A History of Contrast-Enhanced Mammography

Abstract

The path from conception to clinical adoption of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) spans several decades and is built on advances in both technology and X-ray physics. While contrast imaging of the breast had been proposed and, to some extent, demonstrated almost 20 years before the development of full-field digital mammography units, it was the introduction of clinically useful digital mammography technology that spurred intense interest in the subject. Development of both temporal and dual-energy subtraction methods for CEM happened almost in parallel, and both were shown to be feasible. In the end, however, dual-energy CEM became the technique of choice due to its ability to do multiple-projection, bilateral imaging. Today dual-energy CEM is a commercial product from multiple companies and is increasingly being adopted for routine clinical use throughout the world.