Revolutionary Breast Imaging Technology
Dedicated breast CT is a new imaging technology that is currently under clinical trial status at Emory. This technology allows doctors to view the breast three dimensionally in high-resolution. Unlike a mammogram, the breast CT does not compress the breast, instead it hangs pendant while the camera moves around it.
One breast CT scan combines the information of 300 mammograms. A CT scan takes 300 pictures in 10 seconds, giving Emory doctors the ability to see more detail as well as rotate and transform the image in novel ways. Breast CT has the potential to improve detection of dangerous cancerous lesions and decrease the number of false positives.
Over 90% of false positives are due to ‘suspicious’ shadows that end up as nothing more than normal tissue. The Emory Breast Center hopes that dedicated breast CT will increase lesion or tumor detection while lowering false positives, which is a huge step forward in the fight against breast cancer.
Emory is one of three centers in the world offering this breast CT imaging technology. Emory is currently involved in clinical trials to determine the most effective ways that this tool can be used; comparing effectiveness with that of MRIs, monitoring chemotherapy and using CT as a general diagnostic tool.
Patient Advantages:
- This technology provides better detection of cancerous lesions in the breast because the radiologist can look at a higher contrast, 3D image, which they can manipulate in novel ways.
- There are less false positives, which are often due to superimposed shadows from the mammogram compression – lowering the number of false positives would eliminate needless fear, anxiety and medical workups.
- Breast CT eliminates the need to compress the breast – it is more comfortable than a mammogram with a comparable dose of radiation.
- Breast CT images are ready in minutes and can save patients from unnecessary biopsies and radiation.
