Scatter characterization using a beam-stop-array algorithm for digital breast tomosynthesis

• Published in: Journal of the Korean Physical Society Vol. 63; no. 11; pp. 2239 - 2246
• Main Authors: Choi, Young-Wook, Choi, Jae-Gu, Kim, Ye-seul, Park, Hye-Suk, Kim, Hee-Joung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2013; 한국물리학회
• Subjects: Mathematical and Computational Physics; Particle and Nuclear Physics; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Theoretical; 물리학; Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT); Scatter correction; Beam-stop-array algorithm
• ISSN: 0374-4884; 1976-8524
• DOI: 10.3938/jkps.63.2239

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a technique developed to overcome the limitations of conventional digital mammography by reconstructing slices through the breast from projections acquired at different angles from the X-ray source. In the development and the optimization of DBT, the X-ray scatter reduction technique remains a significant challenge due to projectiongeometry and radiation-dose concerns. The purpose of this study was to apply the scatter correction method, which estimates scatter patterns with a beam-stop-array (BSA) by spatial interpolation and obtains primary projections by subtracting the scatter patterns from raw detected projections. The DBT prototype is based on the CsI phosphor/Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor flat panel detector, which was optimized for low exposures with rapid readout. A simplified beam-stop-array algorithm was used to estimate the scatter pattern for each projection and to obtain only primary projections. We evaluated the distribution of the scatter intensity by using a BSA algorithm and reconstructed breast images based on projections with and without a scatter correction. Comparing corrected and uncorrected slices, we measured the linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) over a breast phantom. These quantitative comparisons indicated improved image quality in terms of contrast, background noise and contrast-to-noise ratio.