Caracterización de microcalcificaciones mediante técnicas de absorción y de contraste de fase aplicadas a simulaciones del fantoma CIRS 015

Abstract

This study compared two techniques applied in mammography for the detection of breast lesions. Simulations were carried out in the McXtrace software using five regions of the CIRS 015 phantom, each containing six spherical microcalcifications of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) arranged in a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix in the shape of a pentagon. The conventional absorption-based technique and the free-space propagation-based phase contrast technique were evaluated through the figure of merit, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and the calculation of the estimated absorbed dose. To do this, five metal filters (rhodium, aluminum, palladium, silver, and molybdenum) with different thicknesses were individually implemented to adjust the X-ray energy spectrum. The results demonstrated the superiority of the phase contrast technique in terms of image quality and reduction of absorbed dose. The CNR values were higher in the phase contrast technique, especially for larger diameter microcalcifications, gradually decreasing for smaller diameters. The 0.1 mm molybdenum filter was identified as the most effective in terms of these parameters. These findings highlight the importance of adopting advanced technologies in mammography to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce radiation exposure, thus promoting future research into more effective and safer mammographic imaging.