From the July 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine




Debra Monticciolo, chair of the American College of Radiology’s Commission on Breast Imaging, says that while preliminary results have shown that the synthesized 2-D image is equally diagnostic, she looks forward to the results of more studies on its use.

“We still do the standard digital mammography and add tomosynthesis to it,” says Monticciolo, who is also vice chair for research and section chief of breast imaging in the department of radiology at Baylor Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas. “That’s the way we started and there wasn’t enough data yet to go with the composite. The composite has a different look than the standard 2-D image, which breast imagers will likely get used to over time.”



But even Monticciolo believes it will be a more common practice to use the synthesized image in the future.

“Over time, companies work on algorithms,” Monticciolo says. “Over time it will also improve.”

Hologic's C-View software, allowing radiologists to generate a 2-D image from the tomosynthesis dataset, has been available since February 2011.

“We've seen an increase in adoption rates as more and more clinical research is released demonstrating comparable invasive cancer detection rates and recall rates to traditional breast tomosynthesis screening exams,” says Michael Stow, senior director of global marketing for Hologic. “We anticipate continuing to see a rise in adoption rates as more clinical research is published, especially for physicians with patients who are especially concerned with radiation dose."

In May of last year, Siemens Healthineers received FDA clearance for the use of 3D-only screening mammography utilizing the company’s Mammomat Inspiration with Tomosynthesis Option digital mammography system.

The approval followed a study in which radiologists read 3-D-only images as well as 2-D and 3-D images. The participating doctors decreased average recall rates by an average of 19 percent without the need for a 2-D image.

“Siemens Healthineers is actively promoting this method of screening,” says Jennifer Okken, women’s health specialist at Siemens Healthineers North America. “We do see a future with 3-D-only screening.”

Because tomosynthesis is still an evolving technology, radiologists are still dependent on the support of the 2-D acquisition, particularly for comparison, Okken says.

“I do see that as time moves on and radiologists become more familiar with 3-D-only breast imaging, there won’t be a need for the 2-D projection,” Okken says.

July 2017 Magazine

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