Study: New breast cushion alleviates pain during routine mammograms
A study published in the April 2004 issue of the scientific journal Acta Radiologica confirms that the MammoPad breast cushion significantly reduces the discomfort many women feel during mammograms.
MammoPad , a single-use, Food and Drug Administration cleared, foam cushion that covers the cold, hard surfaces of mammography devices is manufactured by BioLucent Inc.
Gail S. Lebovic, MD, co-director of the Lee Breast Center at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate professor of clinical surgery at Keck School of Medicine, along with Swedish mammographer Professor László Tabár, MD, authored the study involving 838 Swedish women who received routine screening mammograms. Two thirds (66 percent) of the participants reported the cushion significantly reduced discomfort. The average pain reduction reported by these women was 53 percent.
During the study, Tabár and his colleagues observed that mammography technologists easily integrated the cushion into their routine procedures, and that the cushion did not adversely affect image quality, compression force, or dose values. The cushion was used while imaging the patients' right breast only; no cushion was used for the left breast. Patients then rated the degree of pain experienced with and without the cushion.
Compression force and dose level were highly similar between the cushioned and non-cushioned parts of the exam. Women who had undergone mastectomies or who had breast implants were excluded from the study.
MammoPad , a single-use, Food and Drug Administration cleared, foam cushion that covers the cold, hard surfaces of mammography devices is manufactured by BioLucent Inc.
Gail S. Lebovic, MD, co-director of the Lee Breast Center at USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and associate professor of clinical surgery at Keck School of Medicine, along with Swedish mammographer Professor László Tabár, MD, authored the study involving 838 Swedish women who received routine screening mammograms. Two thirds (66 percent) of the participants reported the cushion significantly reduced discomfort. The average pain reduction reported by these women was 53 percent.
During the study, Tabár and his colleagues observed that mammography technologists easily integrated the cushion into their routine procedures, and that the cushion did not adversely affect image quality, compression force, or dose values. The cushion was used while imaging the patients' right breast only; no cushion was used for the left breast. Patients then rated the degree of pain experienced with and without the cushion.
Compression force and dose level were highly similar between the cushioned and non-cushioned parts of the exam. Women who had undergone mastectomies or who had breast implants were excluded from the study.