Absorbed dose in xeromammography.

The authors have compared the average absorbed dose and the skin exposure per picture from conventional (30 kV, Mo anode, 0.03 mm Mo filter) mammography with that from xeroradiography (38--42 kV, W anode, 1--2 mm Al total filtration). The average absorbed dose per xeromammogram is 4--5 mGy (0.4--0.5 rad), about four times less than in film-mammography. This value is equal to that obtained by others using the DuPont "Lo Dose I" system but is an order of magnitude higher than that published in the literature for Kodak "Mini-R" and "Trimax-rare earth" 3M system. The consumables per picture are about nine times cheaper in xeromammography than in film-mammography.