-
The birth of Mammography
Eighteen years after the discovery of x-rays in 1895, a German surgeon began a study of 3,000 mastectomies and wondered if by using these newly discovered rays, he could correlate known cancerous tissue of breast specimens to radiographs taken of the same breast. He discovered microcalcifications on the images associated with those specimens with known breast cancer pathology. -
Discovery of compression
Raul Leborgne was a radiologist from Uruguay and one of his insights still makes patients cringe, yet was crucial to the development of mammograms. Leborgne devised an apparatus that would squeeze a patient's breast between a cone and a compression pad in order to hold it flat while an x-ray was taken. He introduced this compression technique in 1949. This compression enhanced the quality of the images. Using it, he was better able to see small structures and use spot/magnification. -
Utilizing lower radiation techniques
In 1959, Egan published a combined mammography technique that used a high-milliamperage–low-voltage technique, thereby decreasing the radiation exposure significantly from previous x-ray techniques and improving the visualization and reproducibility of screening. In 1960, Egan reported on 1,000 mammography cases, demonstrating the ability of proper screening to detect unsuspected cancers and to limit mastectomies on benign masses. -
First dedicated mammography unit
Prior to the late 1960s, there were no commercially available, dedicated mammographic x-ray units. The unit had a compression cone, a most important feature that identified it as a dedicated mammographic unit. Between 1969 and 1973, more than 1000 units were installed all around the world. In the early 1970s, dedicated mammographic units became commercially available from several companies, including General Electric, Philips, Picker, and Siemens. -
First Mobile Mammography Unit
The radiologist Philip Strax was concerned that traditional methods of screening were missing large swathes of the American population, in the late 1960s. Strax decided to develop and operate a self-contained mobile unit that could be driven around New York City. He believed that this shift would overcome a lot of the barriers preventing women from accessing screening services, such as the inconvenient location of many breast cancer clinics, along with their limited operating hours -
American College of Radiology guidelines
The American College of Radiology (ACR) Mammography Accreditation Program which began in late 1987 has had a significant impact on improved and consistent image quality in mammography. The program requires a questionnaire to be completed which includes information such as credentials of staff, type of x-ray equipment, image receptors, processing, and quality control procedures used, mammograms of two patients, a breast phantom image for evaluation of medical physicists, radiation dose evaluation -
Mammography Quality Standards Act signed into law
Due in large part to concerns over patient safety and the quality of mammography screening, the ACR and the United States Congress sought to implement legislation that would regulate mammography screening at the federal level. The intent of this legislation was to establish minimum standards that would ensure that all women have access to quality mammography services. The Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) became law on October 27, 1992 -
MQSA went into effect
On October 1, 1994, the Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) went into effect. To operate lawfully under MQSA, a mammography facility must be certified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In order to be certified, a facility must be accredited by a federally approved, private non-profit or state accreditation body. With the implementation of MQSA, all mammography facilities must apply to a federally-approved accreditation body, undergo periodic review. -
FDA approved digital mammography
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2000 approved a digital mammography system that gave clinicians a powerful tool to perform better diagnoses in women with dense breasts. Clear advantages of digital mammography included reduction of already low radiation exposures, easier storage of mammograms, opportunity to manipulate an image to yield a clearer view of the breast, and facilitation of long-distance consultations with mammography specialists. -
FDA approves Hologic 3D Mammography
The new density labeling was the latest notable claim for Hologic's Genius exam, which at that time was the only mammogram clinically proven to detect 20 to 65 percent more invasive breast cancers compared to 2D alone, with an average increase of 41 percent.