Initial clinical experiences with digital full-field mammography

Abstract

Digital full-field mammography has been used at the Department of Radiology of Charité Medical Center in Berlin since June 1999. This study compares the new digital technique with conventional mammography including a survey of its value in breast imaging and an outline of future prospects. More than 1,000 of a total of over 5,000 mammographies performed between June 1999 and April 2000 have been obtained using the digital full-field mammography system Senographe 2000D (GE Medical Systems). The digital mammograms were compared with previous conventional films and conventional mammographies performed during the same period (Philips UC Diagnost, Senographe DMRplus). Digital mammographies were equal to conventional ones in all cases and seemed to be superior in detecting microcalcifications in dense glandular tissue. Adequate assessment was possible despite the lower spatial resolution compared to conventional mammography. Additional magnified images were obtained with both techniques for differentiating microcalcifications. Digital full-field mammography appears to be at least equal to the conventional technique and even superior in some respects. In our experience, the lower spatial resolution of digital mammography has no major disadvantages. The digital system provides new options for electronic storage of mammograms, telemammography, and computer-aided diagnosis.