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Title: Effective x-ray attenuation measurements with full field digital mammography

Journal Article · · Medical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2356648· OSTI ID:20853721
;  [1]
  1. The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, Florida 33612-4799 (United States)

This work shows that effective x-ray attenuation coefficients may be estimated by applying Beer's Law to phantom image data acquired with the General Electric Senographe 2000D full field digital mammography system. Theoretical developments are provided indicating that an approximate form of the Beer's relation holds for polychromatic x-ray beams. The theoretical values were compared with experimentally determined measured values, which were estimated at various detector locations. The measured effective attenuation coefficients are in agreement with those estimated with theoretical developments and numerical integration. The work shows that the measured quantities show little spatial variation. The main ideas are demonstrated with polymethylmethacrylate and breast tissue equivalent phantom imaging experiments. The work suggests that the effective attenuation coefficients may be used as known values for radiometric standardization applications that compensate for the image acquisition influences. The work indicates that it is possible to make quantitative attenuation coefficient measurements from a system designed for clinical purposes.

OSTI ID:
20853721
Journal Information:
Medical Physics, Vol. 33, Issue 11; Other Information: DOI: 10.1118/1.2356648; (c) 2006 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English