Average glandular dose with amorphous silicon full-field digital mammography - Clinical results.
OBJECTIVE
Determination of average glandular dose with a full-field digital mammography system using a flat-panel X-ray detector based on amorphous silicon technology for a large group of patients.


METHODS
The patient group includes women who were examined in a 4-month period with the digital mammographic system Senographe 2000D. The number of women was 591 and the number of exposures was 1116; only cranio-caudal projections were considered. Various quantities, including entrance surface air kerma, tube loading, and compressed breast thickness, were determined during actual mammography. Average glandular dose was determined using conversion factors g for standard breast composition.


RESULTS
The mean average glandular dose was 1.51 mGy (0.66 - 4.05 mGy) for a single view. The mean compressed breast thickness was 55.7 mm. The mean age of patients was 55 years (34 - 81 years).


CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate that full-field digital mammography with a flat-panel detector based on amorphous silicon needs about 25 % less dose in comparison with conventional screen-film mammography.
Hermann
K P
KP
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Germany. kherman@gwdg.de
Obenauer
S
S
Marten
K
K
Kehbel
S
S
Fischer
U
U
Grabbe
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001940:Breast / Q000528:radiation effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D012825:Silicon
D012825:Silicon