Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026
Construction of a Preclinical Multimodality Phantom Using Tissue-mimicking Materials for Quality Assurance in Tumor Size Measurement
Published on: July 29, 2013
Image quality of digital direct flat-panel mammography versus an indirect small-field CCD technique using a
Kathrin Barbara Krug1, Hartmut Stützer, Peter Frommolt
1Department of Radiology, Medical School, University of Cologne, Kerpenerstraße 62, 50924 Cologne, Germany. barbara.krug@uk-koeln.de
Objective:
To compare the detection of microcalcifications on mammograms of an anthropomorphic breast phantom acquired by a direct digital flat-panel detector mammography system (FPM) versus a stereotactic breast biopsy system utilizing CCD (charge-coupled device) technology with either a 1024 or 512 acquisition matrix (1024 CCD and 512 CCD).
Materials And Methods:
Randomly distributed silica beads (diameter 100-1400 μm) and anthropomorphic scatter bodies were applied to 48 transparent films. The test specimens were radiographed on a direct digital FPM and by the indirect 1024 CCD and 512 CCD techniques. Four radiologists rated the monitor-displayed images independently of each other in random order.
Results:
The rate of correct positive readings for the "number of detectable microcalcifications" for silica beads of 100-199 μm in diameter was 54.2%, 50.0% and 45.8% by FPM, 1024 CCD and 512 CCD, respectively. The inter-rater variability was most pronounced for silica beads of 100-199 μm in diameter. The greatest agreement with the gold standard was observed for beads >400 μm in diameter across all methods.
Conclusion:
Stereotactic spot images taken by 1024 matrix CCD technique are diagnostically equivalent to direct digital flat-panel mammograms for visualizing simulated microcalcifications >400 μm in diameter.
