In mammography, compression of the breast is performed to reduce its thickness. By doing so, the following benefits are achieved:
- improved subject contrast (by reducing scattered radiation)
- improved density uniformity
- improved visualisation of breast tissue near chest wall (by spreading out superimposed anatomy
- decreased radiation dose
- decreased blurring (by reducing motion artifact)
Compression is performed by the use of compression paddles, a component of the mammographic unit, which can vary in size and function.
The typical compression force used in mammography is between 100 and 200 Newtons.