The Most Advanced 3D Mammography
Reshape the mammography experience with comfort, confidence, clarity and superior diagnostic accuracy with the same radiation dose as standard 2D mammography.
Here are a few words that rarely go together: relaxed, comfortable, and mammogram. After all, having your breasts compressed tightly between two firm surfaces while you stand there awkwardly half clothed is certainly not the most pleasant of experiences. One of our patients even calls it the “smashogram”.
That’s why Schuyler Hospital is now offering our patients a new option in mammograms: the Senographe Pristina™. Designed from the ground up with the input from women, it is the first mammography system to provide women with the “three Cs”: comfort, confidence, and clarity.
The design is more than just aesthetic; the gentle, rounded corners of the image receptor, where the woman places her breasts, completely changes the stance of the traditional mammogram. Instead of tensing their pectoral muscles while grabbing the traditional handgrips – which can make it hard to acquire high quality images – women can lean comfortably on the armrests, relaxing their muscles to simplify positioning, compression, and improve image quality. The image receptor is also thinner than the previous design, so it doesn’t jab into a woman’s ribs.
Indeed, poor positioning in mammography is a key factor in image problems, often requiring a repeat scan. The lack of proper positioning can also reduce the sensitivity of the mammogram, possibly leading to missed cancers.
With Senographe Pristina, we can now bring 3D technology to our patients. This technology, also known as digital breast tomosynthesis, delivers superior diagnostic accuracy at the same low dose as a 2D mammography exam, the lowest patient dose of all FDA-approved 3D mammography systems.[i]
The technology uses a low-dose short X-ray “sweep” around the positioned breast with nine exposures acquired with a “step-and-shoot” method. This helps remove any movement of the x-ray tube, reducing blur and increasing image sharpness.
[i] GE screening protocol consists of 3D CC/MLO + V-Preview CC/MLO, V-Preview is the 2D synthesized image generated by GE Seno Iris mammography software from GE DBT images. FDA PMA P130020/S002 http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfPMA/pma.cfm?id=P130020S002, Data on file. Average glandular dose in digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis: comparison of phantom and patient data. Bouwman, R. W. and al., et. 2015, Physics in Medicine & Biology, pp. 7893-7907.
Minimizing the Pain
Our radiologists invested in the Senographe Pristina because we know the primary reason women dread and skip screening mammograms is pain. In one study, researchers found that 46 percent of women skipped their regular mammogram because the first one hurt too much.[i] In another published study, researchers interviewed 2,600 women about their experience with a screening mammogram and found that 10-15 percent experienced “moderate to severe” levels of distress or pain.[ii]
But if women skip their screening mammogram, they could literally be putting their lives at risk. And that’s why we brought the Senographe Pristina to Schuyler Hospital – because we believe that a test that could save a woman’s life shouldn’t hurt.
[i] Elwood M1, McNoe B, Smith T, et al. Once is enough–why some women do not continue to participate in a breast cancer screening programme. N Z Med J. 1998 May 22;111(1066):180-3.
[ii] Drossaert CH1, Boer H, Seydel ER. Monitoring women’s experiences during three rounds of breast cancer screening: results from a longitudinal study. J Med Screen. 2002;9(4):168-75.
For an appointment, call (607) 535-8613 or email info@schuylerhospital.org.
