Controlled single-blind clinical evaluation of low-dose mammographic screen--film systems.

The ability of five low-dose mammographic screen--film systems to portray normal and abnormal breast structures was evaluated in parallel with a study of physical image properties. Single-blind evaluations of the visibility of normal breast architecture, mass lesions, and calcifications were made on the mammograms of 100 patients radiographed with each of the systems. There was increased noise and slightly poorer resolution for the faster recording systems, but there was no difference in final diagnostic impressions among the five systems. These results suggest that the faster systems will result in substantial dose reduction without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy.