Breast Dose Measurements on a Large Group of Patients: Results from a 4 Year Period

This study includes a sample of 2103 women examined within the Galicia screening programme during the period 1993-1997. Ten X ray units (six fixed and four mobiles) are used for examining the women who are in the age group 50-64. The mean thickness of the compressed breasts was 52 mm for the whole period. The mean AGD value per film and per year (ranging from 1.2 mGy to 2.1 mGy) was mostly lower than the standard AGD values. The mean ESAK value per year for compressed breast thickness between 40-60 mm and cranio-caudal projection (ranging from 5.7 mGy to 11.1 mGy) was lower (except in the first year) than the limiting value of 10 mGy proposed in the European Protocol on Dosimetry in Mammography. The results of comparing both sets of values suggest that the 45 mm PMMA phantom overestimates the dose delivered to the women examined. (author)