Image quality phantom in close compliance with the ICRU-44 breast tissue substitute standard and realistic background noise pattern for digital breast tomosynthesis

Abstract

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is an emerging technique that allows for slices parallel with the detector to be constructed through the breast, as opposed to two dimensional mammography. Present phantoms for use on mammography systems are two dimensional in nature and focus mainly on differences in contrast. Since tomosynthesis is a three-dimensional-technique, a suitable phantom for use on a DBT-system should contain different overlying structures, as is the case within a real breast. We present a method to construct such a three dimensional phantom from a liquid polyurethane-basis that contains overlapping masses, microcalcifications and a representative anatomical background. This way a representative quantitative phantom could be constructed for image quality control on a DBT-system. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.