Physical and technical aspects of digital mammography

The establishment of digital mammography systems constitutes a slow process, the reason for this being the general need of particular image quality in mammography. This article provides an overview of the physical basis of digital mammography with high image quality and dose as low as reasonably achievable. The trade-off of high contrast resolution and effective quantum efficiency of the imaging system on the one hand, and the demand of high spatial resolution or very small pixel size on the other hand is discussed. The actual status of the available digital detector technology for mammography is described. The digital systems presently available are superior to conventional screen-film mammographic systems with respect to contrast resolution. An outlook on possible further developments in the field of digital mammography is presented.