Evaluation of 3D Breast Surface Reconstruction Accuracy Using Non-contact Scanner Images: A Phantom Study

Analysis of the breast surface deformation during mammographic compression will provide insight into breast tissue elastic properties. Our long term goal is to accurately estimate physical properties of breast tissue for the purpose of realistic deformation simulation. As a first step, we analyzed the acquisition accuracy of the reconstructed breast phantom surface using a noncontact laser scanner. The effect of the acquisition angle and the presence of the transparent compression plate covering the phantom were considered. Comparing 48 phantom surfaces, each reconstructed from 4 scanner images acquired at different positions, we observed an average acquisition error of 1.94 mm for images without the compression plate; the average acquisition error for images with the compression plate was 3.26 mm. Performance of two observers showed little variation.