Stationary Cone Beam Breast CT for Clear Imaging Under Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current breast imaging techniques, such as mammography and digital mammography, have low sensitivity and specificity for detecting small breast cancers due to poor contrast detectability, leading to high false-positive rates and unnecessary biopsies, while cone beam breast CT (CBBCT) offers improved resolution but can cause patient discomfort and tissue displacement during compression.
Innovation Solution
A CBBCT system with stationary scan techniques and supplemental imaging apparatus that supports, stabilizes, and compresses the breast to capture images without gantry motion, allowing for enhanced image clarity and reduced radiation exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If mammography is used for breast cancer detection, then it can detect cancers around 12 mm in size, but it has low sensitivity to small breast cancers (under several millimeters) and poor contrast detectability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the projection imaging mechanism of mammography with a cone beam CT tomographic imaging system. This substitution enables three-dimensional visualization of breast tissue, improving contrast detectability and sensitivity to small cancers (under several millimeters) by eliminating the limitations of two-dimensional projection imaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from two-dimensional mammographic imaging to three-dimensional cone beam CT imaging. This dimensional change allows visualization of breast structures in multiple planes and depths, significantly improving the detection of small cancers and microcalcifications while providing better contrast resolution.
2Measurement precision
If cone beam breast CT with compression is used to improve image resolution, then image clarity is enhanced, but patient discomfort and tissue displacement occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic compression mechanisms that can adjust compression force and duration during the imaging process. This allows optimization of image resolution while minimizing patient discomfort and preventing tissue displacement, as the compression can be dynamically adjusted based on real-time patient response and imaging requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes parameter changes in the cone beam CT system, including adjustable compression forces, imaging parameters, and scan protocols. These parameter modifications enable enhancement of image resolution and clarity while controlling patient discomfort and tissue displacement effects during the imaging process.
3Ease of operation
If conventional mammography is used, then imaging is simple, but false-positive rates are high leading to unnecessary biopsies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mammography with cone beam CT imaging, providing three-dimensional visualization that significantly improves the specificity of cancer detection. This substitution reduces false-positive rates by enabling better differentiation between benign and malignant structures through volumetric imaging and advanced image processing capabilities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides detailed, three-dimensional imaging with reduced patient discomfort and radiation dose, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies by enhancing image resolution and clarity.
Implementation Method 1
a beam of x-rays produced by the CBBCT system has a longitudinal axis that traverses generally normal to a desired cross-section of the breast to be imaged
Data Source
AI summary
A cone beam breast computer tomographic imaging system includes a subsystem for stationary scanning such that the same system can produce a cone beam breast computer tomographic image and a 2D stationary scan image.