New and Improved Breast Screening?
Reported November 14, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Many women find conventional mammography uncomfortable, and doctors admit the technology misses some breast cancers, especially in younger women with denser breasts. Whats more, the test exposes women to radiation.
New technology being developed at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom may be the answer. Researchers there are working on an imaging technique that uses radio waves, similar to radar systems used in the aviation and other industries, to identify breast problems.
This new imaging technique works by transmitting radio waves of a very low energy and detecting reflected signals; it then uses these signals to make a 3D image of the breast, study author Dr. Ian Craddock was quoted as saying. This is basically the same as any radar system, such as the radars used for air traffic control at our airports.
For the test, women place their breast in a ceramic cup where transmitters view it from several different angles. So far the investigators have tested the device in about 60 women, finding it takes about six minutes to examine both breasts.
Women love it as they compare it to a mammogram and find the whole experience much more comfortable, notes Mike Shere, associate specialist breast clinician at North Bristol NHS Trust, where the device is being trialed.
The researchers will now conduct a study comparing mammograms with the new test to see if the new test picks up as many breast cancers.
SOURCE: University of Bristol, published online November 11, 2008