Current Status of the Mammography Facility Image Evaluation Committee

Abstract

Mammographic screening for breast cancer was recommended in a notification issued by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Notification Roken No. 65) in 2000. To reduce mortality due to breast cancer, the Central Committee on Quality Control of Mammographic Screening (Central Committee) was organized by six screening-related societies in 1997, and attempts had been made to establish a quality control system before Notification Roken No. 65. The Education and Training Committee and the Mammography Facility Image Evaluation Committee were created by this committee. Physicians and technicians who are approved in the training course then receive certification by the former committee. Image evaluation was started in 2001. Initially, only screen-film (S/F) images were evaluated ; however due to the increase in the use of digital mammography systems, the evaluation of digital images (hard copies) was started in 2004 based on the same criteria as those for S/F images. In this paper, we describe (1) changes in image quality evaluation methods, (2) changes in image quality evaluation, and (3) changes in the numbers of evaluations of digital and S/F facilities.
Control of mammographic screening is being developed. However, the number of systems that have undergone facility image evaluation is approximately 1,000, which accounts for only one-third of all installed systems. It would be desirable for all facilities conducting mammographic screening as well as detailed mammography examinations to undergo facility image evaluation.