High energy resolution hyperspectral X-ray imaging for low-dose contrast-enhanced digital mammography (original) (raw)

Contrast-enhanced digital mammography (CEDM) is an alternative to conventional X-ray mammography for imaging dense breasts. However, conventional approaches to CEDM require a double exposure of the patient, implying higher dose and risk of incorrect image registration due to motion artifacts. A novel approach is presented, based on hyperspectral imaging, where a detector combining positional and high-resolution spectral information (in this case based on Cadmium Telluride) is used. This allows simultaneous acquisition of the two images required for CEDM. The approach was tested on a custom breast-equivalent phantom containing iodinated contrast agent (Niopam 150®). Two algorithms were used to obtain images of the contrast agent distribution: K-edge subtraction (KES), providing images of the distribution of the contrast agent with the background structures removed, and a dual-energy (DE) algorithm, providing an iodineequivalent image and a water-equivalent image. The high energy reso...