Summary – Digital Mammography Machine
The new 3-D mammography machine will help to improve women’s health and save lives. According to a report by Best, “this new piece of technology has provided a 27 percent improvement in cancer detection rates” (Best, 2013). The Health authorities are happy that the day has finally arrived in the history of women’s health where help is readily available. The new Tomosynthesis technology, sometimes called the 3-D mammography, detects cancer earlier or finds cancer that may have been missed using the 2D mammography alone. However, there have been varying views by those experts who are not directly associated with the new technology. Medical experts in the Journal of the American Medical Association, feel “that the Tomosynthesis has not been around long enough to determine whether it saves lives or misses tumor” (Grady, 2014).
The Minister of Health, Dr. Perry Gomez, officially commissioned the state of the art digital mammography machine and praised the new technology. He said that this piece of machinery will make significant positive impact in screenings and diagnosis of women with breast cancer. Early detection can and will save lives. His committee is presently working on detecting breast cancer at an early stage so that lives can be saved. The introduction of the digital mammography machine is a great experience.
The Tomosynthesis test is similar to a routine mammogram except that the mammography machine is stationary while in tomosynthesis it moves around the breast thus allowing for the test to take a three-dimensional image of the breast. An analysis of a study carried out on this new technology revealed that of the 281, 187 tests done with digital mammography, and 173, 663 that were combined with tomosynthesis, there was an increase in the findings of cancer of those who combined their test with tomosynthesis. Using tomosynthesis in screening actually spared some women the agony of doing the test a second time. Using the digital mammography alone out of a total of 1,000 women, 107 were called back to do more X-rays. Those who did the test with tomosynthesis added, only 91 were called back for a re-test. More women are being treated because of the combination of tomosynthesis, which is a good sign.
There are those critics who warn that the benefits of this combined testing with tomosynthesis might be overstated and that its potential harm is understated. But many health groups still recommend it. Dr. Etta Pisano Dean of the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina said that tomosynthesis is “extremely promising”, but warns against those who seek its use. She thinks that more research needs to be done. She says that the price was too high and that many clinics would not be able to afford it. Many insurers also did not cover it making it impossible for some persons to afford to pay for it.
This new equipment decreases the risk of false diagnosis. It is now used in over half of the cancer hospitals in the United States and more than five million women have benefitted. Of course, there will be advantages and disadvantages of the introduction of any new gadget and only time will prove its worth. This new equipment used in diagnosing breast cancer has made improvements in the imaging field by decreasing the number of times a woman has to do the test again on suspicion of abnormalities in their testing results. Women are spared the agony of undergoing the stress of being called back to test again because something was not properly diagnosed. The debate is still ongoing but the Food and Drug Administration which approves this machine estimated that more than six million American women will undergo tomosynthesis testing in 2014.
References
Best, J. (2013). Digital Mammography Machine officially Commissioned. Retrieved from
http://caribbeanmedicalnews.com/2013/11/digital-mammography-machine-officially-
commissioned/
Grady, Denise. (2014). 3-D Mammography Test Appears to Improve Breast Cancer Detection
Rate. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/health/breast-cancer-3d-
mammography-test-x-ray.html?_r=1
