A Comparison of Reconstruction Algorithms Regarding Exposure Dose Reductions during Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

This study compared reconstruction algorithms [filtered back projection (FBP) and simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT)] with respect to radiation doses and image quality and suggested the possibility of decreasing the exposure dose in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). These two existing algorithms were implemented using a DBT system and experimentally evaluated using contrast-detail (CD) phantom measurements, such as contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), root mean square error (RMSE), intensity profile, and artifact spread function (ASF), and the results obtained with FBP and SIRT were compared. The potential dose reduction, contrast improvement, quantum noise reduction, and artifact reduction in DBT were evaluated using different exposures and the two reconstruction techniques. The effectiveness of each technique for enhancing the visibility of a CD phantom was quantified with respect to CNR and RMSE, and artifact reduction was quantified with respect to the intensity profile and ASF. SIRT produced reconstructed images with CNR values indicative of high-contrast detection. Image error was smaller in the in-focus plane SIRT images, and artifacts were decreased in these images according to the determined intensity profiles and ASF. These results suggest that when using SIRT, the exposure dose could possibly be decreased to half.