This research is aimed at exploring, developing, and evaluating a new type of computed radiography (CR) for digital mammography. This approach is designed to overcome the well-known limitations of current CR technology that are associated with supoptimal spatial resolution and dose efficiency. CR technology is the low cost approach to digital mammography but it has never been used clinically in the US due to the slow pace of development and the lack of a trully innovative approach. The proposed approach represents a radical departure from prior technology. It incorporates readily-available components, and integration can be inexpensive. The results of our extensive computational and experimental work, that suggest good image quality and dose efficiency, will be used to develop a prototype that incorporates the components for scanning CR plates. This would enable high optical signal capture efficiency, faster readout, good spatial resolution, compact size, and low cost. Evaluation of the electronic, optical and mechanical characteristics of the system will be performed that will prompt modifications for improved performance. Universally accepted methodology such as modulation transfer function and detective quantum efficiency will be applied for the evaluation of the imaging capabilities and overall performance of the new imaging system. Threshold contrast detail studies will be conducted to compare its performance with current technologies. It is anticipated that this new digital x-ray imaging approach will enable greater contrast and spatial resolution than existing state-of-the-art CR technology that has been attempted for digital mammography. CR technology is ideally suited and desperately needed for cost efficient digital mammography but the current technology has not yet met the high image quality standards that are required for this task. This research deals not only with the development of a protoype but also with the theoretical formulation to predict the performance of the proposed and aother types of CR devices under a variety of conditions. This would enable the development of state-of-the art CR devices that are equivalent or better to other x-ray imaging modalities with the added advantage of portatbility and ease of integration. The potential impact of this inherently low-cost high resolution CR plate reader in a cassette-like package can be very high as it can be easily adapted to the needs of current clinical practice.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EB004015-02
Application #
7124650
Study Section
Biomedical Imaging Technology Study Section (BMIT)
Program Officer
Anderson, John F
Project Start
2005-09-20
Project End
2009-07-31
Budget Start
2006-08-01
Budget End
2007-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$592,847
Indirect Cost
Name
Emory University
Department
Radiation-Diagnostic/Oncology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
066469933
City
Atlanta
State
GA
Country
United States
Zip Code
30322
Bliznakova, K; Suryanarayanan, S; Karellas, A et al. (2010) Evaluation of an improved algorithm for producing realistic 3D breast software phantoms: application for mammography. Med Phys 37:5604-17
Vedantham, Srinivasan; Karellas, Andrew (2010) Modeling the performance characteristics of computed radiography (CR) systems. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 29:790-806
Sechopoulos, Ioannis; Suryanarayanan, Sankararaman; Vedantham, Srinivasan et al. (2008) Radiation dose to organs and tissues from mammography: Monte Carlo and phantom study. Radiology 246:434-43
Karellas, Andrew; Vedantham, Srinivasan (2008) Breast cancer imaging: a perspective for the next decade. Med Phys 35:4878-97