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pp. 713-723
S&M4341 Research paper https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM5995 Published: February 6, 2026 Carbon-fiber-reinforced Foam/Carbon-fiber-reinforced Plastic Hybrid Structure Optimized for Mammography with High X-ray Transmittance [PDF] Toru Negishi, Kiyomitsu Shinsho, Kazuya Mori, Masato Honma, Hiroaki Matsutani, and Tomohiro Takehara (Received October 7, 2025; Accepted December 8, 2025) Keywords: carbon-fiber-reinforced foam (CFRF), X-ray transmittance, flexural stiffness, mammography, dose reduction
To reduce patient radiation exposure in mammographic imaging, we investigated the mechanical and radiographic properties of a newly developed carbon-fiber-reinforced foam (CFRF) and its hybrid structures with conventional carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP). Flexural stiffness and X-ray transmittance were evaluated for multiple composite designs using three-point bending and transmission measurements under mammographic conditions. The CFRF-only specimen demonstrated a 5% improvement in transmittance and a 25% increase in flexural stiffness compared with CFRP. Moreover, the CFRF thickness can be reduced from 3.4 to 3.2 mm while maintaining equivalent stiffness. Among all designs, the CFRP/CFRF/CFRP sandwich structure achieved the highest transmittance (94.1%) and superior stiffness at the same thickness as conventional CFRP, indicating its high suitability for mammographic platforms. The results suggest that CFRF-based composites offer promising potential to reduce radiation dose while maintaining image quality in breast imaging systems.
Corresponding author: Kiyomitsu Shinsho![]() ![]() This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Cite this article Toru Negishi, Kiyomitsu Shinsho, Kazuya Mori, Masato Honma, Hiroaki Matsutani, and Tomohiro Takehara, Carbon-fiber-reinforced Foam/Carbon-fiber-reinforced Plastic Hybrid Structure Optimized for Mammography with High X-ray Transmittance, Sens. Mater., Vol. 38, No. 2, 2026, p. 713-723. |