ANALYSIS OF MEAN GLANDULAR DOSE IN ONE DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY UNIT IN NORTH MACEDONIA
Mirjeta MEDIJI ARIFI, Mimoza RISTOVA, Vesna GERSHAN
Abstract
Mean glandular dose (MGD) represents a metric for quantifying the absorbed X-ray radiation by the breast glandular tissue during mammography procedures. The average glandular tissue dose is evaluated from the mean dose divided by the glandular tissue volume. Optimization in digital mammography ensures that the patients receive the lowest radiation dose feasible without deteriorating the diagnostic image quality. Despite the significance of this optimization, up to our knowledge, no studies have yet assessed the actual MGD of the Fuji Amulet S mammography system.
This study aims to estimate incident kerma for the Fuji Amulet S mammography system. The study aims at developing effective methods for reducing MGD without sacrificing digital image quality. The study presents findings from 400 patients undergoing mammography, a total number of 1600 mammograms at a North Macedonian facility, utilizing dose monitoring software (DOSE, QAELUM), both image data and survey responses were collected.
Median MGD, along with minimum and maximum values, were evaluated to be 1.73 mGy, 0.77 mGy, and 7.01 mGy, respectively. For the breast thickness range between 45 mm and 65 mm, the 25th and 75th percentiles for median MGD were evaluated to be 1.44 mGy and 2.04 mGy. These results suggest that the MGD values (in mGy) are somewhat lower than those outlined in European guidelines.
Pages:
510 - 515