Clinical utility of the radiation dose management system for full field digital mammography (FFDM): In Asian women with dense breast tissue.

Abstract

70 Background: In the perspectives on radiation dose, there are consensus of importance on radiation dose management for patient safety and trends to reduce radiation dose for patient safety. Radiation dose management system like Radimetrics helps radiologists optimize protocols and reduce radiation dose. There is no previous data applying the radiation dose management system in mammography.We investigated the clinical usefulness of the radiation dose management system in full field digital mammography (FFDM) using commercial Radiation dose management system. Methods: We did radiation dose tracking, monitoring, and statistics through the existed radiation dose management system (Radimetrics). The utilization data, parameter, and dose report were sent to the conventional picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and the Radimetrics enterprise flat form. And we could review the data including age, kVp, mAs, breast thickness, and compression force under the web base. We analyzed the breast composition depending on the BI-RADS assessment categories. We evaluated the correlation of the age, kVp, mAs, breast thickness, compression force, and breast composition with organ dose of breast. Additionally, in patients with above diagnostic reference level ( ≥ 75%) of radiation dose, the causes were analyzed. Results: From February to May 2015, 3076 sets of FFDM were performed and sent to PACS and the radiation dose management system (Radimetrics). In total 3076 sets, 2520 were routine bilateral FFDM with 4 views. The mean glandular dose was 6.59± 2.87 mGy (2.63-18.46). In the correlation analysis, the age had moderate negative linear relationship with organ dose. The mAs and breast composition had moderate positive linear relationship with organ dose. The kVp, breast thickness, and compression force had weak positive linear relationship with organ dose. Patients with above diagnostic reference level ( ≥ 75%) of radiation dose showed dense breast composition and thicker breast. Conclusions: The radiation dose management system is useful in FFDM. Especially in Asian women with thick and dense breasts, radiation dose should be carefully managed.