Development of a dual-detector system based on a-Si:H arrays and multi-element silicon detectors for diffraction-enhanced breast imaging

X-ray diffraction analysis of normal and diseased breast tissue specimens as well as cell lines proved that there are significant differences in measured spectra, if cancer is present, enabling us to quantify the various clinical conditions enhancing diagnosis. It was also demonstrated that the stereoscopic presentation of images of breast samples obtained by an a-Si:H-based digital imaging system provides important additional information and has potential benefits over the more traditional two-dimensional (2-D) data. Work is currently under way to build a prototype stereoscopic digital dual-sensor breast imaging system to evaluate the potential of diffraction-enhanced imaging approach and the likely increased detectability offered by this technique in comparison with current breast imaging modalities.