The role of the diagnostic radiology physics service in the breast care pathway

Breast imaging has evolved rapidly in recent years, with advances such as tomosynthesis, contrast-enhanced mammography and emerging AI transforming the way breast disease is detected and managed. Yet behind every image used to support diagnosis lies a team whose contribution is rarely visible to patients and often overlooked by healthcare professionals: the diagnostic radiology physics service.

This article explores the vital role physicists play throughout the breast care pathway, from helping to specify and procure new imaging equipment to designing safe imaging environments, commissioning systems before clinical use and ensuring compliance with complex radiation regulations. It highlights how physicists work alongside radiologists, mammographers and engineers to optimise image quality while keeping patient radiation doses as low as reasonably practicable.

Drawing on real-world examples, the article demonstrates how innovative problem solving helps physics services adapt to new technologies. It also reveals how routine quality control testing can identify subtle equipment issues long before they affect patient care, preventing unnecessary radiation exposure and repeat examinations.

As breast imaging becomes increasingly sophisticated and AI begins to play a greater role in clinical practice, the expertise of diagnostic radiology physicists is becoming more important than ever. The full article provides a fascinating insight into this largely unseen profession and explains why close collaboration between physicists, clinicians and mammographers is essential to delivering safe, high quality breast imaging services for patients.

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