SoftVue™ 3D Whole Breast Ultrasound Tomography System

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SoftVue™ 3D Whole Breast Ultrasound Tomography System

SoftVue™ Offers a Solution for Dense Breast Screening.

The SoftVue™ 3D Whole Breast Ultrasound Tomography System, developed by Karmanos Cancer Institute and Delphinus Medical Technologies, is used in conjunction with digital mammography in screening asymptomatic women with dense breast tissue.

The Karmanos Advantage

What does it mean to have dense breasts?

Breast density reflects the amount of fibrous and glandular tissue in a woman’s breasts compared with the amount of fatty tissue in the breasts, as seen on a mammogram.

On a mammography report, breast density is assigned to one of the following four categories:

  • The breasts are almost entirely fatty (about 10 percent of women).
  • A few areas of dense tissue are scattered through the breasts (about 40 percent of women).
  • The breasts are evenly dense throughout (about 40 percent of women).
  • The breasts are extremely dense (about 10 percent of women).

Women in the first two categories are said to have low-density, non-dense, or fatty breasts. Women in the second two categories are said to have high-density or dense breasts. About half of women who are 40 years old or older have dense breasts.

Information from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Why does mammography miss cancers in dense breasts?

Mammograms use X-ray to image the breast. Both cancer and dense tissue appear white on an X-ray, which makes it difficult to detect cancer in women with dense breasts using mammography.

How does SoftVue™ differ from mammography?

SoftVue™ does not use X-ray to image the breast. SoftVue™ is based on ultrasound technology, meaning it operates with the same kind of harmless soundwaves used to image babies in pregnant women. Cancers are easier to detect on ultrasound because sound can move through dense tissue to detect cancer blocked by dense tissue on an X-ray.

In fact, SoftVue™ has proven to detect 20 percent more cancers when combined with standard mammography for women with dense breasts.

In addition, rather than just having one type of image to review for possible cancers, SoftVue offers four different image sets of each breast that radiologists can use to determine if cancer is present. That is four times the imaging power, giving radiologists more diagnostic confidence compared than reviewing mammography alone.

The SoftVue™ Experience – No Compression or Radiation

The SoftVue™ experience is easy and comfortable, with no compression or radiation and can be performed on the same day as your mammogram, saving time and hassle.

SoftVue™ uses an imaging ring that surrounds the breast while it is immersed in warm water. The imaging ring emits sound waves that travel through and around the breast, capturing images every 2 millimeters as it moves from the nipple to the chest wall.

If you have dense breasts and would like to schedule your SoftVue™ exam with your routine mammogram, please call 1-800-KARMANOS (1-800-527-6266) or request an appointment online below.

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