Courtesy of Hologic
Raising awareness about 3-D mammo
October 03, 2014
by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter
Hologic, Inc. announced yesterday that their Selenia Dimensions tomosynthesis system has been renamed Genius 3D Mammography. The announcement is part of their digital campaign to raise awareness about 3-D mammography as an option to detect breast cancer.
Hologic's 3-D technology detects 41 percent more invasive breast cancers and reduces the amount of false positive results, according to a study published in JAMA that involved more than 450,000 exams, 139 physicians and 13 academic and clinical sites. Yet many women are not aware of that.
"There is a lot of confusion out there," Jim Culley, senior director of corporate communications at Hologic, told DOTmed News. "One of the problems is the names — the name tomosynthesis, most people can't even pronounce it and definitely not spell it. Our product is Selenia Dimensions — that's not a bad name, we've used it for a long time but it wasn't the name that was going to be particularly memorable for women."
Hologic's goal is to have all physicians inform their patients about 3-D mammography instead of just 2-D mammography. "We have a job ahead of us," said Culley. "When a woman goes to the doctor's office and the doctor says it's time for her to start getting a mammogram, we want the doctor to say that the test matters."
The Genius brand and the campaign were developed by two women — one who has a family history of breast cancer and another who is a breast cancer survivor. The campaign includes banners on websites such as The Huffington Post, graphics that will run on numerous other websites, and a digital billboard.
Culley said that their customers are also on board with raising awareness. One of their customers in Cleveland, Ohio will be spending $2 million dollars in the next couple of months to promote 3-D mammography.
"Big health systems are definitely on board too in trying to reach women to get them to realize that they need to ask for the right test," said Culley.
Since Hologic's 3-D mammography system received FDA approval in 2011, 2,000 systems have been installed in over 50 countries and in all 50 states in the U.S.
Hologic's 3-D technology detects 41 percent more invasive breast cancers and reduces the amount of false positive results, according to a study published in JAMA that involved more than 450,000 exams, 139 physicians and 13 academic and clinical sites. Yet many women are not aware of that.
"There is a lot of confusion out there," Jim Culley, senior director of corporate communications at Hologic, told DOTmed News. "One of the problems is the names — the name tomosynthesis, most people can't even pronounce it and definitely not spell it. Our product is Selenia Dimensions — that's not a bad name, we've used it for a long time but it wasn't the name that was going to be particularly memorable for women."
Hologic's goal is to have all physicians inform their patients about 3-D mammography instead of just 2-D mammography. "We have a job ahead of us," said Culley. "When a woman goes to the doctor's office and the doctor says it's time for her to start getting a mammogram, we want the doctor to say that the test matters."
The Genius brand and the campaign were developed by two women — one who has a family history of breast cancer and another who is a breast cancer survivor. The campaign includes banners on websites such as The Huffington Post, graphics that will run on numerous other websites, and a digital billboard.
Culley said that their customers are also on board with raising awareness. One of their customers in Cleveland, Ohio will be spending $2 million dollars in the next couple of months to promote 3-D mammography.
"Big health systems are definitely on board too in trying to reach women to get them to realize that they need to ask for the right test," said Culley.
Since Hologic's 3-D mammography system received FDA approval in 2011, 2,000 systems have been installed in over 50 countries and in all 50 states in the U.S.