Mammography

Question 1

Are high or low energy beams used in mammography, and why?

Answer 1

low energy, because there’s only a small amount of contrast difference between glandular tissue and pathological tissue

Question 2

Do fatty breast have better or worse contrast (compared to cancers) than dense breasts?

Answer 2

Fatty breasts have better contrast

Question 3

What features are you looking for on mammography

Answer 3

• Microcalcifications
  
  • Masses with spiculated margins
  • Architectural distortion

Question 4

How is the anode heel effect utilised in mammography

Answer 4

The thicker portion of the breast (towards the chest) is put closer to the cathode, as this bit receives more x-rays

Question 5

What anode/ target materials are commonly used in mammography?

Answer 5

Molybdenum (Mo)

Rhodium (Rh)

Question 6

Advantages of breast compression in mammography?

Answer 6

- Reduced thickness of breast
		○ Decreases magnification/ blurring
		○ Reduces radiation dose needed
	- Reduces scatter
	- Uniform thickness achieved
	- Spreads out superimposed anatomy
	- Reduces motion

Question 7

Ways scatter is reduced in mammography

Answer 7

breast compression

Grids

Question 8

What 3 factors determine unsharpness of digital radiography detectors?

Answer 8

Signal diffusion (diffusion of light in the system)
Active area of each element (aperture, aspect of sensor compared to rest of electronics etc)
The pitch (space between different sensors)

Question 9

What metric is used to calculate radiation adverse effect in mammography?

Answer 9

mean glandular dose

Question 10

What unit is ‘mean glandular dose’ measured in?

Answer 10

grays

Question 11

What is breast tomosynthesis

Answer 11

multiple low dose x-rays are taken from different angles and then computers used to do some 3D reconstruction stuff