Date of Award

1-1-2023

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School/Department

Department of Physics

Content Description

1 online resource (iv, 78 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Carolyn MacDonald

Committee Members

Hassan Abbas

Keywords

Breast

Subject Categories

Radiology

Abstract

Mammographic screening has played a pivotal role in reducing mortality rates associated with breast cancer. Despite an overall decline of breast cancer death rates of 43% from 1989 through 2020, breast cancer remains a predominant form of invasive cancer among women. Conventional X-ray imaging used in mammography can yield limited contrast when it comes to substances with similar X-ray attenuation, such as that between benign and cancerous tissue. Mesh-based X-ray phase imaging allows for higher contrast and resolution in similar-density materials. This thesis aims to explore characteristics of the mesh used in this kind of system.To investigate the significance of mesh orthogonality in mesh-based phase imaging, simulations were conducted. Three types of meshes were compared: an orthogonal mesh and oblique meshes with deviations from the horizontal or vertical axes. The use of mesh shifting demonstrated a significant enhancement in phase retrieval within the imaging systems that employed non-orthogonal meshes when compared to the trials conducted without mesh shifting. Next, two meshes of different compositions, stainless steel and nickel copper alloy meshes, were used in a biological phase imaging set-up. Theoretically, a higher-atomic-number mesh would produce a stronger absorption gradient, resulting in better phase images. However, noticeable, periodic artifacts were observed within the alloy mesh phase images that appeared rotated to the same degree as the mesh. Further investigation into other processing techniques might be advantageous to reduce artifacts.

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