A dual-screen/dual-emulsion film combination (Kodak MinR Fast screen/TMG film) that allows for a decrease in patient exposure was evaluated with widely used single-screen/single-emulsion systems (Kodak MinR/OM, Kodak MinR/MinR, and Toshiba MM6/MINC film) in contact to mammography. Clustered microcalcifications randomly superimposed on a breast specimen were detected, and the locations were determined by eight observers. The dual screen-film system provided about a 64% reduction in patient exposure compared with the single-screen/single-emulsion system (MM6/MINC), but it failed to equal the single-system in detection of simulated microcalcifications. Our results suggested that the conventional single-screen/single-emulsion systems showed better detectability of microcalcifications than the dual-screen/dual-emulsion film combinations.
