Science

Improved Imaging Technique for Detecting Breast Cancer

Mammograms are today’s best technique for finding breast cancer, but they still miss 10 to 15 percent of cancers in some patients — particularly those with dense breasts. A new 3d-imaging technology aims to improve this success rate. Unlike mammograms, the [Cone Beam Breast CT] scanner does not compress the breast. Women simply place each […]

Oconnellavicesmall
Mammograms are today's best technique for finding breast cancer, but they still miss 10 to 15 percent of cancers in some patients -- particularly those with dense breasts. A new 3d-imaging technology aims to improve this success rate.

Unlike mammograms, the [Cone Beam Breast CT] scanner does not compress the breast. Women simply place each breast in a hole as the scanner captures 3-D images. "In certain people with the difficult type of breast, it may indeed improve the detection of small cancers," Dr. [Avice] O'Connell says.

About 50 percent of women have dense breast tissue, making cancers harder to find.

In a video hosted by the University of Rochester, where Dr. O'Connell works, O'Connell identifies (NSFW -- boobie alert) perimenopausal, premenopausal, and small breasted women as those most likely to benefit from this new technology.

Breakthrough Breast Scanner [Ivanhoe]

Pictured: Dr. Avice O'Connell, University of Rochester Medical Center