Digital Mammography
Frequently Asked Questions
What is digital mammography and how does it differ from conventional film mammography?
Digital mammography is a means of acquiring x-ray information without the use of x-ray film. Specialized detectors, which are used in place of x-ray film, convert the x-rays into digital information. The digital image of the breast can be viewed on a computer workstation with high resolution monitors, whereas with conventional mammography the x-ray films would need to be developed and then viewed on a lighted view box.
Is digital mammography better than film-screen mammography at detecting breast cancer?
The results of a major clinical study of nearly 50,000 women (The American College of Radiology Imaging Network’s Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial, or ACRIN-DMIST) showed that digital mammography is more accurate than conventional film-screen mammography in detecting breast cancer in three groups of women: women under 50, pre- and peri-menopausal women, and women with dense breasts. Digital mammograms are 15 percent more accurate among women under age 50 or not yet in menopause, and 11 percent more accurate among women with dense breasts, the study found.
What are dense breasts?
Dense breasts contain more glands and ligaments -- and less fat. Dense breast tissue appears as a solid white area on a mammogram. Tumors also are dense and appear as solid white areas on mammograms. This can make it difficult to detect a tumor because it looks a lot like the dense tissue around it. Young women are more likely to have dense breasts than older women. After menopause, breast tissue tends to lose density and contain more fat.*
What are the advantages of digital mammography?
Digital mammography provides a number of benefits for both the patient and the imaging facility. For the patient, DMIST demonstrated that digital mammography offers benefits to a portion of the screening population, as mentioned above. Additionally, digital mammography enables the technologist to immediately see if the image was taken correctly; freeing the patient from waiting until films are developed or from being called back for additional x-ray exposures after they’ve gone home.
The imaging facility using digital mammography benefits because x-ray film and processing is eliminated, as is the need to store and retrieve x-ray films. Mammography images can be displayed on an FDA 510(k) cleared computer workstation and monitor, allowing the radiologist to magnify and adjust the contrast of the image or optimize a particular area. This can reduce the number of extra images and exposures that are sometimes required during the diagnostic process. Moreover, since the images can be stored and retrieved electronically, it is easy to facilitate long-distance consultations with other mammography specialists.
Is digital mammography available everywhere?
While more than 8,500 imaging centers across the country are approved under the federal Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) to provide mammograms, only about 10 percent of those facilities currently offer digital technology. The cost of existing digital systems has been the primary barrier to more widespread adoption. Fuji CRm offers breast imaging facilities a more flexible and affordable system that is expected to spur more rapid adoption of digital mammography, making it more widely accessible to women in the U.S.
Should women who do not have access to digital mammography wait for it to become available, or get a conventional film-screen mammogram?
Women should not wait for digital technology. Mammography is still the best screening tool for the detection of breast cancer. Screening guidelines recommend getting a mammogram every year, beginning at age 40. Women should talk with their doctor and get the best advice for them.
How does Fuji’s digital mammography system differ from others?
Fuji Computed Radiography for mammography (FCRm) is the most widely used technology for full field digital mammography in the world, with installations in more than 2,800 facilities in Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, Oceania and Africa. Unlike other digital mammography systems, FCRm does not require replacing the existing mammography acquisition unit, thereby significantly lowering conversion costs for facilities. FCRm’s multi-room capability also enables imaging facilities to offer digital technology in up to three exam rooms for about half the cost per room of other digital systems.
In addition, Fuji CRm features exclusive dual-side reading technology, which produces clearer images with unprecedented levels of dose efficiency compared to historical CR techniques.
What about radiation dose?
DMIST investigators also found that digital mammography offers reduced radiation dosage over film mammography. Another advantage to digital, they wrote, “is use of a lower average dose of radiation without a compromise in diagnostic accuracy."
Is compression of the breast still required with digital mammography?
From the patient’s perspective, the procedure for a mammogram with a digital system is the same as for conventional mammography – with compression of the breast. However, patient wait time and anxiety might be lessened since results can be made immediately available.
* Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mammogram/AN01137