from their orientation within the breast. Scherer et al [6] presented the first dose-compatible and fast scantime phase-contrast images of both a freshly dissected cancerous mastectomy sample and a mammographic accreditation phantom
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