The Diagnostic Imaging Service of the Hospital de Dénia It has a new 3D mammograph, which has an updated and improved high-resolution detector implanted that allows biopsies to be performed by tomosynthesis. These types of tests are much faster than conventional stereotaxis-guided biopsies.
Tomosynthesis offers a three-dimensional view of the breast tissue, since the image is captured from different angles, reconstructed and subsequently digitized. By identifying different layers of the breast, which overlap on conventional mammography and can hide possible cancers, it increases the possibility of locating lesions more easily in the early stages and, consequently, improves the detection of invasive cancer.
A recent study carried out by the Malmö Breast Tomosynthesis Screening Trial at Lund University (Sweden), carried out over five years on a population of 5.000 women, concludes that tomosynthesis detects up to 43% more malignant breast lesions than conventional mammography.
More advantages compared to conventional mammography
The latest data also indicates that tomosynthesis decreases the rate of interval cancers, which are those that go unnoticed initially and are diagnosed when they are already symptomatic. The decrease in these interval neoplasms is indirectly linked to greater survival in the patients studied.
Another advantage of the new mammograph is that, by creating three-dimensional images through tomosynthesis, the radiation received by patients is reduced, without losing an iota of diagnostic quality. Additionally, tomosynthesis has been shown to decrease the rate of false positives—findings that look like cancer but aren't—thus avoiding unnecessary patient anxiety.
Greater ergonomics and comfort
The new 3D mammograph is equipped with an ergonomic compressor, with curved shapes, that adapts to any type of breast. In this way, it distributes the compression force evenly, which is a clear incentive when undergoing the test.
