VIDEO: 3D mammography is becoming the standard-of-care in breast imaging
Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) President John Lewin, MD, associate professor of radiology and biomedical imaging, and division chief, breast imaging, at the Yale School of Medicine, explains breast tomosynthesis (also called 3D mammography) has already become the default standard in mammography today.
Breast imaging centers are adopting the newer 3D mammography technology because it has the ability to view the breast in slices, similar to the CT scan. This allows areas that appear to have a mass can be viewed layer by layer to see if the suspicious area is just overlying dense breast tissue. Users say this helps a lot in determining is a patient should be called back for additional imaging, biopsy, or if the area of concern is just overlapping tissue.
Full-field digital mammography (FFDM) has been the standard modality for breast imaging for about two decades, but digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems are rapidly growing in numbers by more than 1,000 new systems installed per year. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Mammography Quality Standards Act and Program (MQSA) statistics, DBT now makes up 46% of the accredited mammography systems in the United States. Looking at the growth pattern the past few years, it is set to overtake FFDM systems within the next couple years.
Lewin said there may be more FFDM systems, but he believes DBT is already the new stand of care.
"From my experience, tomosynthesis is now default breast imaging modality," Lewin said. "I suspect there are still some centers doing only full-field digital mammography, but I think they are far and few between."
He said a lot of centers have FFDM systems, but they are using their newer DBT systems as their front-line imaging workhorse systems. Lewin said he does not see many centers in his area using FFDM much anymore. Certaining at the larger academic centers and breast centers he has worked with in recent years or referrals, be in daily receiving DBT exams to review.
"Even though it is more time-consuming to read the tomosynthesis screenings, it is becoming the standard-of-care. And I have to say, there is extra reimbursement if you do a mammography and a tomosynthesis, and that definitely has had an effect on adoption," Lewin said.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: dfornell@innovatehealthcare.com