Richard Baheza1, Brian Welch2,
John Gore3, Thomas Yankeelov3
1Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt,
Nashville, TN, United States; 2Philips Healthcare; 3Institute
of Imag Science and Dep of Radiology Sciences, Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN,
United States
The
possibility of detecting calcium deposits in breast has been investigated by
simulation and experimentally. Susceptibility weighted imaging is used to
simulate and measure signature due to magnetic susceptibility difference
between calcium and water in tissue. Simulated and experimental data with
different levels of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and resolution are analyzed
by two methods. Crosscorrelation between simulated phase and data, and the
relative magnetic susceptibility difference map, computed directly from data.
Both methods are compared to locate 1mm object induced signature. Results
suggest SNR≥20 and voxel size ≤ 0.25 mm (isotropic) are needed for both
methods to work.