Scientists have reported that a new mammography unit that includes a digital camera is more effective than traditional units in detecting cancer within the dense breast tissue of young women.
For women in their twenties and thirties, the new digital device could be a life-saver. The University of Virginia Health Sciences Center is currently testing patients with a new mammogram unit.
The images produced by unit’s are clearer than those of the past because a digital camera can produces images with better resolution and a wider range of shades from black to white than cameras using traditional photographic film. Martin Stanton of Brandeis’ Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center explained, “The main problem with film is that is doesn’t offer a large enough range of exposures between black and white, meaning it’s harder to differentiate between dense and less dense tissues.”
Currently, traditional mammograms fail to detect one of every five cases of breast cancer, and that rate is even higher amo
