University Times

A digital mammography machine, which could revolutionize the way doctors detect breast cancer, now is available at Magee-Womens Hospital.

The first clinical installation in western Pennsylvania of the GE Medical System's Seno-graphe 2000D was announced yesterday at a press conference.

During digital mammography, X-rays are sent through the breast and converted into electronic charges that are arranged in pixels, or picture elements. The charge within each pixel is turned into digital data that is sent to an image processor.

The process is quick and said to provide a highly specific, sensitive image of the breast's interior. Thus, various issues show up more clearly and tumors can stand out better because they appear "brighter" than surrounding tissue structures.

For some women, these features promise to help in determining whether a breast biopsy is necessary and, if so, where the biopsy should be within the breast.

Each year in the United States, more than 40,000 women die from breast cancer, the most common form of cancer in women. Traditional X-ray mammography, the most common tool used to diagnose breast cancer, misses many breast tumors.

Magee currently is studying which women will benefit from the digital mammography so that the limited resource can be used most effectively and standard X-ray mammography can be used when appropriate.