Digital mammography-detector considerations and new applications

Digital mammography offers the potential to improve the accuracy of detecti on and diagnosis of breast cancer. Key elements of the system are the X-ray detector and the display device and software. The design of each of these must be optimized to provide the expected performance of this new imaging t echnique. In this article, the motivation for digital mammography is briefl y reviewed and the technical requirements of the X-ray detection system are discussed with reference to the current technology. Some important future applications of digital mammography are described. (C) 2001 Elsevier Scienc e B.V. All rights, reserved.