Average glandular dose of patients undergoing digital breast tomosynthesis mammography examination at East Avenue Medical Center, Philippines

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a medical imaging modality utilised in acquiring multiple two-dimensional images in various projections to visualise a three-dimensional image of the breast. The study aims to analyse the average glandular dose (AGD) received by symptomatic patients during their mammography examination conducted in TomoHD mode at East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC). Routine performance tests based on the American College of Radiology (ACR) Digital Mammography Quality Control Manual were conducted. Image quality evaluations of the patients’ mammograms were conducted by the breast radiologists. The DBT procedure data of patients with acceptable image quality evaluations were analysed. The median of the AGD data distribution in this study was determined. Seventy-four study participants, with an age range of 26 to 69 years old and overall compressed breast thickness (CBT) range of 32.25 to 69.5 mm, were utilised in this study. Image qualities of 96% of the study participants were found to be acceptable while the remaining 4% received recommendations to repeat the image acquisition. Tube loading, peak kilovoltage, and CBT were found to significantly affect the AGD for both projections. The overall AGD median was determined to be 2.13 mGy which is within the recommended 3.0 mGy acceptable limit of ACR.