Digital imaging: technical developments and UK perspective

A remarkable variety of designs for full-field digital mammography have been developed. Computed radiography systems, using laser-stimulated photo-stimulable phosphor technology, which are widely used for general radiography, are increasingly also used for mammography. Computed radiography has received a new lease of life with the introduction of dedicated dual reading technology at 50 μm pixel size. Other designs have integrated digital detector systems where the detector and read-out mechanism are built into the breast platform. The quality of display monitors is regarded as crucial and dual cathode ray tube displays with 2000 × 2500 resolution are becoming standard, but it is likely that high-resolution liquid crystal displays will supplant these. Although most systems demonstrate an image quality that is superior to existing film screens, some are inferior. New standards are being introduced for image quality to verify that new digital systems have a performance that is at least as good as current systems. While digital systems may be readily introduced into a symptomatic role, their use in screening is more problematic because of the high throughput required for both acquisition and display. A number of informal trials of digital systems in screening and assessment environments are taking place in the UK.