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Abstract ID: 17116 Title: Imaging Symposium
Breast CT and breast tomosynthesis are being developed to overcome the principal
limitation of mammography, namely the superposition of breast tissue. The normal
structure of the breast can be considered a source of noise that limits the detectability of
cancer and causes the appearance of patterns that mimic a cancer. It has been shown that
anatomical noise is the dominant noise source in the detection of breast cancer in a
mammogram. Ideally, 3D imaging should reduce this noise source so that the imaging
task becomes x-ray quantum limited. To develop and optimize these systems, a 3D
breast model is essential because the limiting effects of normal breast anatomy need to be
incorporated into calculations of detectability. Standard mammographic phantoms are
not useful as a 3D breast model. In this symposium, 3 different approaches will be
described: a full simulation of breast anatomy, developing models from imaging actual
breast tissue, and a pure mathematical approach of using filtered random noise. A
following discussion period will delve into advantages and disadvantages of the different
approaches.