Quality analysis of digital mammography facilities in Shanghai

Objective To investigate the application and quality status of digital mammography facilities in Shanghai. Methods In accordance with national standard and regulations, 9 technical parameters of 53 digital mammography facilities in Shanghai were tested using X-ray test tools and image quality test phantom. The performances of digital radiography (DR) and computed radiography (CR) systems were compared on the basis of the tested parameters by using SPSS17.0 software. The qualified rates of all tested parameters were compared. Further comparisons were performed in the two types of digital mammography facilities in terms of average glandular dose and image quality. Result No statistically significant difference was found in the qualified rate and averaged glandular dose between DR and CR mammography systems. The image quality of the DR system is better than that of the CR system with statistically significant difference. Conclusion Radiation protection for DR mammography systems should be optimized. Status test is very important to maintain the quality of digital mammography facilities. Key words: Quality control; Digital mammography system; Average glandular dose