Development of Mammography System Using CdTe Photon Counting Detector for Exposure Dose Reduction

Abstract

We have proposed a new mammography system using a cadmium telluride photon counting detector to reduce exposure dose. In conjunction with this, we propose a new high x-ray energy spectrum with tungsten/barium (W/Ba) as a target/filter. In this study, the usefulness of the W/Ba spectrum, in terms of image quality and dose distribution is evaluated through Monte Carlo simulation. The contrast-to-noise ratio and dose distribution are measured using polymethyl methacrylate phantoms of 2, 4, and 7 cm thickness. In each case, the result obtained using the W/Ba spectrum is better than that from conventional mammographic spectra. The results of this study indicate that, by using a higher energy x-ray than in conventional mammography, it is possible to obtain significant exposure dose reduction without loss of image quality.