An FDA communiqué to mammography facilities “said that printing breast
images to hard-copy film is no longer necessary and can be performed at the
discretion of individual centers”.
Over the past 20 years,
there has been significant evolution in mammography, with the shift from
screen-film to digital imaging being the most prominent change.
A total of 39 million
procedures were performed in the 8,737 mammographic facilities that were
accredited by the FDA as of Nov 1, 2015.
Today fewer than 350 screen-film units remain in use in the U.S. The
nearly universal availability of computers for viewing of digital images
diminishes the need for a facility to maintain a printer.
Today, with many
mammograms shared on computer media such as compact discs or via online access,
the provision of printed hard copies is becoming obsolete.
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