Mammography is the primary imaging tool for screening and diagnosis of human breast cancers, but ∼10-20% of palpable tumors are not detectable on mammograms and only about 40% of biopsied lesions are malignant. Here we report a high-resolution, low-dose phase contrast X-ray tomographic method for 3D diagnosis of human breast cancers. By combining phase contrast X-ray imaging with an image reconstruction method known as equally sloped tomography, we imaged a human breast in three dimensions and identified a malignant cancer with a pixel size of 92 μm and a radiation dose less than that of dual-view mammography. According to a blind evaluation by five independent radiologists, our method can reduce the radiation dose and acquisition time by ∼74% relative to conventional phase contrast X-ray tomography, while maintaining high image resolution and image contrast. These results demonstrate that high-resolution 3D diagnostic imaging of human breast cancers can, in principle, be performed at clinical compatible doses.
CITATION STYLE
Zhao, Y., Brun, E., Coan, P., Huang, Z., Sztrókay, A., Diemoz, P. C., … Bravin, A. (2012). High-resolution, low-dose phase contrast X-ray tomography for 3D diagnosis of human breast cancers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(45), 18290–18294. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1204460109
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