Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Digital magnification mammography with matched incident exposure: physical imaging properties and detectability of simulated microcalcifications

  • Published:
Radiological Physics and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Our purpose was to evaluate the usefulness of digital magnification mammography with matched incident exposure by investigating the physical imaging properties and doing an observer performance test. A computed radiography system and a mammographic unit were used in this study. Contact and magnification radiographies of 1.2–1.8 in combination with focal spot sizes of 0.1 mm without grid and 0.3 mm with grid were performed. Physical imaging properties, namely, scatter fraction, total modulation transfer function (MTF) including the presampled MTF and the MTF of focal spot size, and Wiener spectrum (WS), were measured. Detail visibility was evaluated by use of free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis of the detectability of simulated microcalcifications. Scatter fractions decreased considerably as the magnification factor increased without grid technique. In the grid technique, scatter fractions for all magnification techniques were comparable. The total MTFs of magnification techniques with a focal spot size of 0.1 mm improved significantly compared with the conventional contact technique. However, the improvement of the total MTFs of magnification techniques with the combination of 0.3 mm focal spot size was small. The WSs degraded with an increase of the magnification factor compared with the contact technique due to the maintained exposure incident on the object. The observer performance test indicated that the 1.8 magnification technique with the 0.1 mm focal spot size provided higher detectability than did the contact technique. Digital magnification mammography under the same incident exposure conditions improved the detectability of microcalcifications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Millis RR, Davis R, Stacey AJ. The detection and significance of calcifications in the breast: a radiological and pathological study. Br J Radiol. 1976;49(577):12–26.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Muir BB, Lamb J, Anderson TJ, et al. Microcalcification and its relationship to cancer of breast: experience in a screening clinic. Clin Radiol. 1983;34(2):193–200.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chan HP, Vyborny CJ, MacMahon H, et al. Digital mammography: ROC studies of the effects of pixel size and unsharp-mask filtering on the detection of subtle microcalcifications. Invest Radiol. 1987;22(7):581–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Boyce SJ, Samei E. Imaging properties of digital magnification radiography. Med Phys. 2006;33(4):984–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Aufrichtig R. Comparison of low contrast detectability between a digital amorphous silicon and a screen-film based imaging system for thoracic radiography. Med Phys. 1999;26(7):1349–58.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Fetterly KA, Schueler BA. Performance evaluation of a “dual-side read” dedicated mammography computed radiography system. Med Phys. 2003;30(7):1843–54.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ideguchi T, Higashida Y, Kawaji Y, et al. New CR system with pixel size of 50 μm for digital mammography: physical imaging properties and detection of subtle microcalcifications. Radiat Med. 2004;22(4):218–24.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Higashide R, Ichikawa K, Kunitomo H, et al. Proposal and verification of presampled MTF measurement by the simple analysis method using the edge method. Jpn J Radiol Technol. 2008;64(4):417–25. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Higashide R. Physical image quality assessment in digital radiography: modulation transfer function-edge method. Jpn J Radiol Technol. 2009;65(10):1449–56. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Higashida Y, Baba Y, Hatemura M, et al. Physical and clinical evaluation of a 2, 048 × 2, 048-matrix image intensifier TV digital imaging system in bone radiography. Acad Radiol. 1996;3(10):842–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Giger ML, Doi K, Metz CE. Investigation of basic imaging properties in digital radiography. 2. Noise Wiener spectrum. Med Phys. 1984;11(6):797–805.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Neitzel U, Günther-Kohfahl S, Borasi G, et al. Determination of the detective quantum efficiency of a digital X-ray detector: Comparison of three evaluations using a common image data set. Med Phys. 2004;31(8):2205–11.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Dobbins JT 3rd, Samei E, Ranger NT, et al. Intercomparison of methods for image quality characterization. II. Noise power spectrum. Med Phys. 2006;33(5):1466–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Asahara M. Physical image quality assessment in digital radiography: noise power spectrum. Jpn J Radiol Technol. 2009;65(12):1671–9. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Chakraborty DP. Maximum likelihood analysis of free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) data. Med Phys. 1989;16(4):561–8.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Chakraborty DP, Winter LH. Free-response methodology: alternate analysis and a new observer-performance experiment. Radiology. 1990;174(3):873–81.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Shiraishi J, Kosakai K, Hatagawa M, et al. Study of simple data sampling on free-response receiver operating (FROC) analysis. Jpn J Radiol Technol. 1991;47(4):620–6. (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Edwards DC, Kupinski MA, Metz CE, et al. Maximum likelihood fitting of FROC curves under an initial-detection-and-candidate-analysis model. Med Phys. 2002;29(12):2861–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Yakabe M, Sakai S, Yabuuchi H, et al. Effect of dose reduction on the ability of digital mammography to detect simulated microcalcifications. J Digit Imaging. 2010;23(5):520–6.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Law J. Breast dose from magnification films in mammography. Br J Radiol. 2005;78(933):816–20.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Kunio Doi, PhD, Gunma Prefectural College of Health Sciences, for his critical reading of the manuscript and suggestions; to Hidetake Yabuuchi, MD, Hidetaka Arimura, PhD, and Seiji Kumazawa, PhD, Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, and Masao Matsumoto, PhD, Division of Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, for useful discussions; and to Akiko Hattori, RT, Naomi Okimoto, RT, Chihiro Matsuo, RT, and Kiyo Iwakiri, RT, Kyushu University Hospital, for participating in this study as observers. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Japanese Society of Radiological Technology for use of the Excel format for measurement of physical imaging properties. We thank the editorial assistant of this journal for providing initial and final polishing of the submitted manuscript in improving the readability and English expressions, and the editors and reviewers for giving us useful comments and suggestions for improving our manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kentaro Naka

    Present address: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, 1385 Shimoishigami, Otawara, Tochigi, 324-8550, Japan

  2. Hiroko Fukushima

    Present address: Yokohama City University Hospital, 3-9 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Nobukazu Tanaka & Kentaro Naka

  2. Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Hiroko Fukushima

  3. Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan

    Junji Morishita, Fukai Toyofuku, Masafumi Ohki & Yoshiharu Higashida

Authors
  1. Nobukazu Tanaka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kentaro Naka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroko Fukushima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Junji Morishita
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Fukai Toyofuku
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Masafumi Ohki
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Yoshiharu Higashida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nobukazu Tanaka.

About this article

Cite this article

Tanaka, N., Naka, K., Fukushima, H. et al. Digital magnification mammography with matched incident exposure: physical imaging properties and detectability of simulated microcalcifications. Radiol Phys Technol 4, 156–163 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-011-0116-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-011-0116-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation