Dual-energy contrast-enhanced digital mammography: Glandular dose estimation using a Monte Carlo code and voxel...

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiological Imaging
• Radiation Dosimetry

Background:

• Digital mammography is crucial for breast cancer detection.
• Accurate estimation of radiation dose is essential for patient safety.
• Contrast-enhanced digital mammography involves dual-energy imaging, requiring dose assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the mean glandular dose (MGD) in contrast-enhanced digital mammography (CEDM).
• To utilize the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code and a female adult voxel phantom for dose calculations.
• To analyze dose variations based on breast phantom characteristics and X-ray spectra.

Main Methods:

• Employed automatic exposure control (AEC) for X-ray spectrum and exposure settings in dual-energy imaging.
• Conducted air-kerma and half-value layer measurements.
• Performed Monte Carlo simulations using the EGSnrc code to compute MGD for phantoms of varying thickness and glandularities.

Main Results:

• For CC view, MGD ranged from 0.450 ± 0.022 to 2.575 ± 0.033 mGy (low energy) and 0.061 ± 0.021 to 0.232 ± 0.033 mGy (high energy).
• For MLO view, MGD ranged from 0.488 ± 0.007 to 2.080 ± 0.021 mGy (low energy) and 0.065 ± 0.012 to 0.215 ± 0.010 mGy (high energy).
• Breast thickness and glandular fraction significantly influenced the calculated mean glandular dose.

Conclusions:

• The low kV (low energy) component of CEDM is the primary contributor to the total mean glandular breast dose.
• The study's findings enable estimation of MGD for individual patient cases.
• Results support optimization of radiation dose in mammography procedures.