The latest technology in Early Breast Cancer Detection is digital mammography. Unveiling its newest digital equipment, ELIH brings certified digital mammographic care to your community.  Digital mammography is the next step for locating cancers that may be difficult to detect, showing only subtle mammographic changes.

In contrast to conventional screen mammography, which uses x-ray film to acquire, store and display an image, digital mammography conveniently offers a means of separating these functions.  Digital mammography has a number of attributes that may help a small breast tumor mass or malignant calcifications stand out from surrounding normal tissue. 

*Breast cancer trial results showed that, for an entire population of women studied, digital and film mammography had very similar screening accuracy. However, the study revealed that digital mammography was significantly better in screening women in three categories:

 Women under age 50 (no matter what level of breast tissue density they had).
 Women of any age with very dense or extremely dense breasts.
 Women who are pre- or peri-menopausal (defined as women who had a final menstrual period within 12 months of their mammograms).

Advantages of Digital Mammography

 Compared to the 10-15 minutes needed for conventional film mammography, digital mammography images are acquired in less than a minute.
 The superior contrast resolution of digital mammography (especially in dense breast tissues) and its ability to manipulate images may aid in greater breast cancer detection accuracy. 
 Digital mammography interfaces well with CAD (computer-aided detection) another innovation already in place. CAD obtains a second, computerized reading-- a virtual second opinion.
 Digital mammograms may be archived, easily retrieved, and copied exactly. They can also be transmitted from one location to another, permitting off-line interpretation and expert consultation (telemammography).

Learn the do’s and don’ts of preparing for your mammography exam.  Visit ELIH.org/services/radiology/mammograms.

Tell your mother, your sister, your wife, your friend, your neighbor, yourself  …  Early Detection Saves Lives.  Get a digital mammogram, call 631-477-5121.

*Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (DMIST), one of the largest cancer screening trials ever conducted by radiologists, published September 16, 2005 by the New England Journal of Medicine.