Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A new report published this week provides further evidence of the drop in mammography procedure volume that's occurred in the last decade in the U.S.
Mammography procedure volume fell 2% last year, and has fallen 16% since 2000, according to a new report by market research firm IMV Medical Information Division of Des Plaines, IL. We're featuring an article on the report by contributing writer Alexandra Weber Morales in our Women's Imaging Digital Community.
Despite the drop, there are positive signs for breast imaging. Women are able to schedule mammograms more quickly than in past years, and the rise of breast care centers gives women more options for treatment and diagnosis. And the shift to digital technology and breast MRI are also positive developments. Get the rest of the story by clicking here.
7-tesla breast MRI
In other news in the community, we offer a report by contributing writer Rob Skelding from last week's European Congress of Radiology on an investigational study using 7-tesla breast MRI.
German researchers compared the ultrahigh-field magnet to a conventional 1.5-tesla scanner, and found that the more powerful field strength conferred a number of advantages for breast imaging. But 7-tesla breast MRI also has significant drawbacks that may prevent it from becoming a routine clinical tool anytime soon -- find out what they are by clicking here.
Finally, check out this article on a study that compares ultrasound breast scanning using a freehand technique to one based on automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) technology. The authors said that the automated technique might not be quite ready for prime time.
Get these stories and more by visiting our Women's Imaging Digital Community at women.auntminnie.com.
