CHICAGO -- Siemens Healthineers unveiled its new flagship mammography system — the MAMMOMAT Revelation — at the RSNA annual meeting this week in Chicago.

The system is still pending 510(k) FDA clearance and under testing at three facilities in Europe.

It features the company’s new HD Breast Biopsy technology, which uses 50-degree wide-angle HD Breast Tomosynthesis to obtain more targeted and accurate biopsies. It’s able to achieve +/-1 millimeter accuracy.

Biopsy samples are traditionally evaluated by taking the sample to another room to have the specimen scanned while the patient is still under compression or using a separate biopsy scanner.

The MAMMOMAT Revelation comes with the new InSpect integrated specimen imaging tool that allows the user to immediately control the biopsy directly at the mammography system. The user switches to the "specimen scan mode" and in a matter of seconds they receive the results.

“It completely eliminates [the need] for a second system in another room or a dedicated specimen scanner,” Lars Hofmann, head of marketing and product management for X-ray at Siemens Healthineers, told HCB News. “Within 20 seconds, you have confirmation of optimal biopsy and the patient can be relieved from the exam.”

The new MAMMOMAT Revelation also provides automated breast density measurements at the point of examination. This allows for personalized risk stratification, and necessary adjunct imaging exams can be triggered before the patient leaves.

The system features a Personalized Soft Compression feature in which the compression process is softened and the compression force is automatically adjusted to suit the individual patient. Once there is a certain degree of resistance, the system slows down and the compression becomes very soft.

“It was not acceptable to learn from studies that women who don’t show up for second screening exams after the first one cite pain or discomfort as the key reasons,” said Hofmann. “We put a lot of effort into personalizing compression.”

Siemens Healthineers also designed new compression paddles called SoftComp Paddles with a more ergonomic shape.

The MAMMOMAT Revelation is capable of titanium contrast-enhanced mammography, which is of high interest among the breast imaging community, according to Hofmann. This allows clinicians to perform dual-energy exams with contrast in cases where it’s known that a lesion is present but it’s masked.

Hofmann refers to this as a cost-effective alternative to an MR exam, which is not available at every facility due to cost constraints.

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