Measured Dose versus Organ Dose Performance in Digital Mammography Systems

The results of a dose survey of digital x-ray imaging equipment in a breast screening programme have been used to compare the measured dose values to the dose values displayed by the mammography systems. A total of 12,104 images were used in the survey, acquired on three types of digital mammography system: GE Essential, Ho logic Selenia and Sectra MDM L30. The results reveal that estimates of the MGD were largely similar between measured and displayed dose for all models in the survey. It was found that large discrepancies could occur on individual systems which may be attributable to various factors including inaccurate QA measurement data and poorly calibrated mammography systems.