New Digital Mammography Equipment Enhances
Women’s First Line of Defense Against Breast Cancer
Imaging has certainly come a long way over the past decade, moving from film to digital technology. Proof of this technological advance can now be seen at GBMC with the introduction of sophisticated digital mammography, offering superior images with exceptional resolution that can be manipulated to obtain the best view of the breast tissue.
With digital mammography, the time needed to perform breast localizations and ductograms is dramatically reduced. For screening mammograms, the patient exam is also shortened because images are captured immediately on the computer, eliminating the need to wait for films to be developed.The need for repeat mammograms is decreased because the technologist can immediately see the images on screen, checking that all needed views are available and of good quality. The equipment available at GBMC offers patients another advantage — it can accommodate patients with any size breast, which also minimizes patient wait times.
“With digital mammography, we get better penetration of the tissue and the ability to magnify sections of the acquired images for closer examination and to pinpoint calcifications,” explains Alex Munitz, MD, FACR, Chair of GBMC’s Department of Radiology and Director of the Imaging Center at the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center. “In addition to markedly improved patient comfort, the ability to perform these procedures more rapidly can help us get patients to the operating room more quickly and lessens the chance that the patient will experience a vasovagal reaction.”
Adds Lauren A. Schnaper, MD, Director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, “These advantages are particularly useful for finding abnormalities in patients with dense breast tissue.” Additional advantages of digital mammography for physicians include the ability to transmit images over phone lines from remote locations to be read by experienced breast imaging specialists.
