Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC
A normal flim mammogram, left, and a digital one.
Posted on 04/09/2008 10:54:15 PM PDT by neverdem
It is a phone call that women dread. Something is not quite right on the mammogram: come back for another one. But don’t worry, the script goes, most repeat tests wind up normal.
Still, most women know someone who has breast cancer, and even the calmest, most rational minds may think the worst when summoned back to the clinic.
At many centers, these nerve-racking calls are on the rise, at least temporarily — the price of progress as more and more radiologists switch from traditional X-ray film to digital mammograms, in which the X-ray images are displayed on a computer monitor.
Problems can arise during the transition period, while doctors learn to interpret digital mammograms and compare them to patients’ previous X-ray films. Comparing past and present to look for changes is an essential part of reading mammograms. But the digital and film versions can sometimes be hard to reconcile, and radiologists who are retraining their eyes and minds may be more likely to play it safe by requesting additional X-rays — and sometimes ultrasound exams and even biopsies — in women who turn out not to have breast cancer.
Digital is growing fast. In the United States, 32 percent of mammography clinics now have at least one digital machine, up from only 10 percent two years ago. Eventually, film will be phased out.
The rush to digital is occurring in part because for certain women — younger ones and others with dense breast tissue — it is better than film at finding tumors. Digital is especially good at picking up tiny calcium deposits, or calcifications, which are sometimes — but by no means always — a sign of cancer. In the long run, radiologists say, digital technology will make mammograms more accurate for many women...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
www.abortionbreastcancer.com
Lets put some life in that link.
Same thing with Pap smears. They call you back too.
In any case, i can see the benefits of the digital image, and the difficulty in comparing it to an analog one.
I had a similar question. Is it the same breast from the same view?
I had a similar question. Is it the same breast from the same view? ..... neverdem
Yes, same breast, same patient, same Medial-Lateral view.
You can tell it is the same patient by picking out a specific anatomic feature that would be unique to a patient and comparing it on the two views.
On these particular views, such a feature would be the course of the vascular channel in the upper, anterior part of the breast. Notice how it has the same distinctive loop at the top?
Which one is better?
Clinical studies have shown that digital mammography is more sensitive for dense breasts but the old film studies are more sensitive for fatty replaced breasts.
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