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Print7 Healthcast: 3D mammogram
A mammogram is one of the best screening tools when it comes to detecting breast cancer, and now, Massachusetts General Hospital is testing a new type of mammogram that can detect breast lesions even earlier.
It's a three-dimensional mammogram called Tomosynthesis.
"A conventional mammogram takes images of the breast that are images of a three-dimensional object in two dimensions, so all of the structures of the breast have to overlap in that picture," Dr. Elizabeth Rafferty, a radiologist at Mass General Hospital, said. "Tomosynthesis, which is a three-dimensional mammographic picture, actually separates all of those structures. So, we can look at them without them overlapping with one another."
While a conventional mammogram takes two X-rays of each breast from different angles, the Tomosynthesis machine moves in an arc around a woman's breast while taking several pictures from many different angles.
Ellen Levine had Tomosynthesis done after doctors found something suspicious on her mammogram.
"When I had the Tomosynthesis done, they were able to find something so tiny, apparently it was the size of a point of a pencil," said Levine. "It never would have been found on a mammogram."
Another plus to Tomosynthesis: less discomfort.
"The best part of Tomosynthesis, perhaps from a woman's point of view, is that we don't have to use as much compression," Dr. Rafferty said.
"It was quick and efficient and very reassuring," Levine said.
Tomosynthesis is still being studied and is not yet approved by the FDA, but Dr. Rafferty anticipates that it should be available to all women within the year.
Remember, the American Cancer Society recommends that women over age 40 get a mammogram every year.
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