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Gunaseelan I, Amin Zadeh A, Arhatari B, Maksimenko A, Hall C, Hausermann D, Kumar B, Fox J, Quiney H, Lockie D, Lewis S, Brennan P, Gureyev T, Tavakoli Taba S. Propagation-based phase-contrast imaging of the breast: image quality and the effect of X-ray energy and radiation dose. Br J Radiol 2023; 96:20221189. [PMID: 37665247 PMCID: PMC10546460 DOI: 10.1259/bjr.20221189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Propagation-based phase-contrast computed tomography (PB-CT) is a new imaging technique that exploits refractive and absorption properties of X-rays to enhance soft tissue contrast and improve image quality. This study compares image quality of PB-CT and absorption-based CT (AB-CT) for breast imaging while exploring X-ray energy and radiation dose. METHODS Thirty-nine mastectomy samples were scanned at energy levels of 28-34keV using a flat panel detector at radiation dose levels of 4mGy and 2mGy. Image quality was assessed using signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), spatial resolution (res) and visibility (vis). Statistical analysis was performed to compare PB-CT images against their corresponding AB-CT images scanned at 32keV and 4mGy. RESULTS The PB-CT images at 4mGy, across nearly all energy levels, demonstrated superior image quality than AB-CT images at the same dose. At some energy levels, the 2mGy PB-CT images also showed better image quality in terms of CNR/Res and vis compared to the 4mGy AB-CT images. At both investigated doses, SNR and SNR/res were found to have a statistically significant difference across all energy levels. The difference in vis was statistically significant at some energy levels. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates superior image quality of PB-CT over AB-CT, with X-ray energy playing a crucial role in determining image quality parameters. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE Our findings reveal that standard dose PB-CT outperforms standard dose AB-CT across all image quality metrics. Additionally, we demonstrate that low dose PB-CT can produce superior images compared to standard dose AB-CT in terms of CNR/Res and vis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indusaa Gunaseelan
- Discipline of Medical Imaging Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW, Camperdown, Australia
| | | | - Benedicta Arhatari
- Australian Synchrotron, Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Anton Maksimenko
- Australian Synchrotron, Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Christopher Hall
- Australian Synchrotron, Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Daniel Hausermann
- Australian Synchrotron, Australian National Science and Technology Organisation, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Beena Kumar
- Monash Health Pathology Monash Health, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Jane Fox
- Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Harry Quiney
- School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Darren Lockie
- Maroondah BreastScreen, Eastern Health, Ringwood, VIC, Australia
| | - Sarah Lewis
- Discipline of Medical Imaging Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW, Camperdown, Australia
| | - Patrick Brennan
- Discipline of Medical Imaging Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW, Camperdown, Australia
| | - Timur Gureyev
- School of Physics, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Seyedamir Tavakoli Taba
- Discipline of Medical Imaging Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW, Camperdown, Australia
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