Breast cancer screening helps to prevent breast cancer deaths because the disease can be found at an early stage. Radiologists play an important role, because they decide whether a woman needs to be referred to the hospital for more tests. This thesis looked at factors that can help radiologists make better decisions. It focused on training, reading approaches, and quality checks. The results show that reading breast images (mammograms) is a challenging task and that improvements are possible. A review of earlier research shows that targeted training helps radiologists recognise abnormalities better and thereby refer fewer women unnecessarily to hospital. During screening, radiographers mark possible abnormalities on the images. It turns out that showing these marks immediately to radiologists does not work well. It is better to show them only after first reading. Quality audit data also show that radiologists improve their performance through peer review by colleagues and direct feedback.
Tanya Geertse (1972) obtained her Applied Physics degree in 1994 and has worked since 1998, via Radboudumc, at the Dutch Expert Centre for Screening (LRCB). She started as a Physics Technician and later became QA & Accreditation Coordinator. In 2012, she started the research that led to a part time PhD study at Radboudumc in 2021.