Imaging Technology News - November/December 2008 - (Page 37)

Technology Overview DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY this translates to a larger market of higher-risk women, thereby making the availability of MBI an attractive option for a hospital or clinic. Cost of Improving Detection These photos provided by the Mayo Clinic show dense breasts, which mammograms don't penetrate well. The left image is a 50-year-old's digital mammogram, showing no problems. The right image is that same woman's MRI, showing what turned out to be an early cancer. In the middle, Mayo Clinic researchers found the same spot with experimental molecular breast imaging that they hope will prove to be a cheaper, easier test than MRI. Cost, of course, is always an issue. More advanced, digital systems can cost nearly five times that of an existing system, and without ample data from multiple studies and rather limited success stories, buyers may be reluctant to make a spend. This is certainly true for private radiology practices that need to manage costs very tightly. It is costly for manufacturers too. GE Healthcare or Siemens Medical Solutions would only consider producing such systems if a sizeable enough market could exist. Adoption of MBI monitors perhaps might be slow at the beginning, but as hospitals rush to purchase state-of-theart equipment, GE and Siemens could eventually realize profit. Additionally, manufacturers can harness the power of their education, training and support communities to drive incremental revenues from training hospital personnel – perhaps staff mammographers or sonographers – in the use of the MBI system. ITN dose of a short-acting tracer that is absorbed more by abnormal cells than by healthy ones. Special cameras then collect the “glow” these cells give off, and doctors examine the picture to spot tumors. The results of the study were presented the first week of September at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2008 Breast Cancer Symposium in Washington, D.C. A follow-up clinical study comparing MBI to MRI is next; these results should be interesting, as MBI is more expensive than mammography, yet only one-fifth the cost of breast MRI. But an MBI is not necessarily for every woman. Rather than replace mammograms for women at average risk for cancer, MBIs might become an additional tool for higher-risk women with a lot of dense tissue that makes tumors hard to spot on mammograms and at a lower cost than MRI (about one-fourth of women 40 and older have dense breasts). With an aging population, National Consortium of Breast Centers, Inc. 19TH ANNUAL NATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY BREAST CENTER CONFERENCE 0DUFK Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino /DV9HJDV1HYDGD 7 Exciting Pre & Post Conference Courses! ' NEW!%UHDVW+HDOWK1DYLJDWRU&HUWL¿FDWLRQ&RXUVH ' NEW! +RXU'LJLWDO0DPPRJUDSK\&RXUVH ' +HUHGLWDU\%UHDVWDQG2YDULDQ&DQFHU&RXUVH ' &OLQLFDO%UHDVW([DPLQDWLRQ&HUWL¿FDWLRQ&RXUVH ' 6XUJLFDO0DQDJHPHQWRI%UHDVW'LVHDVH&RXUVH ' %UHDVW6HOI([DPLQDWLRQ7UDLQHU&HUWL¿FDWLRQ&RXUVH ' *UDQW:ULWLQJ&RXUVH Meet Speakers, Panelists and Track Leaders Who Share Their Expertise in the Field of Breast Health Care The conference is sponsored by: REGISTER TODAY! Online registration is now available on the NCBC website! ZZZEUHDVWFDUHRUJ V: 574-267-8058 F: 574-267-8268 QFEF#EUHDVWFDUHRUJ @ ITNonline.net | Nov/Dec 2008 | ITN | 37 http://www.breastcare.org http://www.invivocorp.com http://www.invivocorp.com http://www.ITNonline.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Image Technology News - November 2008

Image Technology News - November 2008 Contents RSNA CT Systems Imaging An Image is Worth a Thousand Words Ultrasound Systems MBI Takes on FFDM Trouble in Multi-PACS Paradise When is Appropriateness Criteria Appropriate? RIS/PACS in a Web 2.0 World Digital Mammography Helps Center Continue its Commitment to the Best in Patient-Focused Breast Cancer Cardiovascular Imaging Systems PARCA Extends Expertise to World PACS Market

Image Technology News - November 2008

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