A photon-counting detector for dual-energy breast tomosynthesis

TL;DR

This paper evaluates a silicon-strip photon-counting detector for dual-energy breast tomosynthesis, demonstrating improved lesion visibility, effective energy discrimination, and stable performance, with potential for further enhancement.

Contribution

It introduces a novel silicon-strip detector for dual-energy breast imaging, with validated spatial resolution, improved lesion detection, and insights into future optimization.

Findings

Good agreement between measured and theoretical spatial resolution

Enhanced detectability of iodine in phantom studies

Stable detector performance over clinical acquisition times

Abstract

We present the first evaluation of a recently developed silicon-strip detector for photon-counting dual-energy breast tomosynthesis. The detector is well suited for tomosynthesis with high dose efficiency and intrinsic scatter rejection. A method was developed for measuring the spatial resolution of a system based on the detector in terms of the three-dimensional modulation transfer function (MTF). The measurements agreed well with theoretical expectations, and it was seen that depth resolution was won at the cost of a slightly decreased lateral resolution. This may be a justifiable trade-off as clinical images acquired with the system indicate improved conspicuity of breast lesions. The photon-counting detector enables dual-energy subtraction imaging with electronic spectrumsplitting. This improved the detectability of iodine in phantom measurements, and the detector was found to be stable over typical clinical acquisition times. A model of the energy resolution showed that further improvements are within reach by optimization of the detector.