DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY HIGH RESOLUTION FLAT PANEL IMAGER

描述(摘自申请者摘要)：这是一个生物工程专业 华盛顿大学马萨诸塞州医学院与洛克希德-马丁公司的研究伙伴关系 公司。它的目的是开发和评估一种新的高分辨率 具有可变像素大小(40微米和80微米)的平板乳房X光成像仪 微米)，使用平铺电荷耦合器件(CCD)。探测器将覆盖一个 与传统乳房X光摄影的敏感区域基本相同的区域 卡带。具体的假设是：(A)新的成像器将表现得更好 探测量子效率(DQE)比目前的屏膜技术更高。(B) 与目前的屏膜不同，该系统将表现出更高的动态范围。(C) 空间分辨率将高于目前的平板成像系统 由于较小的像素大小和100%填充因子。(D)对比 将大大优于现有的银幕-电影系统，从而 在减少辐射剂量的情况下更好地可视化乳房解剖 患者由于改善了DQE。(E)精心设计的乳房X光照相系统 在优化的采集模式下，将取代屏幕-胶片系统 全乳房X光检查。初步计算和实验 研究表明，这种类型的ccd平板探测器是可行的。这个 实验计划要求全面评估 客观、普遍的对系统的检测和评价 可接受的度量，例如空间相关的调制传递函数 和DQE。申请者报告了使用100微米像素GE临床的经验 在筛查人群中的评估原型，这似乎表明 具有相似灵敏度的癌症检测的等效性。然而，有一些 对更微妙的钙化形式的担忧，如点状和 无定形的。当看到钙离子时，边缘清晰度似乎没有 清晰度与专场胶片相同。这些问题可能与 探测器的像素相对较大(100微米)。申请者 建议开发和评估下一代高分辨率数字 具有高空间分辨率和无有害损失的乳房X光检查 信噪比，这是老一辈人常见的， 使用消磁光纤。建议的原型使用一组 无缝拼接的ccd与结构化CSI：TI闪烁体的耦合 非锥形光纤板将提供比任何 其他平板乳房X光照相探测器。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): This is a Bioengineering Research Partnership between UMass Medical School and Lockheed-Martin Corporation. It is aimed at developing and evaluating a new high resolution flat panel mammographic imager with a variable pixel size (40 microns and 80 microns) using tiled charged-coupled devices (CCD). The detector will cover an area essentially the same as the sensitive area of a conventional mammographic cassette. The specific hypotheses are: (a) the new imager will exhibit better detective quantum efficiency (DQE) than current screen-film technology. (b) Unlike current screen-film, the system will exhibit higher dynamic range. (c) The spatial resolution will be higher than current flat-panel imaging systems due to the smaller pixel size and 100 percent fill factor. (d) The contrast will be significantly better than existing screen-film systems resulting in better visualization of breast anatomy at a reduced radiation dose to the patient due to the improved DQE. (e) A well-designed mammographic system driven in an optimized acquisition mode will replace screen-film systems for full-breast mammographic imaging. Preliminary computational and experimental studies suggest that a CCD flat panel detector of this type is feasible. The experimental plan calls for comprehensive evaluation of the characteristics of the detector and evaluation of the system though objective and universally accepted metrics such as the spatially dependent modulation transfer function and DQE. The applicants report experience with the 100 micron pixel GE clinical evaluation prototype in a screening population, which appears to demonstrate equivalency for cancer detection with similar sensitivities. However, there are concerns about of the more subtle forms of calcifications such as punctate and amorphous. When calcium is seen the edge sharpness does not appear to have the same sharpness as that of spot film views. These problems may be related to the relatively large pixel size (100 microns) of the detector. The applicants propose to develop and evaluate the next generation of high resolution digital mammography with high spatial resolution and without the detrimental loss in the signal-to-noise ratio, which is common with the older generation, which uses demagnifying fiberoptics. The proposed prototype using an array of seamlessly tiled CCDs coupled to a structured CsI:TI scintillator by a non-tapering fiberoptic plate will deliver the highest resolution than any other flat panel mammographic detector.