A new technique for examining the breast using x-rays can improve the resolution of the images obtained while reducing the necessary radiation dose, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The widely used x-ray method of breast examination – mammography – is based on the assessment of breast images taken in two projections. However, even the most experienced radiologist may miss about 10-20 percent. tumors, especially in the very early stages.
In the case of other organs, computed tomography works perfectly well, in which many pictures of the area of interest are taken from different angles, and then a two-dimensional cross-section or a three-dimensional model of tissues is reconstructed. However, as the tissue that makes up the breasts is particularly sensitive to X-rays, a CT scan is usually not used.
This may be changed by a new examination technique – for which, however, new, suitably small sources of X-rays are needed for practical application. As shown by German and American scientists working at the European Synchrotron Atomic Center in Grenoble (ESRF), using improved image processing algorithms can perform XNUMXD tissue reconstruction from a small number of photos taken at different, irregular angles. As a result, the radiation dose is much lower.
Tests carried out on surgically removed breasts confirmed the ability of the new method to create images as precise as those obtained with computed tomography – at a radiation dose four times lower. By using harder, higher-energy radiation from the synchrotron, the dose can be reduced by 1/6, and further improvements can reduce it to just 4%, or 1/25 of the typical dose for tomography. This dose is even lower than the usual mammography screening (PAP).
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