M. Quattrocchi

A Medipix2-based imaging system for digital mammography with silicon pixel detectors

In this paper we present the first tests of a digital imaging system based on a silicon pixel detector bump-bonded to an integrated circuit operating in single photon counting mode. The X-rays sensor is a 300 /spl mu/m thick silicon, 14 by 14 mm/sup 2/, upon which a matrix of 256 /spl times/ 256 pixels has been built. The read-out chip, named MEDIPIX2, has been developed at CERN within the MEDIPIX2 Collaboration and it is composed by a matrix of 256 /spl times/ 256 cells, 55 /spl times/ 55 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The spatial resolution properties of the system have been assessed by measuring the square wave resolution function (SWRF) and first images of a standard mammographic phantom were acquired using a radiographic tube in the clinical irradiation condition.

Interconnection techniques of GaAs pixel detector on silicon ASIC electronics

To realize innovative instrumentation for mammography, a digital mammographic head based on several gallium arsenide detectors and on the Medipix chip (developed by the Medipix collaboration at CERN) has been designed. This device is able to perform single photon counting readout and allows a full detection efficiency at the mammographic energies. To make such detection units, industrial processes for the production of GaAs pixel detectors and for their bump-bonding to the read-out VLSI electronics have been developed by Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS S.p.A.). The detection unit is a 200 /spl mu/m thick GaAs matrix of 64/spl times/64 square pixels (170 /spl mu/m pitch), previously optimized and fully characterized, connected via bump bonding to the electronic chip. Specific studies were performed to develop a process that meets the requirements of low cost, high yield and high reliability for the bump bonding process of the GaAs detector to the silicon electronics. To ensure a high-quality electrical contact between the matrix detector and the silicon read out electronics a bump-bonding process has been set-up. It is based on a In evaporation process. In this work we present the technical characteristics of the bump bonding process and the results obtained in terms of bump-bonding yield and detection performance of the GaAs based detection units which have been realized and fully tested and are now ready to be implemented in the mammographic head.

Digital system based on a bichromatic x-ray source and a single-photon counting device: a single-exposure dual-energy mammography approach

In this work we exploit the advantages of using a bi-chromatic X-rays source coupled with a single photon counting pixel detector to perform a feasibility study for dual energy mammography. This technique allows enhancing the contrast between different breast tissues by composing two images acquired at two different energies. The high and low energy images have been acquired by a single X-ray shot. The bi-chromatic beam has been produced per diffraction of polychromatic photons by a monochromator crystal. The imaging system is based on a single photon counting silicon pixel detector. The data read-out is performed by a VLSI Integrated Circuit bump-bonded to the sensor. The energy threshold of each electronics channel can be individually trimmed. We set the threshold of one pixel below 16 keV while the threshold of the neighboring pixel between 16 and 32 keV. With a single exposure the information from both energies is recorded. After separation between low and high threshold pixels, we obtained two independent images. We acquired radiographs of phantoms made of three different materials. Appling a dual energy algorithm, we obtained synthesized images where any of the three materials is removed from the radiograph, enhancing the contrast between the two remaining.

Performance of an imaging system based on silicon pixel detectors of different thickness

To compare the characteristics of imaging systems based on pixel detectors of different thickness, we have measured the respective imaging capabilities, spatial resolution and spectroscopic characteristics. Each system consists of a single photon counting chip, developed in the framework of the Medipix Collaboration, bump bonded to a silicon detector. The detector is a matrix of 64 /spl times/ 64 square pixels, with 170 /spl mu/m pitch and thickness ranging from 300 to 800 /spl mu/m. As expected, the intrinsic detection efficiency increases with the detector thickness; nevertheless the spatial resolution can be affected by a charge sharing mechanism between adjacent pixels due to charge diffusion. The aim of the work reported in this paper is to demonstrate that, optimizing the settings of the image systems, we can increase the detection efficiency without losing in spatial resolution.

Experimental test of a new technique of background suppression in digital mammography

A multiple-exposure technique in digital mammography has been developed to suppress the physical background in the image due to Compton scattering in the body. A pair of X-ray masks, shaped in a projective geometry and positioned upstream and downstream the patient, are coupled mechanically and moved in four steps along a square pattern in order to irradiate the full area in four consecutive short exposures. A proof-of-principle apparatus is under test with a breast phantom and a standard mammographic X-ray unit. Results are reported.

Characterization of a single photon counting imaging system by the transfer functions analysis

A method to quantitatively evaluate the performances of a radiographic detection system consists on measuring the contrast, noise and modulation transfer functions. These functions have been evaluated for a digital radiographic system based on a single photon counting pixel detector. The X-ray detector is a silicon sensor with one side segmented in a matrix of 256 by 256 square contacts with a pitch of 55 mum. The active area is about 2 cm2. The sensor is connected to the Medipix2 read-out chip by bump-bonding. As X-ray source we used a tube for general radiography. To reproduce the conditions of a radiographic examination a 4 cm thick lucite block positioned above the detector has been used to simulate a tissue sample. To study the contrast transfer function we have measured the contrast of 1 mm thick lead slab with respect to the background. To evaluate the scattering contribution from the lucite, the measurements have been performed with and without a collimator placed at the beam exit. To assess the efficiency and noise transfer properties, we have measured the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of the detector as a function of the tube voltage. The modulation transfer function has been measured applying the slit method for different conditions of tube voltage and energy threshold

Full-field images of mammographic phantoms obtained with a single photon counting system

As the use of digital radiographic equipment in the morphological imaging field is becoming largely diffuse, the research of new and more performing devices from public institutions and industrial companies is in constant progress. Many of these devices are based on solid-state detectors as X-ray sensors. Semiconductor pixel detectors, originally developed in the high energy physics environment, have been then proposed as digital detector for medical imaging applications. In this paper a digital single photon counting device, based on silicon and GaAs pixel detectors, is presented. The detector is a thin slab of semiconductor crystal equipped with an array of 64 by 64 square contacts, 170-μm side. The data read-out is performed by a VLSI integrated circuit named Photon Counting Chip (PCC), developed within the MEDIPIX collaboration. Each chip cell geometrically matches the sensor pixel. It contains a charge preamplifier, a threshold comparator and a 15 bits pseudo-random counter and it is coupled to the detector by means of bump-bonding. Most important advantages of such a system, with respect to a traditional X-rays film/screen device, are the wider linear dynamic range (3x104) and the higher performance in terms of MTF and DQE. Electronics read-out performance as well as imaging capabilities of the digital device will be presented. Images of mammographic phantoms acquired with a standard mammographic tube will be compared with radiographs obtained with traditional film/screen systems.