Spot view (mammography)

Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 23 Mar 2023

A spot view (also known as a spot compression view or focal compression view) is an additional mammographic view performed by applying the compression to a smaller area of tissue using a small compression paddle, increasing the effective pressure on that spot. This results in better tissue separation and allows better visualization of the breast tissue in that area. It is used to distinguish between the presence of a true lesion and an overlap of tissues, as well to better show the borders of an abnormality or questionable area or a little cluster of faint microcalcifications in a dense area. 

The improved resolution is due to the increased reduction of thickness in the examined area and by getting the suspicious area closer to the detector surface.

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