We analyzed the compression pressures in 2772 mammography images of 807 patients acquired by digital mammography equipment at four facilities. The analysis included the average compression pressure at all facilities, difference in compression pressure at each facility, differences between the pressures used by radiological technologists in the same facility, and difference attributed to the breast structure. We also analyzed the effects of the compression pressure on the breast thickness and mean glandular dose (MGD) at each facility. The median values of the compression pressure and breast thickness for the 2772 images at all facilities were 86.5 N and 43 mm, respectively. The compression pressures differed among the institutions. The maximum difference in the median pressures among the four facilities was 38.6 N, while the difference in the breast thickness was 6 mm. The radiological technologists working at the same facility used almost the same compression pressure. However, differences between the compression pressures used by different radiological technologists were observed. The compression pressure in a dense breast was smaller than that in a non-dense breast. The difference in the compression pressure affected the breast thickness and MGD. The results of this analysis could be utilized for an optimal imaging in future digital mammography.
Keywords: compressed breast thickness; compression force; digital mammography.