Devices, systems, and methods for mammography with a detector having reduced dimensions
View Patent ↗An auxiliary device attachable to a mammography machine having an X-ray source and an X-ray receptor having a receptor area. The auxiliary device includes a housing having a length, width, and thickness, wherein the length and width of the housing are adapted to a length and width of the receptor area. The auxiliary device further includes one or more attachments for attaching the auxiliary device to the mammography machine, and a detector inside the housing. The detector includes a slab of semiconductor material, an electrode on a first side of the slab, and a pixelated electrode detector on the second side of the slab, and a read-out circuit bonded to the pixelated electrode detector, and the read-out circuit being configured for spectral photon counting with two or more energy bins. Methods for medical imaging are also provided.
1. An auxiliary device for a mammography machine having an X-ray source and an X-ray receptor having a receptor area, the auxiliary device comprising:
a housing that is attachable to the mammography machine and sized to fit over the receptor area of the mammography machine;
one or more fasteners that are configured to attach the housing to the mammography machine in a releasable manner;
a detector located inside the housing that is configured to be located on the receptor area upon the housing being attached to the mammography machine, the detector including:
a slab of semiconductor material, the slab of semiconductor material having a length that is between 10% and 50% of a length of the receptor area of the mammography machine;
an electrode on a first side of the slab, the electrode configured to face the receptor area;
a pixelated electrode detector on a second side of the slab opposite the first side of the slab;
a read-out circuit bonded to the pixelated electrode detector, the read-out circuit being configured for spectral photon counting with two or more energy bins.
2. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor material is a high Z room temperature semiconductor.
3. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor material is selected from the group consisting of GaAs, CdTe, CdZnTe, HgI2, Perovskite and TIBr.
4. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the slab of semiconductor material has a thickness between 0.2 and 3.0 mm.
5. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the slab of semiconductor material has a width that is between 10% and 50% of a width of the receptor area of the mammography machine.
6. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the slab of semiconductor material has a length between 5 and 15 cm, and a width between 5 and 15 cm.
7. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the read-out circuit is configured for spectral photon counting with 2-14 energy bins.
8. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the read-out circuit comprises an ASIC.
9. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , further comprising an anti-scatter grid.
10. The auxiliary device of claim 9 , wherein the anti-scatter grid is configured to move between a first position covering the detector and a second position not covering the detector.
11. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein an area of the detector is visible through the housing or marked on the housing such that a region of interest of a breast of a subject may be correctly positioned with respect to the detector.
12. The auxiliary device of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a length between 20 and 30 cm, and a width between 15 and 25 cm.
13. A method for providing a medical image of a region of interest in a breast of a subject, the method comprising:
providing the auxiliary device of claim 1 ;
attaching the auxiliary device to a receptor area of a mammography machine;
placing the breast of the subject such that the region of interest is positioned between the detector of the auxiliary device and an X-ray source of the mammography machine;
activating the mammography machine to send X-rays and absorbing the X-rays in the detector; and
generating the medical image of the region-of-interest based on the X-rays absorbed in the detector.
14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising determining the region-of-interest prior to providing the medial image of the region of interest, and wherein the region-of-interest is selected from a mammogram.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the mammogram is generated with the mammography machine.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein generating the medical image comprises generating a first medical image for a first energy bin, and generating a second medical image for a second energy bin.
17. The method of any of claim 13 , wherein the subject has previously been administered an enhanced contrast agent.
18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising analyzing the medical image of the region-of-interest using a computer algorithm.
19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the computer algorithm has been generated with artificial intelligence.