A novel detection system consisting of a large area sensor and a multi-cell Si-pad array operated in spectroscopic mode for x-ray breast imaging

The ability of coherent x-ray scatter to provide the molecular structure of breast tissues could add a new dimension in x-ray breast imaging capable of tracking the molecular structural changes during disease progression and of improving the sensitivity to low-contrast lesions without increasing the radiation dose. Work is under way to build a laboratory prototype dual-sensor breast-imaging scanning system, which combines the diagnostic information from both the transmitted primary and the forward scattered x-rays. This required the design and development of a coherent x-ray scatter detection system based on a high-resistivity multi-element 2D Si-pad array, a multi-channel low-noise pulse processing front-end electronics chip, the XA1.3, and a new DAQ system. Results on the characterization and optimization of the detector-readout electronics-DAQ system and its performance to measure diffraction signatures are presented.