Comparison of Average Glandular Dose of Breast Based on Combination of Anode/Filter Tungsten/Rhodium and Tungsten/Argentum on Digital Mammography

Mammography is the most effective way to detect breast abnormality among women. However, mammography is believed to be able to cause radiation induced carcinogenesis. Therefore dose measurement is important to estimate the risk and to control the quality of the image. This study was conducted to compare the average glandular dose (AGD) acquired by the breast phantom with two different anode/filter combination which are tungsten/rhodium (W/Rh) and tungsten/argentum (W/Ag). CIRS 012A breast phantom was exposed in craniocaudal (CC) projection using Hologic Selenia digital mammography system. Entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) was measured using thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD). AGD was obtained from basic calculation of ESAK with conversion factors according to Euref protocol. Independent t-test showed significant difference in the mean AGD. The AGD for W/Rh is higher as compared to the AGD for W/Ag (p = 0.002, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.53). In conclusion, the use of W/Ag contributes to dose reduction during mammography examination.