Evaluation of the exposure index as a quality indicator in mammography
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Τζούτη, Αλεξάνδρα
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Abstract
A research from October 2020 to August 2021, was performed with 124
female patients, who underwent a mammography examination, including 4
different projections: Right CranioCaudal (RCC), Right MedioLateral Oblique
(RMLO), Left CranioCaudal (LCC), Left MedioLateral Oblique (LMLO). Data
collection took place in university general hospital of Patras, located in Rio,
Greece.
For each patient, data were recorded from the mammography system, such
as exposure mode, exposure parameters (tube voltage, tube current), focal spot,
anode/filter combination, compressed breast thickness (CBT), compression
force, paddle dimensions, dosimetric parameters (ESD, AGD), exposure index
(EI) and deviation index (DI). The digital mammography system brought into
service was the Hologic Selenia Dimensions (Hologic, Inc., Danbury, CT. 06810,
U.S.A.). The mammography system used for this study, was under a systematic
Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) (QA/QC) program by the
Medical Physics Department of the hospital.
Descriptive statistics were used for expressing values of the data. The mean
values of CBT, tube current, AGD and EI are slightly higher for the MLO
projections. Kruskal-Wallis test was utilized for the comparison between EI and
several parameters. It was found, also with the help of scatter plots, that EI is
statistically dependent on tube voltage, tube current and CBT. Mann-Whitney
test was used for the comparison between EI and two different paddles, between
EI and two different anode/filter combinations and between EI and four different
image views. This test demonstrated a statistically strong dependence between
EI and the paddle’s dimensions and between EI and the choice of anode/filter
combination.
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Keywords
Exposure index, Mammography, Deviation index