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Breast compression is used in mammography to improve image quality and reduce radiation dose. However, the compression may lead to discomfort or pain for the women. Breast compression time is longer with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) than with digital mammography (DM). We aimed to explore breast compression parameters with DM and DBT. Material and Methods We used information from 16,832 women participating in the Tomosynthesis Trial in Bergen between January 2016 and April 2017. We compared mean values of applied compression force (N), compression pressure (kPa) and compressed breast thickness (mm) for DM and DBT, by view (craniocaudal, CC, and mediolateral-oblique, MLO). Two-sample ttests were used to test statistical significance. Results Number of women screened with DM or DBT were similar (DM: n= 8354 and DBT: n= 8478). Mean compression force was statistically significantly higher for DM compared to DBT (CC: 108.6 N versus 102.7 N; MLO: 122.4 N versus 120.8 N, p <0.01). Mean compression pressure was higher for DM compared to DBT for CC view (13.9 kPa versus 13.0 kPa, p<0.01), however, not for MLO view (DM and DBT: 9.7 kPa, p= 0.55). Mean compressed breast thickness did not differ statistically significantly for DM compared to DBT (CC: 58.7 mm N versus 58.6 mm, p= 0.72; MLO: 60.1 mm versus 59.9 mm, p= 0.23). Conclusion Radiographers applied less breast compression with DBT compared to DM. However, the observed differences were negligible. Further research should investigate the clinical implications of the differences, such as image quality. |
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Breast
Digital breast tomosynthesis
Image compression
Digital mammography
Image quality
Digital imaging
Mammography
