Early In Vivo Mammography in the United States
Stafford L Warren at the University of Rochester described techniques for in vivo breast radiography in the late 1920s and early 1930s and his stereoscopic approaches and use of grids and intensifying screens improved image contrast and demonstrated the clinical potential of mammography for preoperative assessment and for diagnosis
Technical Innovations and Clinical Adoption
Warren’s work helped translate specimen radiography into practical clinical imaging by addressing issues of patient positioning exposure and image amplification and his publications influenced radiologists and surgeons in North America to adopt mammography for diagnostic use
From Diagnostic Tool to Screening Modality
The technical refinements pioneered by Warren and contemporaries enabled later development of dedicated mammography units and compression techniques and by the 1960s and 1970s mammography evolved into both a diagnostic and a screening tool with organized programs that demonstrated population level benefits