Defects of a mammography quality control phantom visualized by synchrotron radiation imaging

Synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging of an RMI 156 mammography quality control phantom, serial number 156-15330, revealed some defects which degraded the visibility of calcification specks. SR imaging was performed at SPring-8, in Harima, Japan by using a monochromatic energy of 20 KeV with a field-of-view of 24 X 24 mm. Different kinds of images were obtained by changing sample-to-detector distances; absorption images and refraction-enhanced images. Specks were embedded in a wax matrix and were imaged as black in an absorption image. In a refraction-enhanced image, they were imaged as a black region with white margins. Foreign objects with opposite contrast were detected near, or overlapped with, some specks. As they were depicted as white in the absorption images and as white with a black margin in the refraction-enhanced image, it seemed that they had low X-ray attenuation and a low refraction index compared with the surrounding wax. They might presumably be air bubbles. Visibility of specks in an absorption image was seriously interfered with when those object(s) overlapped with specks. This kind of defect may cause a difficulty in meeting quality assurance specifications when a facility inadvertently purchases defective phantoms.