Visualization of breast microcalcifications on digital breast tomosynthesis and 2-dimensional digital mammography using specimens

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the visibility of microcalcifications of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and full-field digital mammography (FFDM) using breast specimens. Materials And Methods: Thirty-one specimens’ DBT and FFDM were retrospectively reviewed by four readers. Results: The image quality of microcalcifications of DBT was rated as superior or equivalent in 71.0% by reader 1, 67.8% by reader 2, 64.5% by reader 3, and 80.6% by reader 4. The Fleiss kappa statistic for agreement among readers was 0.31. Conclusions: We suggest that image quality of DBT appears to be comparable with or better than FFDM in terms of revealing microcalcifications.