UH Breast Health Center is First in the Region To Offer 3D Mammography
Play the video to learn about 3D Mammography - seeing is believing.
University Hospitals Breast Health Center is the first and only healthcare provider in Northern Ohio to offer tomosynthesis, advanced three-dimensional breast imaging, for the earliest detection of breast cancer.
This new type of mammography produces a 3D image of the breast, providing doctors with a clearer view through overlapping breast tissue. The result is a more detailed picture, making breast abnormalities easier to see, even in dense tissue.
Tomosynthesis improves the radiologists' ability to detect potential breast cancers by helping to pinpoint the size, shape and location of abnormalities. This helps the radiologist distinguish harmless structures from tumors, leading to fewer false positives, fewer call-backs and less anxiety for women.
Tomosynthesis builds upon the success of digital mammography and, over time, experts expect that it will become the gold standard in breast cancer screening and detection. For now, it will be used as a complement to conventional 2D mammography for patients receiving a screening mammogram.
Advanced 3D Imaging Can Lead To Easier, Earlier Detection of Breast Cancer
Conventional mammography images the entire breast in one exposure, which can result in abnormalities remaining hidden by overlapping tissue. Tomosynthesis, like a CT scan, takes images from multiple angles and uses computer processing to build these “slices” into a three-dimensional image that a radiologist can manipulate, examining each slice individually for a more thorough examination. The resulting advantages include:
- Easier detection: By reducing the effects of overlapping breast tissue
which can hide small tumors, tomosynthesis can make a breast abnormality easier to see.
- Fewer callbacks: Tomosynthesis can help radiologists reduce false alarms. For example, a three-dimensional view can prove that a spot that looked questionable in a mammogram screening is really no cause for concern. This leads to fewer callbacks, additional scans and biopsies.
- Earlier detection: With tomosynthesis, additional images of the breast are taken and synthesized into a 3D data set, much like a CT scan. This finer detail works to detect cancers earlier than standard mammography.
- Better visualization: Three-dimensional images help radiologists see the size, shape and location of an abnormality. In a 2D mammogram, it could be hidden.
- More comprehensive care: When cancer is detected in one breast, 15 percent of women have another tumor in the same breast or in the other breast. Tomosynthesis screens the whole breast, not just the problem area.
What to Expect From a Tomosynthesis Exam
A tomosynthesis exam may be used as a screening tool in conjunction with traditional 2D digital mammography. As with a digital mammogram, the technologist will take images from different angles.
During the tomosynthesis portion of the exam, the X-ray arm of the mammography machine makes a quick arc over the breast, taking a series of breast images at a number of angles.
The whole procedure should take approximately the same amount of time as that of a traditional digital mammogram, and the patient experience is very similar.
Convenient Locations for 3D Mammography
University Hospitals Breast Health Center currently offers tomosynthesis at two convenient locations:
University Hospitals Breen Breast Health Pavilion
UH Case Medical Center
11100 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106
Map and directions
Or call 216.844.3097 for more information
UH Chagrin Highlands Breast Center
3909 Orange Place, Suite 4400
Orange Village, OH 44122
Map and directions
Or call 216.292.1783 for more information