Authors:
Chiara Sottocornola
1
;
2
;
3
;
Antonio Traino
2
;
Patrizio Barca
1
;
3
;
Giacomo Aringhieri
1
;
4
;
Carolina Marini
2
;
Alessandra Retico
3
;
Davide Caramella
4
and
Maria Evelina Fantacci
1
;
3
Affiliations:
1
Università di Pisa, Italy
;
2
Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana, Italy
;
3
Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Italy
;
4
Dipartimento di Ricerca Traslazionale e delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina e Chirurgia, Italy
Keyword(s):
Mammography, Dose-Index in Mammography, Average Glandular Dose, Breast Absorbed Dose, Dosimetry in Mammography.
Abstract:
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 pa
rameter, 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.
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