ROCKWALL —
A recently-installed 3D mammography machine at the Lake Pointe Breast Center should cut back on the number of callbacks and increase the odds of early detection, according to Radiologist Dr. Jim Schroeder. The machine is one of a handful in the DFW metroplex, and the only one in the area east of Dallas.
“The machine was approved by the FDA in February of 2011, and we will start using it next week,” he said. “Before, we were using 2D images, which means you’re looking at the whole volume of the patient’s breast at once. Now, we’re able to digitally look at 1 millimeter layers at a time. It’s the difference of looking for someone in the crowd from a distance and actually being able to move about the crowd.”
The resolution of the image produced by the machine is better according to Schroeder, because they don’t have the overlapping tissue of the 2D images. Currently, one in 10 women are called back to come in for additional testing, a number that Schroeder hopes will be cut in half.
“The callbacks cost a lot of time and money and increase anxiety for our patients,” he said. “Because we’re able to look at the tissue in sections, we’re going to be able to see much smaller tumors. Additionally, tumors distort a small section of the tissue around it, which we’ll be able to see more clearly.”
The increased resolution and capabilities have resulted in between a seven and 12 percent increase in cancer detection rate, according to medical studies of the machine. Currently, most insurance companies don’t cover the X-ray, which will cost approximately $60. While some individuals are worried about an increase dose of radiation with the machine, the dosage is similar to the previous 2D mammogram according to Schroeder.
“While the dosage is one to one and a half of a normal mammogram, the radiation is close to the 2D, because the new technology is so much better,” he said.
The mammogram is only four seconds longer than the 2D one, and it takes 15 X-ray images that are digitally constructed into a 3D image.
“At Lake Pointe Breast Center, we have pretty much everything that is needed to make a complete diagnosis– we have the full arsenal of diagnostic tools,” Schroeder said.
Top News
New machine gives center an edge in detecting breast cancer
3D mammography equipment is first in area
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