Dedicated cone-beam breast CT using laterally-shifted detector geometry: Quantitative analysis of feasibility for clinical translation

J Xray Sci Technol. 2020;28(3):405-426. doi: 10.3233/XST-200651.

Abstract

Background: High-resolution, low-noise detectors with minimal dead-space at chest-wall could improve posterior coverage and microcalcification visibility in the dedicated cone-beam breast CT (CBBCT). However, the smaller field-of-view necessitates laterally-shifted detector geometry to enable optimizing the air-gap for x-ray scatter rejection.

Objective: To evaluate laterally-shifted detector geometry for CBBCT with clinical projection datasets that provide for anatomical structures and lesions.

Methods: CBBCT projection datasets (n = 17 breasts) acquired with a 40×30 cm detector (1024×768-pixels, 0.388-mm pixels) were truncated along the fan-angle to emulate 20.3×30 cm, 22.2×30 cm and 24.1×30 cm detector formats and correspond to 20, 120, 220 pixels overlap in conjugate views, respectively. Feldkamp-Davis-Kress (FDK) algorithm with 3 different weighting schemes were used for reconstruction. Visual analysis for artifacts and quantitative analysis of root-mean-squared-error (RMSE), absolute difference between truncated and 40×30 cm reconstructions (Diff), and its power spectrum (PSDiff) were performed.

Results: Artifacts were observed for 20.3×30 cm, but not for other formats. The 24.1×30 cm provided the best quantitative results with RMSE and Diff (both in units of μ, cm-1) of 4.39×10-3±1.98×10-3 and 4.95×10-4±1.34×10-4, respectively. The PSDiff (>0.3 cycles/mm) was in the order of 10-14μ2mm3 and was spatial-frequency independent.

Conclusions: Laterally-shifted detector CBBCT with at least 220 pixels overlap in conjugate views (24.1×30 cm detector format) provides quantitatively accurate and artifact-free image reconstruction.

Keywords: Breast; X-Ray computed tomography (CT); breast CT; cone-beam CT; mammography.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Breast / diagnostic imaging*
  • Breast Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Cone-Beam Computed Tomography / methods*
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
  • Mammography / methods*
  • Retrospective Studies