Mammoscintigraphy: a new mattress for simultaneous acquisition of both breasts with a dual head camera

Full text: We propose a new mattress that allows the simultaneous acquisition of both breasts, with the patient in the prone position with pendulous breasts, using a dual head camera. The mattress was made of two high-density foam blocks. The smallest block measures 40 cm x 35 cm x 17 cm and the largest, 160 cm x 17 cm. A 0,5 cm thick, 15 cm wide and 30 cm long Ally shield was placed between the breasts, perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the blocs and parallel to the sagittal plane of the patient's body. This Alloy shield, especially made for the mattress, was capable of shielding up to 20 mCi of a technetium-99m source. The amount of scattered radiation caused by the shield was measured with a phantom and was less than 2%. Lateral and 30o oblique images of each breast were obtained simultaneously, for 10 and 7 minutes, respectively. Images of the axillae, for 7 minutes, were obtained in the anterior projection. For comparison, images were obtained using both the conventional and the new mattress. The quality of both images was the same. In conclusion, the new mattress is more comfortable for the patients since there is no need for compression of one breast while imaging the other and has 40% reduction in acquisition time