Preface

This book represents the culmination of a decade of conversations and queries regarding digital mammography. When digital mammography was introduced, my colleague Dr. Tamara Haygood and I wondered how digital systems would change mammographic image acquisition and interpretation. Some observers thought that transitioning to digital mammography was similar to converting to a new film-screen combination. We quickly realized that the new digital units had no screens, and thereafter we stopped printing films.

Dr. Haygood and I talked and questioned more. Why did it take longer to read a digital mammogram compared to a film-screen mammogram? What percentage of mammography units were digital? Could digital mammography be successfully implemented on a mobile van? What is the effect of enterprise-wide distribution of mammographic images? What type of a network is needed to support digital mammography? What monitors are required for digital mammography interpretation?

The list of questions keeps going. Currently, we question if tomosynthesis will replace standard planar digital mammography. Is there a role for breast CT? Is digital breast imaging improved with the addition of intravenous contrast material?

The aim of the book is to provide information to practicing radiologists and physicists about all facets of digital mammography. We hope that this book will help you solidify your understanding of digital mammography, from detectors to display to interpretation. Our aim is that this book will provide a core of knowledge, enabling practitioners to understand digital mammography and its derivatives, pose new questions, and find new answers.