Contrast-enhanced digital mammography and angiogenesis

Angiogenesis could be a means for pouring contrast media around tumors. In this work, optimization of radiological parameters for contrast-enhanced subtraction techniques in mammography has been performed. A modification of Lemacks' analytical formalism was implemented to model the X-ray absorption in the breast with contrast medium and detection by a digital image receptor. Preliminary results of signal-to-noise ratio analysis show the advantage of subtracting two images taken at different energies, one prior and one posterior to the injection of contrast medium. Preliminary experimental results using a custom-made phantom have shown good agreement with calculations. A proposal is presented for the clinical application of the optimized technique, which aims at finding correlations between angiogenesis indicators and dynamic variables of contrast medium uptake.