Digitized mammograms: a preliminary clinical evaluation and the potential for telemammography

We performed a preliminary clinical evaluation of digitized mammograms to assess whether digital images suitable for telemammography could be obtained. Thirty mammograms were digitized at a resolution of 4000x4000 pixels and 12 bit/pixel. The series contained 17 carcinomas in 16 patients. Five consultant radiologists reported both the original mammograms and the digitized images. There was agreement between the reports of the mammograms and the digitized images in relation to whether a suspicious lesion was present or not in 95% of cases. No study considered benign on viewing the film images was interpreted as malignant on reporting the digitized images. This suggests that film digitizers may allow a digital image of a mammogram of acceptable quality for telemammography to be obtained in the absence of a purpose-built digital mammography system.