Evaluating digital mammography systems

This lecture is going to discuss the relevant practical issues for the medical physicist who plans on performing physics testing on full‐field digital mammography units. The lecture will be broken into parts. The first will discuss what is important in preparing for the testing that includes training recommendations, recommended and required test tools, and practical site issues. The second part will discuss important issues when performing the actual physics testing. This will include describing the actual physics tests and comparing them to screen‐film mammography, measuring patient dose, evaluating for artifacts, evaluating clinical images, and experiences from previous testing. Finally, the third part will discuss the writing of the report, technologist QC, tips for dealing with the site, the techs, and the ACR. Relevant information and examples from the different FFDM unit manufacturers will be included throughout the lecture. © 2005, American Association of Physicists in Medicine. All rights reserved.