A comparative study of films and screens for mammography

Ten films and six screens suitable for mammography have been compared for image quality using a realistic quantitative phantom under controlled conditions. The best screen was Min R (Kodak), but three black and white films, Min R (Kodak), Fuji II NC (Fuji) and MR3 (Agfa-Gevaert), scored highly. Patient dose was also considered and, with these three films, small gains in image quality were balanced by small increases in dose. Medichrome Blue film, however, gave the highest score of all, and did so for a dose that was less than the highest. These results were confirmed on a second phantom of entirely different design.