The role of Compton scattering in scintimammography

Functional breast imaging using ^99mTc MIBI is showing that this technique is able to detect cancer with more than 90% specificity. Using a dedicated gamma camera, with the breast under compression, i.e. in similar conditions of mammography, the detection of sub-centimeter cancers can be improved. A number of factors affects the detection of small cancers as: thickness of the breast, distance between tumor and collimator, cardiac activity. Radioactivity emitted from the body can obscure the breast activity mainly due to the large difference on radioactivity concentration. In this work we analyze the intensity and the energy distribution of Compton scattering coming from the breast by a Germanium detector and by a dedicated imager with a small FOV placed in a geometrical condition similar to mammography. In vivo measurements were performed in patients with a breast cancer ranging between 8 mm and 15 mm. Intensity of Compton scattering from 4 to 10 times greater than full energy peak events resulted. Measurements were compared with ones obtained by a phantom simulating the breast without chest activity demonstrating how large is the Compton contribution from the chest