New study could give boost to digital mammo

Digital mammography is widely regarded as a powerful new tool in the detection of breast cancer. Yet, thus far the technology is not broadly utilized with the FDA estimating that fewer than 10 percent of breast screening facilities use the new systems.
   
A hoped-for boost to the technology could be on the way in the form of a report from the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) comparing the effectiveness of digital mammography versus conventional x-ray. The results will be released on Sept. 16.

The cost of digital mammography systems might seem prohibitive, but digital mammography systems are likely to provide a big return on investment (ROI) in the long run for facilities that install them due to their speed and overall precision, as well as ease in integrating with other applications.

Also, as analog x-ray mammography systems currently in use eventually need to be replaced, the hope is that organizations will chose to replace them with digital systems.

The Millennium Research Group (MRG) has recently predicted that the U.S. digital breast imaging market is poised to jump from a current $100 million to $480 million by 2009.

Around the web

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

Trimed Popup
Trimed Popup