SBIR Phase I: NARROW-BEAM DEDICATED BREAST COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY

This broader impact/commercial potential of this SBIR Phase I project is to improve detection and diagnosis of cancer in women with dense breasts, a significant fraction of the 40 million women screened annually. Women with dense breasts are at greater risk for low cancer detection and overdiagnosis of disease. This risk arises from limitations in the x-ray imaging techniques currently available to them: mammography, tomosynthesis and breast CT. The proposed technology utilizes the benefits of CT imaging science - advantageous over mammography and tomosynthesis - while incorporating innovations in CT image acquisition. The technology will deliver high quality three-dimensional images of the breast providing high visibility of microcalcifications (small traces of cancer) at radiation levels on par with existing breast cancer screening standards. This technology has the potential to reduce the financial burdens of misdiagnosis without introducing new risks to the patient. The proposed project initiates development of a new form of tomographic breast imaging, built upon the discovery that scatter-free x-ray images result in improved visibility of small microcalcifications. The proposed design overcomes limitations of mammography and tomosynthesis - primarily the masking of cancer by healthy tissue - and limitations of existing breast CT that include poor microcalcification visibility, limited posterior breast anatomy coverage, and inadequate image quality at screening dose levels. The proposed CT design minimizes dose exposure to the patient and delivers acquired raw data that are near scatter-free. These improvements result in higher quality images with greater microcalcification visibility. The overarching objective of this SBIR Phase 1 project is to build a prototype for improved study and simulation. In the first stage of prototype development, a collimator and shielding apparatus will be implemented to control scatter and dose. In the second stage, this apparatus will be incorporated into an existing, functional breast CT scanner. Performance objectives include a reduction in radiation dose to an average-sized breast by as much as 30% over existing methods, achievement of near scatter-free image acquisition, and improved visibility of small microcalcifications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.