Realistic Simulation of Microcalcifications in Breast Tomosynthesis

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) provides a possible solution to overcome the problem of overlapping tissue since it provides a 3D volume representation of the imaged object In order to study the detectability of lesions in DBT, we have developed a simulation tool where objects are simulated into real projection DBT images The methodology has already been validated for 3D geometrical shapes and has now been extended to irregularly shaped lesions The work focuses on the simulation of clusters of microcalcifications that are modeled using micro-CT images of biopsy specimens containing such lesions The compilation of a database of microcalcifications clusters classified following Le Gal nomenclature is ongoing These extracted model lesions were then simulated into images of biopsy specimens next to the original real cluster in order to confirm the realism of the simulation.