Model to analyze radiographic factors in mammography

A regression model and analysis is presented to determine the effect of various radiographic factors on mammographic breast exposures. The analysis is based on data collected jointly by the six Regional Centers for Radiological Physics (CRPs) at some sixty installations throughout the United States. A "stepwise regression analysis" of this data projects that the choice between xerox and screen-film receptors is the most critical factor affecting breast exposure followed by choice of HVL and target material. The analysis also shows that, although, for a given receptor categroy, the breast surface exposure varied over a wide range for the diverse techniques acceptable to radiologists, the receptor exposures varied over a rather narrow range of +/- 12%.