Reduction of patient dose in digital mammography: Simulation of low-dose image from a routine dose

Abstract

Several low-dose images are necessary to obtain an image that can be used for diagnosis. However, it is clinically undesirable to expose a patient to multiple exposures in order to obtain an optimal image. The purpose of this study was to simulate a low-dose image from the image generated by a routine dose. Images of acrylic steps were obtained using multiple doses in digital mammography with computed radiography to generate additional noise. This noise was added to take into account the resolution of the X-ray detector using the some filters. The image simulated using the filter based on the WS was similar to an actual low-dose image. The image simulated using the presampled MTF filter was less similar to an actual low-dose image. By using the proposed method, we were able to obtain a simulated low-dose image from an image generated by a routine dose. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.