Lesion Detectability Considerations for an Optically-coupled CCD X ray Imaging System

This project was aimed at investigating the lesion detectability of an optically-coupled CCD X ray imaging system. The quasi-ideal observer signal-to-noise ratio (also called lesion-matched filter signal-to-noise ratio) was calculated for various clinical applications. This analysis differs from that of previous investigations in that we have analyzed jointly the effect of quantum noise and additive noise; we have also analyzed the combined effect of the contrast transfer property and the resolving power of the system. Numerical calculations were performed to determine lesion detectability and contrast-detail curves under mammographic and other clinical conditions. A standard mammographic phantom and a contrast-detail phantom were imaged to validate the calculation. The results demonstrate that the lesion detectability of a well designed optically-coupled CCD can be comparable to that of the state-of-the-art screen-film system under the same conditions.