The Mammographic Unit and the Image Receptors

This chapter discusses the parameters that describe radiographic image quality, spatial resolution and contrast. The mammographic unit and its main constituent elements are dealt with, in particular for full-field digital mammography (FFDM), and the dedicated detector, or sensitive plane. The production of the X-ray beam is briefly discussed, in terms of the quality and quantity of the beam. Line focus principle and heel effect are outlined. Compression in mammography is introduced, from a physical perspective.