Calcium oxalate crystals in benign breast cyst fluid

We have recently observed a strongly birefringent material of varying shapes and sizes in a benign breast cyst fluid specimen from a 52-yr-old woman with suspicious mammographic microcalcifications. The finding of calcium oxalate crystals in the breast cyst fluid should be regarded as a recognition of a particular type of calcification, easily overlooked with the conventional light microscopy. To date, we are unaware of any cytologic reports of this type of calcification in the breas

Contrast cancellation technique applied to digital x-ray imaging using silicon strip detectors

Dual-energy mammographic imaging experimental tests have been performed using a compact dichromatic imaging system based on a conventional x-ray tube, a mosaic crystal, and a 384-strip silicon detector equipped with full-custom electronics with single photon counting capability. For simulating mammal tissue, a three-component phantom, made of Plexiglass, polyethylene, and water, has been used. Images have been collected with three different pairs of x-ray energies: 16–32 keV, 18–36 keV, and 20–40 keV. A Monte Carlo simulation of the experiment has also been carried out using the MCNP-4C transport code. The Alvarez-Macovski algorithm has been applied both to experimental and simulated data to remove the contrast between two of the phantom materials so as to enhance the visibility of the third one