Toshiba Introduces MR Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Suite

CHICAGO, Nov 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Advancements in medical imaging technology have significantly increased early detection and improved outcomes for patients with breast cancer. At this year's Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in Chicago, Nov. 30 - Dec. 5, 2008 (Booth #3429, South Hall), Toshiba will announce its Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Suite available on the Vantage Atlas(TM) and Vantage Titan(TM) MR systems. The new multi-channel Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Coil optimizes Magnetic Resonance Mammography (MRM) on the Vantage systems.

"Breast MR is effective in helping to diagnose breast cancer and the Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Suite is the latest technological advancement in improving image quality," said Bob Giegerich, director, MR Business Unit, Toshiba. "The higher signal-to-noise ratio created by the coil results in clearer images."

The bilateral, dedicated, multi-element Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Coil provides high temporal and spatial resolution for dynamic analysis and lesion characterization. The coil delivers a high signal-to-noise ratio, significantly increasing the breast image quality. The Radiance Plus Breast Imaging Coil is an addition to existing Vantage coils which are uniquely designed to improve workflow and patient comfort.

source: Toshiba

Siemens Introduces New Standard of Care for Breast Ultrasound

CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Siemens Healthcare (http://www.siemens.com/healthcare) highlights the ACUSON S2000™ Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS)(1), the world's first multi-use, automated volume breast ultrasound system, at the 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) from November 30 to December 5 at McCormick Place (Booth #922, East Building/Lakeside Center, Hall D) in Chicago. Siemens also demonstrates how Tissue Strain Analytics(2), a new dimension of diagnostic information, and intelligent knowledge-based workflow solutions, empower physicians to leverage ever-increasing imaging information density to achieve greater diagnostic confidence and decreased study time.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine(3), dense breast tissue increases a woman's risk of breast cancer up to five-fold. While mammography remains the method of choice for breast cancer screening, a study(4) published by the RSNA in 2002 found that the detection rate for nonpalpable, invasive breast cancers increased by 42 percent when mammography was followed by an ultrasound examination.

source: Siemens

Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Made Easy with Mammomat Inspiration

Siemens Healthcare has introduced its new biopsy unit to the market, enhancing the Mammomat Inspiration digital mammography platform with stereotactic breast biopsy. The digital system with basic functions for screening has been on the market since the end of 2007. Since then, it has been installed in countless hospitals and private practices worldwide. The new device with its supplemental biopsy function recently went into operation in Copenhagen and Dortmund. Using the new system, all workflows are performed faster and easier than ever before.

The biopsy unit is easy to install; it simply slides on the full-field detector of the mammography platform. Using the same detector ensures that the radiographic image quality remains high. The mammography system detects the biopsy unit and automatically switches all hardware and software configuration settings to the biopsy mode. A preconfigured examination workflow and a well-defined user interface intuitively guide clinical personnel through the intervention.

source: Siemens Medical

PACSGEAR Launches PacsSCAN Film for Mammography at Upcoming RSNA Annual Meeting

PLEASANTON, CA - (November 25, 2008) – PACSGEAR, Inc., the leader in document and multimedia connectivity solutions for PACS/EHR, today announced the introduction of PacsSCAN Film™ for Mammography, an application specifically designed for digitizing film-based mammography images. The PacsSCAN Film for Mammography System scans plain film mammograms and allows side-by-side comparison with digital mammography images.

The product measurably improves radiologists’ reading times by employing the DICOM Digital Mammography standard. This standard enables the correct sequencing of scanned images on digital mammography workstations. Scanned images can be enhanced by using the company’s proprietary Dynamic Contrast Algorithm (DCA), which gives scanned film a digital look and feel. The PacsSCAN Film for Mammography software can be configured to display scanned images at the same resolution as their digital counterparts. Throughput is further enhanced with PACSGEAR’s patent-pending batch scanning technology.

source: PACSGEAR

Mammogram most effective 12 months after radiation treatment

Breast cancer patients who receive breast-conserving therapy and radiation do not need a follow-up mammogram until 12 months after radiation, despite current American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines that recommend follow-up mammograms at between six and 12 months after radiation, according to a November 15 study in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 182,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and many of these women will choose to undergo a lumpectomy and radiation therapy as their course of treatment, which has been shown to produce similar survival outcomes to a mastectomy. Mammography has been established as a crucial part of post-treatment surveillance for patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy, but the optimal timing of the initial mammogram is not clear.

source: ASTRO

Screening for Breast Cancer May Spur Unnecessary Treatment

Michelle Fay Cortez

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Mammograms may lead to unneeded treatments for breast cancer that might have regressed naturally, according to new research that revives a debate over frequent screening.

Doctors and public health officials have debated the risks and benefits of regular mammograms for years. While the common assumption is that finding small, easily treated tumors will prevent the development of larger, deadly cancers in the future, studies have yielded mixed results.

The report, published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the rate of cancer among women who received biannual mammograms over six years in four Norwegian countries was 22 percent higher than those who didn’t. That may mean that tumors in those who weren’t tested regressed without being treated, researchers said.

“Our findings simply provide new insight on what is arguably the major harm associated with mammographic screening, namely, the detection and treatment of cancers that would otherwise regress,” said the researchers led by Per-Henrik Zahl at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health‘s epidemiology department in Oslo.

source: Bloomberg News

Ultrasound elasticity measures tissue stiffness for more accurate breast imaging

Elasticity is an ultrasound technique that provides additional information about the stiffness of breast lesions for a more accurate diagnosis. The ACUSON S2000™ ultrasound system from Siemens Healthcare features eSie Touch™ elasticity imaging to enable this emerging technique. Although mammograms are the standard diagnostic tool for breast scans, ultrasound can be beneficial to patients that need regular examinations or have denser breast tissue such as younger women and patients on HRT.

Like a manual self-exam but more sensitive, eSie Touch elasticity imaging generates an elastogram that gauges how much tissue moves when pushed, so that it can detect how soft or stiff an object is. More detailed information from ultrasound means that some patients are not only spared an uncomfortable, invasive procedure such as needle biopsies, but are also provided with results on a much shorter timescale.

Dr. William Svensson, Consultant Radiologist and Reader in Breast Imaging at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, has undertaken extensive research into elastography for breast cancer diagnosis and trialled the ACUSON S2000 from Siemens. He states, “Elasticity is an ultrasound modality that detects subtle tissue stiffening. Whilst it is a relatively new technique, increasing skill in interpreting its results has the potential for increasing the accuracy of diagnosis. It certainly has the potential in the long term to reduce the number of biopsies carried out by detecting benign lesions with greater accuracy.”

source: Siemens Medical

Naviscan Receives 510(k) Clearance for Stereo Navigator(TM) - the First Commercially Available Breast PET-Guided Biopsy Feature

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Naviscan, Inc., announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance for its biopsy-guidance feature designed exclusively for use with its high-resolution organ-specific PET scanner. The scanner's breast application is Positron Emission Mammography (PEM).

Stereo Navigator(TM), the PEM-guided biopsy accessory, is indicated for the localization of lesions in female breasts, as identified on a PET image. This guidance system will now enable physicians to guide compatible interventional devices towards abnormalities visible on PET.

This Stereo Navigator biopsy feature represents the cutting edge of targeted molecular imaging in the breast. The accessory uses a stereotactic frame fixed between the scanner's paddles to guide the insertion of a compatible interventional device into the breast. Accurate targeting is possible due to the high-resolution 3-D tomographic images acquired.

source: PR Newswire

Parascript Announces AccuDetect 2.0 Computer Aided Detection Algorithms for Greater Accuracy in Assessing Mammograms

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Parascript, LLC, the image analysis and pattern recognition technology provider, today announced the release of AccuDetect 2.0, the next generation of its computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithms for mammography. Parascript AccuDetect 2.0 is even more robust with improved performance and increased potential for lowering false-positive rates in detecting suspicious lesions on mammograms. Available for OEM customers interested in reducing false-positive rates of existing CAD systems, AccuDetect is intended to assist radiologists in the early detection of breast cancer during film-based or digital mammography exams.

CAD systems are typically relied upon to identify and highlight hard-to-find features and anomalies on medical images that may be indicative of cancer and bring them to the attention of radiologists. AccuDetect is an enabling technology that easily integrates with existing analog and digital CAD systems to improve the accuracy of data interpretation. Its primary objective is to enable existing CAD systems to reduce false-positive readings through the utilization of voting methodology in medical imaging.

source: Parascript

Advanced Imaging Technologies to Limit Breast and GI Biopsy Procedures

WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 12/PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group's (MRG's) US Markets for Biopsy Devices 2009 report, the popularity of advanced imaging technologies will restrict the number of gastrointestinal (GI) and breast biopsy procedures performed through 2013.

The availability of endoscopes with microscopic capabilities for visualizing tissue at the cellular level has decreased the requirement for a biopsy in endoscopic GI procedures. PENTAX's Confocal Endomicroscope, for example, enables physicians to examine inner structures at extreme magnifications, in some cases allowing for diagnosis without the need for a biopsy. Should additional competitors enter the endomicroscopy market, unit growth for GI biopsy forceps will slow.

"Likewise, breast biopsy procedures will be affected by advanced imaging technologies," says Sarah Leonard, Analyst at MRG. "Improvements in breast imaging technology are leading to more accurate evaluations of suspected breast cancers, potentially reducing the need for breast biopsies. In particular, breast MRI, breast-specific gamma imaging, and positron emission mammography provide information that can help determine whether a suspicious lesion is benign or malignant, boosting the appeal of diagnostic breast imaging and slowing growth in the number of breast biopsies being performed.

source: PR Newswire

New technology could revolutionise breast cancer screening

The world's first radar breast imaging system developed at Bristol University that could revolutionise the way women are scanned for breast cancer, is being trialled at North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT).

Professor Alan Preece and Dr Ian Craddock from the University of Bristol have been working for a number of years to develop a breast-imaging device which uses radio waves and therefore has no radiation risk unlike conventional mammograms.

The team began developing and researching a prototype around five years ago and have received funding from organisations including the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the trustees of the United Bristol Hospitals and the University of Bristol spin-out company, Micrima Ltd.

Dr Ian Craddock from the University's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, said: "This new imaging technique works by transmitting radio waves of a very low energy and detecting reflected signals, it then uses these signals to make a 3D image of the breast. This is basically the same as any radar system, such as the radars used for air traffic control at our airports."

source: University of Bristol

Clinical Study Using the Aurora® Breast MRI System Recommends the Use of Breast MRI for Preoperative Evaluation of Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patie

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (Nov. 10, 2008) – Aurora Imaging Technology Inc. is proud to announce that the Aurora® Dedicated Breast MRI System was exclusively utilized in a large clinical study that demonstrated the significance of preoperative breast MRI for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, while producing no delay in treatment. The study, co-sponsored by Mercy Health Center and Breast MRI of Oklahoma LLC, was published by the American Journal of Surgery. Alan Hollingsworth, M.D., medical director and breast surgeon at Mercy Women’s Center at Mercy Health Center in Oklahoma City, and his colleagues included 603 patients from March 2003 through December 2006 – the largest single-site study of preoperative patients ever published on MRI for breast cancer.

“Contrary to the speculative criticisms about breast MRI today, one of the most notable findings in our study is that women who underwent breast MRI had a better chance of avoiding mastectomy,” said Dr. Hollingsworth. “In fact, we present evidence that the number of breast conservation surgeries after MRI increased 12 percent to a rate slightly higher than the national data as reported by the National Cancer Data Base from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. Our study concludes that breast MRI is a valid recommendation for preoperative evaluation of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.”

source: Aurora

Dilon Technologies Partners With PenRad Mammography Information Systems to Provide Streamlined Diagnostic Analysis and Reporting

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Dilon Technologies announced today that they have entered into a co-marketing partnership with PenRad Mammography Information Systems. Dilon will introduce the PenRad system to its Dilon 6800 Gamma Camera customers as a tool to effectively streamline patient exam analysis and reporting.

The Dilon 6800 Gamma Camera is a high-resolution, small field-of-view gamma camera, optimized to perform Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), a molecular breast imaging procedure that images the metabolic activity of breast lesions through radiotracer uptake. The PenRad MIS auditing and tracking system creates efficiencies for clinics and hospitals where BSGI is performed. The software helps facilities meet MQSA requirements by creating reports, patient letters, statistics, analytics, and more. PenRad's unique design benefits the patient, technologist, radiologist and
administrative office personnel, increasing the productivity and profitability of a practice.

source: PR Newswire

Aurora Imaging Technology Receives FDA Clearance for Spectroscopy Technology

NORTH ANDOVER, MA. (Nov. 3, 2008) – Aurora Imaging Technology Inc. is proud to announce that the Aurora® 1.5Tesla Dedicated Breast MRI System has received 501(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for AuroraSPECTROSCOPY™, the company’s breast magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy package. The availability of AuroraSPECTROSCOPY will provide Aurora Breast MRI the capability to perform in vivo breast MR spectroscopy (MRS) and MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI). AuroraSPECTROSCOPY was developed to supplement Aurora Breast MRI by further improving the image specificity of this groundbreaking technology. The Aurora Breast MRI remains the only FDA-cleared dedicated breast MRI system specifically designed for the detection, diagnosis and management of breast disease alone.

“The introduction of AuroraSPECTROSCOPY is another example of Aurora’s commitment to offering promising tools and technology to aid medical professionals in combating breast disease through early detection and improved treatment planning,” said Olivia Ho Cheng, president and chief executive officer, Aurora Imaging Technology.

sourceAurora Imaging