Use of Thyroid Shield During Mammography at Albemarle Health
There have been concerns spread through the media recently regarding the amount of radiation received by the thyroid gland during a mammogram. Modern mammography systems, such as the digital system used at both Albemarle Hospital and Regional Medical Center, use extremely low levels of radiation (usually about 0.1 to 0.2 rad dose per x-ray); the same amount you would be exposed to flying on an airplane from New York to California. These digital mammography systems also rigidly control radiation beams with significant filtration and dose control methods to minimize any scatter radiation. This ensures that those parts of a patient's body not being imaged receive minimal radiation exposure.
During a mammogram, the thyroid is not exposed to the direct X-ray beam, and consequently receives only a tiny amount of scatter radiation -- the equivalent of just 30 minutes of the naturally-sourced, background radiation received by all Americans every day. The risk of thyroid cancer from this tiny amount of scattered radiation is very small (less than 1 in 17.1 million women screened), and should be weighed against the fact that using a thyroid shield could interfere with optimal positioning and imaging. Because one or both of these factors could reduce the quality of the image and interfere with diagnosis, the use of a thyroid shield during mammography is generally not recommended at Albemarle Health facilities.
