Usefulness of a Small-Field Digital Mammographic Imaging System Using Parabolic Polycapillary Optics as a Diagnostic Imaging Tool: a Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy for spatial resolution and radiation dose of a small-field digital mammographic imaging system using parabolic polycapillary optics. MATERIALS AND METHODS We developed a small-field digital mammographic imaging system composed of a CCD (charge coupled device) detector and an X-ray source coupled with parabolic polycapillary optics. The spatial resolution and radiation dose according to various filters were evaluated for a small-field digital mammographic imaging system. The images of a test standard phantom and breast cancer tissue sample were obtained. RESULTS The small-field digital mammographic imaging system had spatial resolutions of 12 lp/mm with molybdenum and rhodium filters with a 25-microm thickness. With a thicker molybdenum filter (100 microm thick), the system had a higher spatial resolution of 11 lp/mm and contrast of 0.48. The radiation dose for a rhodium filter with a 25-microm thickness was 0.13 mGy within a 10-mm-diameter local field. A larger field image greater than 10 mm in diameter could be obtained by scanning an object. On the small-field mammographic imaging system, microcalcifications of breast cancer tissue were clearly observed. CONCLUSION A small-field digital mammographic imaging system with parabolic polycapillary optics may be a useful diagnostic tool for providing high-resolution imaging with a low radiation dose for examination of local volumes of breast tissue.