American Journal of Roentgenology, Vol 155, 1189-1193, Copyright © 1990 by American Roentgen Ray Society
Value of increasing film processing time to reduce radiation dose during mammography
SE Skubic, R Yagan, D Oravec and Z Shah
Department of Radiology, MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44109.
We systematically tested the effects on radiation dose and image quality of
increasing the mammographic film processing time from the standard 90 sec
to 3 min. Hurter and Driffield curves were obtained for a Kodak
Min-R-OM1-SO177 screen-film combination processed with Kodak chemistry.
Image contrast and radiation dose were measured for two tissue-equivalent
breast phantoms. We also compared sequential pairs of mammograms, one
processed at 90 sec and one at 3 min, from 44 patients on the basis of nine
categories of image quality. Increased processing time reduced breast
radiation dose by 30%, increased contrast by 11%, and produced slight
overall gains in image quality. Simple modifications can convert a 90-sec
processor to a 3-min unit. We recommend that implementation of extended
processing be considered, especially by those centers that obtain a large
number of screening mammograms. Three-minute film processing can reduce
breast radiation dose by 30% and increase contrast by 11% without
compromising image quality.
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