Automatic exposure control for a slot scanning full field digital mammography system

Automatic exposure control (AEC) is an important feature in mammography. It enables consistently optimal image exposure despite variations in tissue density and thickness, and user skill level. Full field digital mammography systems cannot employ conventional AEC methods because digital receptors fully absorb the x-ray beam. In this paper we describe an AEC procedure for slot scanning mammography. With slot scanning detectors, our approach uses a fast low-resolution and low-exposure prescan to acquire an image of the breast. Tube potential depends on breast thickness, and the prescan histogram provides the necessary information to calculate the required tube current. We validate our approach with simulated prescan images and phantom measurements. We achieve accurate exposure tracking with thickness and density, and expect this method of AEC to reduce retakes and improve workflow.