Update on digital mammography

On January 28, 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first full-field digital mammography unit for clinical use. The approval occurred approximately ten years after a National Cancer Institute (NCI) expert panel determined that, of all emergent technologies, digital mammography held the greatest potential for improving breast cancer detection [1,2]. Currently, four types of digital mammographic systems are under clinical evaluation. This article will review the information from the early clinical trials on digital mammography and will attempt to define the potential impact of digital mammography on the clinical practice of breast imaging.