Full-size anthropomorphic phantom for 2D and 3D breast x-ray imaging

Anthropomorphic breast phantoms are used to create images that mimic aspects of clinical breast images and are useful in optimization and characterization of breast imaging systems. Here, a full-sized compressed physical breast phantom is designed and manufactured with 100 m resolution, high reproducibility and x-ray properties similar to that of breast tissues. The phantom design is based on a digital model derived from the morphology and distribution of large, medium and small scale fibroglandular and inter-glandular adipose tissue observed in clinical breast computerized tomography (bCT) images. The physical phantom consists of four slabs of a polyamide-12 component that mimics adipose tissue fabricated using selective laser sintering (SLS). The fibroglandular component is a low viscosity resin doped with a small amount of zinc oxide nanoparticles (<110 nm) to increase attenuation. The phantom was imaged on a Senographe Pristina and compared to image simulations of the virtual phantom. The power spectral parameter, β was 3.8±0.2 and 3.9±0.5 for the physical and virtual phantoms in a digital mammogram. The corresponding Laplacian fractional entropy (LFE) averaged 0.22 and 0.14 across the range 0.125–1.29 mm^-1. Very good texture cancellation was obtained in contrast-enhanced spectral mammography.