Breast x-rays have been performed for
more than 70 years. However, modern mammography has only existed since about 1970, when the first
dedicated mammography imaging systems became widely available. Since that time, there has been tremendous advancement in
the technology so that today’s examination differs markedly even from those of the
early 1980s.
Breast imaging tests, such as
ultrasound, sestamibi nuclear medicine, magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI), and t-scan (EIS impedance imaging) have been approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as supplements to mammography in the detection of
breast cancer. Other breast imaging tests such as
computerized thermal imaging are currently undergoing clinical
trials to determine whether they might be useful in detecting breast cancer, along
with mammography.
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Mammography:
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Original dedicated
mammography system
from 1966 |
Breast Imaging Exams That May
Be Used in Conjunction with Mammography:
Advances in Mammography
Modern x-ray mammography
uses dedicated systems (that is, a machine used only for breast x-rays) to produce x-rays
that are high in quality but low in radiation dose. In the past, there were concerns about
radiation risks. Modern mammography systems are tightly monitored by the Mammography Quality Standard Act (MQSA) and any risk is far outweighed
by the benefits of early breast cancer detection. In order to x-ray the breast, a
"softer" type of x-ray is used than for other parts of the body. Mammography is
designed for imaging the soft tissue of the breasts as opposed to "harder"
x-rays designed to penetrate and image the bones of the body.
X-ray mammography is the only approved
examination to screen for breast cancer. However, ultrasound
imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), t-scan (EIS impedance imaging), and nuclear medicine imaging have been further developed in recent
years for use in imaging the breast, as adjunct tools to diagnostic
x-ray mammography. MRI imaging, ultrasound and nuclear medicine do not provide the
spatial resolution (fine detail) available with conventional x-ray mammography. However,
MRI provides images with excellent contrast resolution that can help radiologists diagnose
and differentiate breast cancers. Ultrasound is useful for imaging cysts and guiding breast biopsy. Nuclear medicine is good for evaluating the spread (metastasis) of cancer into the lymphatic system, other organs
and skeletal system.
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