Evaluation of Dosimetric Properties in Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) - Development of a New Dose Index

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, constituting 29% of all cancers related to the female population. In this context, Full Field Digital Mammography (FFDM) is the reference imaging technique for breast cancer early detection and diagnosis and it is widely employed in screening programs. Therefore, the absorbed radiation dose for each examination shall be evaluated in order to ensure proper radiation exposures for the patient. In addition, the new European Directive 59/2013/EURATOM requires that dosimetric data referred to the radiation exposure should be inserted in the radiological report. For these reasons, we designed a multidisciplinary research project with the intention of realizing and validating a new method for calculating the Average Absorbed Breast Dose (2ABD) by the patient during a mammography procedure. The innovative aspect regards the availability of a quantitative and personalized dosimetric parameter, providing an index that is patient-specific rather than related to the X-ray machine output, directly related to the risk of radiation. Specifically, in this work we present our scientific approach as well as the initial results.