High volume mammo centres yield high quality research
With 350,000 mammography screenings annually, Unilabs Sweden finds itself on the leading edge for research in mammography and pioneering patient education programmes. John Brosky reports
Mammography
X-ray and ultrasound combo on a mammo platform
A first in medical imaging is still unknown for Kit Vaughan, who is ready to simultaneously scan with X-rays and ultrasound for breast screening. Stay tuned for the results at RSNA 2013, says EH Correspondent John Brosky
It’s like switching from black and white to colour TV
Study suggests a new method to measure breast density can help determine cancer risk
Complementary mamma diagnostics
Much, if not even everything, may have been said already about the multimodal approach in breast diagnostics. However, Professor Rüdiger Schulz-Wendtland at the Institute of Radiology, University Hospital Erlangen, says there is still surprising news from this field – innovations in multimodal breast diagnostics, for example.
German breast screening
Germany’s mammography screening programme, introduced in 2005, was rolled out across the country in 2009 for women between the ages of 50 and 69 years. The mammo screening coordination office, which heads up and monitors the country’s 94 screening units, has published for the first time an evaluation report with follow-up examinations after a twoyear period.
Breast MRI The (non-)beloved gold standard
Magnetic resonance imaging is a long-established, highquality and safe examination tool. Why, therefore, do German gynaecologists and radiologists question its value in breast cancer diagnoses? Indeed the question ‘Breast MRI - yes or no?’ has split the medical community. One ardent champion of breast MRI is Professor Christiane Kuhl MD, director of the diagnostic and interventional radiology…
Controversies in breast imaging
Breast cancer screening for women between 40 and 49 years – yes or no? This is one of the most controversial issues as this year’s European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna. For Professor Dr Andy Evans of the Centre for Oncology & Molecular Medicine at the University of Dundee the answer is clear: “Yes. There is good evidence that breast cancer screening for women in their 40s is…
Multi-disciplinary team approach offers better breast cancer care
A multi-disciplinary team approach is crucial if healthcare professionals are to offer breast cancer patients the best possible care in the years ahead. That was the opinion voiced by three experts at an ECR 2012 session on Saturday afternoon with delegates addressed by a radiologist, surgeon and an oncologist.
Europe’s first Positron Emission Mammography
Early this year the radiology and nuclear medicine practice of Doctors Andreas Blynow, Frank Muller, Jorg Kowalski in Ludwigshafen, Germany, began to offer breast examinations using Europe’s first Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) scanner. With 15 years experience with Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Dr Muller introduced the new PEM scanner to the partners’ practice to detect and assess…
ECR 2012: Hologic launches four products
Hologic a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics products, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, will launch four ready-to-market technologies at the European Congress of Radiology.
What´s new in breast MRI, tomosynthesis and elastography?
MRI: Although an area of constant debate, this is becoming a widely accepted clinical modality in Europe. However, researchers in The Netherlands have shown that performing pre-operative breast MRI in all women with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) can reduce the need for re-excision.
Finding early stage cancers that could have been missed
In Europe, 350,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. About 90% of them can be cured if the cancer is detected at a very early stage. To improve early detection almost all European countries have gradually initiated regional screening programmes, even though the benefits are discussed controversially from time to time.
Convinient, quality-assured mammography reporting
iSOFT Radiology reporting has been upgraded with complementary and double mammography reporting. This upgrade is available to iSOFT RIS users with immediate effect. The new workplace profile contains reports for correction and release, as well as the examinations to be appraised.
Tomosynthesis proves advantageous in breast imaging
Two years ago Dr Michael Michell and team at King’s College Hospital, London, set out to explore the benefits of tomosynthesis over conventional 2-D mammography. Their study has shown advantages in diagnostic accuracy and indicates that tomosynthesis could help to reduce the number of patient recalls for further examination and thus anxiety among women.
Trivialising breast cancer kills women
‘As we become more successful in the early detection and treatment of breast cancer, we tend to trivialise it. Yet one in 9 women still get breast cancer. Half of them become depressed, their partners don’t know how to react and their families are in disarray. We need to stop trivialising breast cancer. It kills women.’ So says Dr Fabienne Liebens, Head of the Saint-Pierre Hospital’s…
Breast screening in the UK
Expert warns that breast screening across the country needs to undergo a dramatic transformation over the next 15 years, Mark Nicholls reports.
Breast screening administration - Denmark’s web-based portal
The daily management of around 700 examinations within the national mammography screening programme keeps Dr Ilse Vejborg and her team at Rigshospitalet pretty busy. ‘We have the largest screening unit in Denmark with 200,000 women aged 50-69 years in the target group invited for an examination every second year,’ she explains.
3-D mammography: Utilising eye to brain characteristics
Films with vivid 3-D images draw millions to cinemas – regardless of the plot. This technology, which is based on a stereoscopic effect, is not only entertaining but also medically relevant, as demonstrated by the Amulet three-dimensional digital mammography system produced by Fujifilm.
Sectra and Philips complete modality transaction
Sectra has completed a mammography-modality deal with Royal Philips Electronics. Philips will pay EUR 57.5 million in a cash-on-cash and debt-free basis and take over the acquired modality operation today, September 1, 2011.
The breast ultrasound Champion League
Since 1991 the International Breast Ultrasound School (IBUS) has indefatigably promoted progress and quality assurance in breast ultrasound -- a good reason for IBUS to celebrate its 20th anniversary during WFUMB.
Positron emission mammography is coming to Europe
Every medical congress is an opportunity for the manufacturers to showcase their products. This year’s congress of the German Röntgen Society was no exception -- and one innovation particularly caught the attention of our European Hospital team: positron emission mammography, PEM for short.
Hologic Selenia receives EUREF certification
Hologic announced today that its Selenia Dimensions digital mammography system in two dimensional (2D) mode has been awarded “EUREF Type Test” certification by the European Reference Organization (EUREF) Council for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostic Services.
Changing places - but not that fine-tuned focus
From first lady of breast MRI to the Germany’s most influential woman in radiology – that’s one way to describe Professor Christiane Kuhl’s switch from being Vice-Chairman of the Department of Radiology and Vice President of the University of Bonn to become Chairman of the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital Aachen (UKA).
Mammography or MRI: what will breast imaging look like in the not so distant future?
Mammography is the most widely used modality for early detection of breast cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. But its limitations, such as the high number of false positives it creates, have led researchers to focus on different strategies to characterize breast carcinomas more accurately, such as tomography, MRI and molecular imaging. In a new horizons session today at…
ContextVision introduces new mammography and interventional radiology solutions at ECR 2011
ContextVision, the software imaging partner for the most recognized medical imaging manufacturers worldwide, today introduced two innovative solutions at the 2011 European Congress of Radiology (ECR). A mammography solution addresses current limitations of x-ray image diagnosis for the detection of breast cancer, while the interventional radiology solution helps achieve superior, real-time images…