Are there new techniques being studied to improve the accuracy of breast screening?
There are many exciting technologies being investigated in the field of breast imaging. All of this work is in the hopes of detecting breast cancer at the earliest stage possible to allow patients the best chance for a cure. One new technology being developed is Tomosynthesis, an adjunct to digital mammography. In conventional mammography, a 3-D structure (the breast) is evaluated with a 2-D image. A major drawback of mammography is that structures can be superimposed on a single image. This can result in cancers being hidden on the image or can cause the false appearance of cancer, leading to unnecessary biopsies, etc. Tomosynthesis is a 3-D digital technique that removes the effect of superimposed structures by taking multiple low dose exposures of the breast and processing the information into 1 mm thick slices. This shows promise in improving detection of breast cancers by mammography and decreasing the rate of false positive studies. Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) and Positr
