Mammography | Summary

Purpose: Mammography is used to diagnose breast diseases in women breast, usually breast cancer. This test can’t determine if the tumor is benign or malignant, so if a tumor found usually more tests are recommended, like biopsy.
Description of instrument: there is an x-ray tube in a rectangular box, this x-ray devise used only for mammography. There is shielding to protect the body from the radiation. There is a device that holds and compress the breast, so the thickness of the breast will be equal in all is area (as much as possible).
Film- digital or conventional is exposed to the x-ray that passed through the breast and give as the image.

The scientific principle: the same as all the x-ray diagnostic tests, photon that pass through matter, like breast, are attenuated, the more the Z number of the matter they pass is bigger the less number of photon will pass. The Z number of tumor is greater then the Z of the normal fat that is in the breast, so if there is a tumor we will see in the film a white spot.

Operation: the test is done by a radiologist technologist; the breast is placed on a special platform witch stable and compresses the breast.
While the patient gets the exposure the technologist will be behind a glass. And he will ask the patient to move between each image, this done for each breast separately.
The test is taking 15 minutes.
The dose the patient gets is very low 0.3 mSv.

Safety features: the test is considered to be very safe because it used a very low x-ray beam, and a very low dose. But like every exposure to radiation cell are damaged. If the woman is pregnant she must notify the doctor.
Most expert thinking that the risk is very low in comparison to the benefit.
The x-rays are monitored to assure that the smallest amount of radiation is given.

References:
1. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/mammogram.htm#top
2. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003337.htm