Breast Imaging & Diagnostic Services
Early-Detection Imaging Excellence, Leading Edge Diagnostic Techniques
An impressive range of sophisticated, early-detection imaging technologies for breast cancer is available through Morton Plant Mease Health Care. This includes:
Understanding Mammography
A mammogram is a safe, low-dose X-ray of the breast. Routine, annual mammograms are the best screening tool available for breast cancer because they can detect changes in the breast long before any symptoms appear or any lumps can be felt. When tumors are found early, more treatment options are available. In addition, small cancers are the most curable.
Two kinds of mammograms are available. A basic screening is performed when no symptoms are present to detect the presence of any abnormalities. A diagnostic mammogram, which provides additional images, is conducted to detect and diagnose breast disease in women who are experiencing symptoms.
This vital imaging exam is available at numerous locations throughout the Morton Plant Mease's network of imaging centers.
CAD Technology - One Mammogram, Two Reviews
Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) technology is the biggest medical breakthrough in breast cancer diagnosis since the mammogram. It acts as a second pair of eyes - eyes that can see what the human eye alone cannot. CAD software is able to search your mammogram for any abnormal areas of density, mass or calcification and highlight them for further analysis.
- Studies show that CAD along with human review could result in 23.4% more cancers being detected earlier.
- Used in conjunction with film-based mammograms, CAD digitizes the image much like a photo that is scanned into a computer.
- CAD technology makes evaluations more accurate,
- A CAD reading aids the radiologist in a way similar to a spell-checker on a computer, by highlighting suspicious areas on a mammogram.
CAD technology is available at these imaging locations:
The Unique Advantages of Breast MRI
If you are confronted with any kind of breast anomaly, early detection is at the forefront of your concerns. That's why we offer our patients the unique advantages of a breast exam using magnetic resonance imaging.
Breast MRI goes above and beyond conventional breast imaging, often providing solutions to tough, diagnostic problems and identifying breast tumors that other exams would fail to detect. Based upon detailed, cross-sectional, high-resolution imaging and the analysis of flow of injected contrast through tissue, breast MRI can identify up to 95 percent of invasive breast cancers. It gives your physician a new option when confronted with a problematic mammogram or physical examination, or when you are anticipating surgery for breast cancer.
Benefits include:
- Identifies up to 95 percent of invasive breast cancers
- Detailed, cross-sectional, high-resolution imaging
- Identifies malignancies separate from a known cancer, reducing the number of long-term recurrences
- Clarifies complex findings from mammograms and ultrasounds
- Distinguishes malignancies from healthy tissue more clearly, greatly reducing the possibility for additional surgeries
- Identifies implant complications or ruptures
Breast MRI services are available at both Mease Outpatient Imaging and Bardmoor Imaging Center - two locations in your community that you've come to know and trust.
Breast Ultrasound: High Resolution and 4-D
Ultrasound is a widely available, medical imaging technique that has been used for years. Fast, painless and safe, ultrasound utilizes high frequency sound waves instead of radiation for obtaining images of the inside of the body. The sound waves bounce off the part of the body being imaged and these reflected sound waves, or echoes, are captured and recorded.
Ultrasound is used to detect breast abnormalities such as whether a lump is a cyst or solid. It can further evaluate a problem seen on a mammogram because it can show all areas of the breast, including the area closest to the chest wall, which is difficult to see with a mammogram alone. It is also a helpful tool for minimally invasive procedures such as needle biopsies when the ultrasound image is used to guide the placement of the needle. Ultrasound biopsies are available at Mease Outpatient Imaging and the Susan Cheek Needler Breast Center.
In addition to high resolution ultrasound technology, Morton Plant Mease sonographers are specially trained in the use of 4-D ultrasound. This remarkable, state-of-the-art technology provides unprecedented images aiding physicians in the early detection of breast cancer.
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