PVAL breast phantom for dual energy calcification detection

Microcalcifications are the main indicator for breast cancer. Dual energy imaging can enhance the detectability of calcifications by suppressing the tissue background. Two digital images are obtained using two different spectra, for the low- and high-energy respectively, and a weighted subtracted image is produced. In this study, a dual energy method for the detection of the minimum breast microcalcification thickness was developed. The used integrated prototype system consisted of a modified tungsten anode X-ray tube combined with a high resolution CMOS sensor. The breast equivalent phantom used was an elastically compressible gel of polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL). Hydroxyapatite was used to simulate microcalcifications with thicknesses ranging from 50 to 500 μm. The custom made phantom was irradiated with 40kVp and 70kVp. Tungsten (W) anode spectra filtered with 100μm Cadmium and 1000pm Copper, for the low- and high-energy, respectively. Microcalcifications with thicknesses 300μm or higher can be detected with mean glandular dose (MGD) of 1.62mGy.