A new test object for evaluating resolu- tion in serial angiography.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to L Stanton.
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A new breast phantom has been designed for use in evaluating mammographic system performance. This phantom incorporates simulated calcifications and fibrillar objects in fat, of graded size, to permit measurements of detail visibility. A special methodology has been developed for measuring visible object size to achieve reproducible and clinically relevant results. Materials and construction of the phantom also permit carrying out dosimetry with an appropriate ionization chamber. Dosage and detail visibility measurements are reported for the Xerox 125, Min-R and Xonics systems. In addition to providing information regarding technique and image receptors, these results demonstrate the usefulness of the basic phantom design, and suggest possible improvements.
Much renewed interest has developed in electrostatic imaging systems. This is partly because of their use of relatively inexpensive materials and their potential for improved diagnostic accuracy--a novel combination of image latitude with great detail contrast. All such systems can exhibit these image characteristics when developed by the generally used "powder cloud" technique or some similar partial development system. We have measured edge sharpness and enhancement of electron radiographs (ERGs) produced with the powder cloud technique. Edge sharpness can be excellent at low image-density levels, but deteriorates with increasing density. Edge enhancement is also appreciable; it appears to decrease somewhat with increasing image density, but no simple relationship has yet been shown.
An ionization chamber method has been developed to measure exposure vs depth in a uniform BR 12 "average breast" phantom. It employs a Memorial mammography chamber for exit exposure measurements; resulting data is then corrected for backscatter as well as for the exceptionally thin window of this chamber. A careful comparison has then been made with relative exposure vs depth curves obtained using TLD at several mammography beam qualities, for identical exposure factors and SSD values. Use of a correction for residual and background TL signals significantly improved agreement between TLD and ion chamber curves in the 28 to 35 kVp/0.03 mm Mo range of beam quality. Agreement was within +/- 5% for the Mo target tube, but TLD readings were 4%--8% higher than ion chamber values for the W/Mo target tube. At Xeromammography energies (45 kVp/1.6 mm Al), corrected TLD curve readings were 6% higher at depth than ion chamber curve values. TLD meaurements with 28 to 35 kVp/0.03 mm Mo beams tend to underestimate dosage to the midbreast parenchyma. For example, in a 5 cm "average breast", the underestimation ranges from 2%--10% for corrected, 10%--16% for uncorrected TLD readings.
There is a major gap in backscatter information for diagnostic x-ray beams. Such information is increasingly needed for dose measurements and calculations, as well as for designing devices and techniques. We have therefore carried out measurements on both low Z materials and metals, using an ion chamber method designed specifically for the purpose. Lucite and two D.R. White tissue substitutes were studied extensively (BR 12 "average breast" and MS 11 "water"). Measured percent backscatter (BS) was greatest for Lucite and least for MS 11, with BR 12 in between. Backscatter buildup is rapid: 50% of full backscatter is achieved with 6 mm thickness for all three materials using mammographic beams and with about 12 mm using general diagnostic beams. A simple relationship between BS and field area permits close estimates of BS values for fields for which measured data is not available. Among metals tested, copper exhibited greatest backscatter (39% BS maximum), aluminum least, and lead in between--information of potential importance in cassette design and similar applications.