Mammography Technology Lowers Radiation Dose by 30%

A new mammography system has been developed to lower dose by supplanting the traditional scatter radiation grid with a new algorithm for progressive image reconstruction. This new algorithm was devised to identify scatter-causing structures and calculates a corrected image, enabling complete use of primary radiation so that high-quality images can be captured using less radiation dose.

At the 98th Scientific Assembly and annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), held from November 25-30, 2012, in Chicago (IL, USA), Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) presented the Mammomat Inspiration Prime Edition, which the company has developed to be the first mammography system that lowers patient dose up to 30% without losing image quality.

In digital X-ray breast imaging, radiation passes through the scanned breast to a detector. Primary radiation supplies the data needed to generate the X-ray image, while scattered radiation is absorbed by special grids positioned between the breast and the detector. Regrettably, these scatter grids also absorb part of the all-important primary radiation, pushing physicians to use a higher dose to obtain images of desired quality. Because mammography involves regular screening of healthy women, minimizing the dose is vitally important.

Siemens’ new reconstruction algorithm for the system--known as Prime (progressive reconstruction, intelligently minimizing exposure)--was developed to eliminate the need for the conventional scatter radiation grid. The Prime algorithm is designed to correct the scattered radiation by identifying scatter-causing structures and recalculating the image. The primary radiation that radiologists depend upon remains intact. Therefore, a grid is no longer necessary, and lower doses are enough to generate high-quality images. The grid-free imaging technology of the system has been designed to slash the radiation dose up to 30% compared to its predecessor model, depending on the thickness of the patient’s breast tissue.

The system is based on the modular Mammomat Inspiration platform for screening, diagnostics, and biopsy used by hospitals and physicians’ offices since 2007. Institutions have the option of buying the basic equipment, upgrading to biopsy or tomosynthesis features later as the need arises.

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