How is computer-aided detection different than digital mammography?
Both digital and film mammography use X-rays to produce an image of the breast. In film mammography, which has been used for over 35 years, the image is created directly on a film. Once a film mammogram is obtained, it cannot be significantly altered; if the film is underexposed, the contrast, which is the difference between the lightest and darkest areas on a display screen, is lost and cannot be regained. Digital mammography takes an electronic image of the breast and stores it directly in a computer. Digital mammography allows improvement in image storage and transmission because images can be stored and sent electronically. With CAD, the film mammogram is converted to a digital image. But this converted image is like a digital copy of a photograph, whereas with digital mammography, the ‘picture’ of the breast is directly recorded as a digital image and can be magnified and manipulated like people magnify and manipulate a digital photograph. CAD reviews patterns of the digital image
