Broadlawns Medical Center Adds New Generation of Mammography to Women's Services

Des Moines, IA - January 24, 2012: Broadlawns Medical Center is adding another new, high-tech weapon to its arsenal in the battle against breast cancer. With this addition, the Mammography Center at Broadlawns becomes the first mammography provider in Iowa to offer breast tomosynthesis cancer screening with a full field digital mammography system.

With the key to survival being early detection, the new system provides women a state-of-the-art x-ray with a 3-dimensional view. The tomosynthesis cancer screening is the latest generation of equipment that uses very low x-ray exposure and high-powered computing to convert digital breast images into a stack of very thin layers. These slices essentially provide a "3-dimensional" mammogram.

"This is a brand new mammography screening platform," says Dr. John Tentinger, radiologist. "Everything in the new system has been optimized for image quality, patient comfort and faster imaging."

The tomosynthesis cancer screening process makes the fine details of the breast imaging clearly detectable without visible interference from surrounding tissue. Lessening the amount of extraneous matter helps to identify very small cancers, thereby helping to rule out false positives and reducing the number of callbacks when there is a suspicious area.

"During the tomosynthesis part of the exam, the X-ray arm sweeps in a slight arc over the breast, taking multiple images in seconds. The computer then puts both together and the result is a 3D image of tissue in one millimeter layers," Tentinger notes.

This new technology is a direct result of Broadlawns' dedication to the goal of detecting breast cancer early, before it has spread. Early detection can help women achieve a five-year survival rate of 98 percent. Women aged 40 years and older should have regular preventative yearly mammograms as part of their proactive battle against breast cancer.

Women who have seen and experienced this new "3D" mammography technology say that it has changed their view of how mammography is used as a weapon against breast cancer.

On Tuesday, January 24, a group of women from central Iowa got a tour of the Patricia R. Grubb Mammography Center and viewed firsthand the advancements in 3D mammography technology at Broadlawns.

For more information about mammography options at Broadlawns, call 515-657-6615.

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