Physical characterization of a scanning photon counting digital mammography system based on Si-strip detectors

The physical performance of a scanning multislit full field digital mammography system was determined using basic image quality parameters. The system employs a direct detection detector comprised of linear silicon strip sensors in an edge-on geometry connected to photon counting electronics. The pixel size is 50 mu m and the field of view 24 x 26 cm(2). The performance was quantified using the presampled modulation transfer function, the normalized noise power spectrum and the detective quantum efficiency (DQE). Compared to conventional DQE methods, the scanning geometry with its intrinsic scatter rejection poses additional requirements on the measurement setup, which are investigated in this work. The DQE of the photon counting system was found to be independent of the dose level to the detector in the 7.6-206 mu Gy range. The peak DQE was 72% and 73% in the scan and slit direction, respectively, measured with a 28 kV W-0.5 mm Al anodefilter combination with an added 2 mm Al filtration. (c) 2007 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.