Stationary Anti-scatter Grids for Digital Breast Imaging

描述（由申请人提供）：乳腺癌是美国女性中最常见的癌症，是仅次于肺癌的癌症相关死亡原因。在过去十年中，死亡率的降低主要归功于早期发现和及时的医疗干预。乳房X光检查仍然是乳腺癌筛查和早期发现的金标准。尽管初始成本较高，但由于其速度、自动化和存档能力，数字乳腺X射线摄影正迅速成为首选模式。然而，图像质量仍然可以说没有比旧的模拟系统更好。我们提出了一项技术创新，将提高数字乳腺X线摄影图像的质量：一个固定的防散射网格具有高的初级透射率和非常低的散射-初级比，这将增加图像对比度，从而促进对所得图像的解释。Creatv的网格是两项技术创新的结果：一是上级传统X射线和UV方法的新型高精度光刻技术，二是适用于大批量生产金属微结构的专有复制技术。该网格可以以具有竞争力的成本制造，并广泛提供给乳房X射线摄影系统制造商和用户。图像质量的提高将使放射科医生和计算机辅助软件能够对图像进行更正确的解释，从而减少假阳性和假阴性的数量并挽救生命。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer-related death. Much of the reduced mortality over the past decade can be attributed to early detection and timely medical intervention. Mammography remains the gold standard for breast cancer screening and early detection. Despite its higher initial cost, digital mammography is rapidly becoming the modality of choice, because of its speed, automation and archiving capability. Image quality, however, remains arguably no better than that achieved on older analog systems. We propose a technological innovation that will enhance the quality of digital mammographic images: a stationary anti-scatter grid with high primary transmission and very low scatter-to- primary ratio that will increase image contrast and, thus, facilitate interpretation of the resulting image. Creatv's grid is the result of two technical innovations: a novel, high precision lithographic technique that is superior to conventional x-ray and UV methods, and a proprietary replication technique suitable for high volume production of metal microstructures. The grid can be manufactured at competitive cost and made broadly available to mammography system makers and users. The improvement in image quality will allow radiologists and computer-aided software to make more correct interpretation of the images, leading to a reduced number of false positives and false negatives and saving lives.