The Dependence of Tomosynthesis Imaging Performance on the Number of Scan Projections

In general, the use of more projections results in fewer tomosynthesis reconstruction artifacts. However, under a fixed dose, an excess number of projections will make the detector noise more pronounced in each of the x-ray shots and thus degrade image quality. Even in the absence of detector noise the advantages of higher projection numbers eventually have diminishing returns, making more projections unnecessary. In this study, we explore the dependence of tomosynthesis imaging performance on the number of projections, while keeping other factors fixed. We take the contrast-to-noise ratio as the figure of merit to search for the range of optimal projection number. The study is carried out through both simulations and experiments, with phantoms consisting of micro-calcification and mass objects, and a cadaver breast. The goal of this paper is to describe our methodology in general, and use a prototype tomosynthesis system as an example. The knowledge learned will help the design of future generation clinical tomosynthesis systems.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Hologic, Inc., 35 Crosby Drive, Bedford, Ma, 01730

   Baorui Ren, Tao Wu, Andrew Smith, Chris Ruth, Loren Niklason, Zhenxue Jing & Jay Stein

Editors and Affiliations

1. Division of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, Stopford Building, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PT, Manchester

   Susan M. Astley

2. Wolfson Medical Vision Lab, University of Oxford, UK

   Michael Brady

3. Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineeering, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PT, Manchester, UK

   Chris Rose

4. Department of Computer Science, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

   Reyer Zwiggelaar

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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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