Overview of a Digital Tomosynthesis development: Newapproaches for low-dose chest imaging

Abstract

Lung cancer has the highest mortality rate among all cancer types, and it has especially high occurrence in Hungary. Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been proved to be a beneficial screening method for lung cancer, decreasing the mortality rate by 20 %. Because of the intensifying fears from X-ray radiation, there is a need to develop other modalities that might work with less radiation and have similar sensitivity in lung nodule finding. Digital tomosynthesis (DTS) may be such a modality that can be a real alternative to LDCT. The goal of this article is to summarise the first results of a Hungarian project for developing a DTS system extended with a computer-aided detection system. It describes the main approaches applied and the main benefits of using DTS based on the first clinical examinations.