Start-to-end simulation of a Thomson source for mammography

Thomson scattering X-ray sources have many features which are of relevance for several applications: the main one is the capability to produce intense, quasi-monochromatic, tunable X-ray beams, after collimation, still with a reasonably small size apparatus. Applications to medical physics are straightforward, in particular in mammography where dose control in screening programs is the main relevant issue. An optimal choice of the X-ray energy to image the breast will result in a best image quality and hence will lead to a dose reduction.A Thomson scattering source is presently under development at the Frascati National Laboratories (LNF) of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare).A complete simulation of the source including electron beam, laser beam, Thomson interaction and X-ray imaging is presented. The X-rays are generated in the energy range suitable for mammography and used to generate images of a mammographic phantom.Image quality is evaluated in terms of dose efficiency and compared to those obtained by monochromatic beams and conventional X-ray tubes.