PHYSICISTS IN MAMMOGRAPHY - A HISTORICAL-PERSPECTIVE

Medical physicists and engineers, working with radiologists and techno logists, have made significant contributions in the design of mammogra phic x-ray units and image receptors, as well as in the development of methods for evaluating mammographic image quality and procedures for quality control. More accurate methods of measuring radiation exposure in the energy range of mammography and more relevant calculations of radiation dose to breast tissue at risk have also been realized. This article will discuss some of the major contributions made by medical p hysicists for the benefit of mammography. Contributions of radiologist s in mammography have been published elsewhere [Bassett, Gold, and Kim me-Smith (1994)]. All contributions cited in this article are based on referenced publications and citations in the following: Medical Physi cs; Radiology; NCRP Report No. 85; Quality Determinants in Mammography ; AAPM Report No. 29; Reduced Dose Mammography, W. W. Logan and E. P. Muntz (editors); RSNA Categorical Course: Technical Aspects of Breast Imaging, A. Haus and M. Yaffe (editors); Film Processing in Medical Im aging, A. G. Haus (editor); Screen-Film Mammography: Imaging Considera tions in Medical Physics, G. T. Barnes and G. Donald Frey (editors). T he article is divided into six sections: (1) x-ray equipment and recep tor development, (2) image quality, (3) radiation dose, (4) phantoms, (5) quality assur ance, (6) digital mammography, and (7) reports and c ommittees.