How Long Does It Take to Read a Mammogram? Investigating the Reading Time of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis and Digital Mammography

Partridge, George J.W.; Darker, Iain; James, Jonathan J.; Satchithananda, Keshthra; Sharma, Nisha; Valencia, Alexandra; Teh, William; Khan, Humaira; Muscat, Elizabeth; Michell, Michael J.; Chen, Yan

Abstract

Purpose
To analyse digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) reading times in the screening setting, compared to 2D full-field digital mammography (FFDM), and investigate the impact of reader experience and professional group on interpretation times.

Method
Reading time data were recorded in the PROSPECTS Trial, a prospective randomised trial comparing DBT plus FFDM or synthetic 2D mammography (S2D) to FFDM alone, in the National Health Service (NHS) breast screening programme, from January 2019-February 2023. Time to read DBT+FFDM or DBT+S2D and FFDM alone was calculated per case and reading times were compared between modalities using dependent T-tests. Reading times were compared between readers from different professional groups (radiologists and radiographer readers) and experience levels using independent T-tests. The learning curve effect of using DBT in screening on reading time was investigated using a Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results
Forty-eight readers interpreted 1,242 FFDM batches (34,210 FFDM cases) and 973 DBT batches (13,983 DBT cases). DBT reading time was doubled compared to FFDM (2.09 ± 0.64 min vs. 0.98 ± 0.30 min; p < 0.001), and DBT+S2D reading was longer than DBT + FFDM (2.24 ± 0.62 min vs. 2.04 ± 0.46 min; p = 0.006). No difference was identified in reading time between radiologists and radiographers (2.06 ± 0.71 min vs. 2.14 ± 0.46 min, respectively; p = 0.71). Readers with five or more years of experience reading DBT were quicker than those with less experience (1.86 ± 0.56 min vs. 2.37 ± 0.65 min; p = 0.008), and DBT reading time decreased after less than 9 months accrued screening experience (p = 0.01).

Conclusions
DBT reading times were double those of FFDM in the screening setting, but there was a short learning curve effect with readers showing significant improvements in reading times within the first nine months of DBT experience.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 27, 2024
• Online Publication Date: May 28, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-08
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 18, 2024
• Journal: European Journal of Radiology
• Print ISSN: 0720-048X
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 177
• Article Number: 111535
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2024.111535
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/36006993
• Publisher URL: https://www.ejradiology.com/article/S0720-048X(24)00251-1/fulltext