TITLE:
Comparison of Different Reconstruction Algorithms for Decreasing the Exposure Dose during Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: A Phantom Study
AUTHORS:
Tsutomu Gomi
KEYWORDS:
Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, Three-Dimensional Reconstruction, Radiation Dose
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biomedical Science and Engineering,
Vol.8 No.8,
August
4,
2015
ABSTRACT: We compared reconstruction algorithms [filtered back projection (FBP), maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM), and the simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT)] in terms of the radiation dose and image quality, for exploring the possibility of decreasing the radiation dose during digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). The three algorithms were implemented using a DBT system and experimentally evaluated using measurements, such as signal difference-to-noise ratio (SDNR) and intensity profile, on a BR3D phantom (infocus plane image). The possible radiation dose reduction, contrast improvement, and artifact reduction in DBT were evaluated using different exposure levels and the three reconstruction techniques. We performed statistical analysis (one-way analysis of variance) of the SDNR data. The effectiveness of each technique for enhancing the visibility of the BR3D phantom was quantified with regard to SDNR (FBP versus MLEM, P