Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among women. Early detection is viewed as the best approach to decrease breast cancer mortality. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), a 3-D imaging modality, is generally considered as the next generation screening device with improved performance compared to the full-field digital mammography. The current DBT scanners however suffer from low spatial resolution and relatively long scanning time due to mechanical motion of the x-ray source and patient motion which compromise the sensitivity for micro-calcification detection and result in prolonged patient discomfort. We propose to develop a novel stationary DBT (s-DBT) system with enhanced spatial resolution and reduced scanning time compared to the current systems. The system utilizes the carbon nanotube multi-beam field emission x-ray technology (MBFEX) to collect all the projection images without any mechanical motion.
