Abstract
A wide variety of digital mammography systems are available for breast cancer imaging, each varying in physical performance. However, the relationship between physical performance assessment and clinical outcome is not clear. Thus, a means of simulating technically and clinically realistic images from different systems would represent a first step towards elucidating the impact of physical performance on clinical outcome. To this end, a framework for simulating technically realistic images has been developed. A range of simulated test objects, including CDMAM have been used to determine whether the simulation chain correctly reproduces these objects thus validating the simulation framework. Results evaluated for two digital mammography systems have been promising, with simulated images proving similar to experimental images for Modulation Transfer Function and Normalised Noise Power Spectrum measurements differing by approximately 3%.