The objective of this research is to develop and evaluate a novel screen-film combination which will significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy in breast cancer screening of women with dense breasts. The new screen-film combination is designed to make efficient use of the scintillation light emitted in the phosphor screen to generate additional and important diagnostic information at no increase in patient radiation risk. The design uses two films in combination with a phosphor screen in a single x-ray cassette, so that two images can be obtained simultaneously from a single exposure. The phosphor screen and films are combined to produce effective film speeds which differ by a factor of two between the two films. By using films with similar exposure latitude as that of typical mammography films, this difference in film speeds produces a factor of two wider exposure latitude than conventional screen- film mammography. The use of this new screen-film combination will allow dense regions of the compressed breasts to be displayed with higher film contrast. Using a prototype dual screen-dual film combination, our preliminary study has demonstrated a significant improvement in the detection of masses in the dense regions of breast phantoms. The use of this new method may also lead to breakthroughs in other areas of radiography where exposure latitude presents a significant problem.
There is a great world wide market for breast cancer screening devices which can provide improved diagnostic accuracy in a population of patients with dense breasts. The proposed new screen- film combination provides a cost-effective solution to dense breast problems, and can be used in every mammography center with negligible added capital cost. Success in mammography may also be expanded to other areas of medical and industrial radiography.
