The physical characteristics of a clinical charge coupled device (CCD)-based imager (Senovision, GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI) for small-field digital mammography have been investigated. The imager employs a MinR 2000 (Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY) scintillator coupled by a 1:1 optical fiber to a front-illuminated 61 x 61 mm CCD operating at a pixel pitch of 30 microns. Objective criteria such as modulation transfer function (MTF), noise power spectrum (NPS), detective quantum efficiency (DQE), and noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) were employed for this evaluation. The results demonstrated a limiting spatial resolution (10% MTF) of 10 cy/mm. The measured DQE of the current prototype utilizing a 28 kVp, Mo-Mo spectrum beam hardened with 4.5 cm Lucite is approximately 40% at close to zero spatial frequency at an exposure of 8.2 mR, and decreases to approximately 28% at a low exposure of 1.1 mR. Detector element nonuniformity and electronic gain variations were not significant after appropriate calibration and software corrections. The response of the imager was linear and did not exhibit signal saturation under tested exposure conditions.