Running head: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN IMAGING SCIENCES 1 EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN IMAGING SCIENCES 2 Emerging Technology in Imaging Sciences Veronique Navomah RAD 1410 Professor Catherine McGee October 22, 2015 Prince George’s Community College Abstract This paper discusses in depth breast tomosynthesis in mammography as an emerging technology. I am also going to will compare and contrast breast tomosynthesis in mammography with PET/CT scanning that is a present current imaging modality. This paper will also compare & and contrast the risks and benefits of breast tomosynthesis in mammography for the imaging community, implications of this technology for the radiographer and radiologist if applicable, and the importance of continued professional development, and finally give an analysis of the impact of breast tomosynthesis in mammography for the patient. Emerging Technology in Imaging Sciences Breast cancer is presently the most common type of cancer in women globally. To successfully treat this type of cancer, you first need to discover it. Reliable diagnosis and early detection are important to survive the disease. Technologies like 2D mammography and gold standard? are not capable of always giving confident and clear results. More so 2D imaging results are not clear as clear for patients with dense breast tissue. Breast tomosynthesis gives images that are of high quality for diagnosis that and is more reliable despite the density of the tissue or even the size of the breast. Breast tomosynthesis is a special type of mammogram that generates a three dimension image of the breast by using some low dose x-rays acquired from different angles (American Cancer Society, 2013). For breast tomosynthesis, the breast is placed and compressed in the same manner as for a routine mammogram but the tube for the x-ray moves in a circular curve around the breast. Thus, Imaging takes less than ten seconds. The information obtained from the x-ray is sent to a computer that generates a 3D image of the breast that is sharp and focused. Regular mammograms, however, record the images on films. The x-ray dose for a breast tomosynthesis image is the same as that of a regular mammogram. Breast tomosynthesis mammography takes two x-rays of every breast from diverse angles; side to side and top to bottom. The breast is normally pulled away from the body, squeezed and held between two glasses plates to make sure that the entire breast is viewed seen. Radiologists read and interpret them these images. Breast cancer that is denser than the most healthy breast tissuesthat are near looks like and appears as an irregular white area that are at times is sometimes referred to as shadows. One of the present current imaging modalities or practice that I am going to compare breast tomography tomosynthesis to is the.

1. Running head: EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN IMAGING
SCIENCES 1
EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN IMAGING SCIENCES
2
Emerging Technology in Imaging Sciences
Veronique Navomah
RAD 1410
Professor Catherine McGee
October 22, 2015
Prince George’s Community College
Abstract
This paper discusses in depth breast tomosynthesis in
mammography as an emerging technology. I am also going to
will compare and contrast breast tomosynthesis in
mammography with PET/CT scanning that is a present current
imaging modality. This paper will also compare & and contrast
the risks and benefits of breast tomosynthesis in mammography
for the imaging community, implications of this technology for
the radiographer and radiologist if applicable, and the
importance of continued professional development, and finally
give an analysis of the impact of breast tomosynthesis in
mammography for the patient.
Emerging Technology in Imaging Sciences
Breast cancer is presently the most common type of cancer in
women globally. To successfully treat this type of cancer, you

2. first need to discover it. Reliable diagnosis and early detection
are important to survive the disease. Technologies like 2D
mammography and gold standard? are not capable of always
giving confident and clear results. More so 2D imaging results
are not clear as clear for patients with dense breast tissue.
Breast tomosynthesis gives images that are of high quality for
diagnosis that and is more reliable despite the density of the
tissue or even the size of the breast. Breast tomosynthesis is a
special type of mammogram that generates a three dimension
image of the breast by using some low dose x-rays acquired
from different angles (American Cancer Society, 2013). For
breast tomosynthesis, the breast is placed and compressed in the
same manner as for a routine mammogram but the tube for the
x-ray moves in a circular curve around the breast. Thus,
Imaging takes less than ten seconds. The information obtained
from the x-ray is sent to a computer that generates a 3D image
of the breast that is sharp and focused. Regular mammograms,
however, record the images on films. The x-ray dose for a
breast tomosynthesis image is the same as that of a regular
mammogram.
Breast tomosynthesis mammography takes two x-rays of every
breast from diverse angles; side to side and top to bottom. The
breast is normally pulled away from the body, squeezed and
held between two glasses plates to make sure that the entire
breast is viewed seen. Radiologists read and interpret them
these images. Breast cancer that is denser than the most healthy
breast tissuesthat are near looks like and appears as an irregular
white area that are at times is sometimes referred to as shadows.
One of the present current imaging modalities or practice that I
am going to compare breast tomography tomosynthesis to is the
PET/CT scan. PET-CT scan stands for Positron Emission
Tomography-Computed Tomography. A PET-CT is a type of
nuclear medicine imaging. A PET-CT scan is a scan that makes

3. use of a PET scan and CT scan to give more detailed
information about cancer. A CT scan obtains an array of x-rays
from all around a patient's body and utilizes a computer to put
these x-rays together. CT imaging gives outstanding anatomic
information. A PET scan makes use of a very small amount of
radioactive drugs known as radiotracers, a special camera, and a
computer to show how tissues of the body are working. By
discovering body changes at the cells level, PET may sense the
early start of disease before it is manifested noted on other
imaging tests. A PET scan determines significant body
functions, such as glucose metabolism, oxygen use, and blood
flow to assist doctors to assess how well tissues and organs are
functioning. A PET-CT scan utilizes X-rays to obtain pictures
of the structures of a patient's body (Townsend, 2008 p.?). At
the same time, a slightly radioactive drug shows up parts of a
patient's body where the cells are extra more active than usual.
The scanner merges both of these sorts sources of information.
This permits the doctor to see any alterations in the functioning
of cells and know precisely where the changes are occurring.
The merged PET/CT scans give images that identify the
anatomic site of irregular metabolic activity within the body.
The collective scans have been shown to give more accurate
correct diagnoses than when performed separately. PET-CT
scans are widely used in some functions various ways including
detecting cancer, determining whether cancer has spread in the
body, assessing the success of a treatment plan such as
chemotherapies, and determining if a cancer has returned after
treatment just to mention but a few.
One of the major disparities between breast tomosynthesis in
mammography and other imaging technologies is that breast
tomosynthesis has solved the problem of identifying very small
cancers and has reduced the number of false positives that used
to occur with normal mammograms. Women had to be called
back for another diagnostic test after a mammogram that is was

4. determined to be suspicious. The breast tomosynthesis enables
radiologists to see the breast tissue in a way that they never
used to before. Instead of seeing all the complexities of the
breast in an image that is flat, the doctors can now see fine
individual details in a more clear way that is no longer hidden
by overlapping tissues (Rose?, Tidwell & Bujnoch, 2006, p.?).
Breast tomosynthesis in mammography comes with a variety of
benefits as well as risks for the imaging community. The x-ray
examinations are easy and fast and the equipment used are is
comparatively widely available and inexpensive. Breast
tomosynthesis in mammography is a new type of test that is
trying to get over three big issues that were experienced before.
The mammogram takes many X-ray images of every breast
(really?). Researchers trust that this new breast imaging method
will make breast cancers easy to view in breast tissues that are
dense and will make the screening of the breast more
comfortable (American Cancer society, 2013). Due to the high
disparity resolution of breast tomosynthesis, distinctions
between the tissues are more clearly compared to other methods.
What are the three big issues? You do not describe them in this
paragraph.
However, This technology also comes with some risks. One of
them is that the technology exposes the patient and the
radiographer to radiation risks although this risk has been
considered minimal or insignificant. Another risk is that some
of the breast cancers hide in breast tissues that are dense and,
therefore, they do not show in mammograms. A negative
examination result does not guarantee that a woman is free from
cancer. When a mammogram looks like it is normal and later a
cancer is found, the mammogram is known to as a false negative
examination. and The rate of false negative examinations is
approximately to be 15 to 20 percent. This rate is high in a
woman with dense breast tissue and in young women. Another
risk is that a mammogram might show in areas that are regarded
as suspicious or abnormal. If this occurs, other tests are usually

5. recommended for instance such as breast biopsy, MRI imaging,
ultrasound, additional mammograms or CT scans.
Indent This technology has some implications on the
radiographers and radiologists. With powerful diagnostic tests
that have major results on the diagnosis and treatment of
diseases, breast tomosynthesis has helped radiographers and
radiologists discover illnesses faster before they progress and
administer allow the patient to receive the required treatment.
The technology provides radiographers and radiologists with
unique and clear information which helps them in making
diagnosis, deciding on treatment and offering prognosis that is
the probable outcome of any disease – don’t understand what
you are trying to say here. The breast tomosynthesis has enabled
radiologists to see the breast tissue in a way that they never
used to before. You keep repeating the same statement over and
over again . Instead of seeing all the complexities of the breast
in an image that is flat, the doctors can now see finer individual
details in a more clear way that is no longer hidden by
overlapping tissues.Again same information as before
With the diseases advancing and breast cancer becoming more
common and the major cause of deaths among many women and
technology in the imaging field and health care industry as a
whole advancing, there is the need for continued professional
development for medical practitioners so that they can equip
themselves with the current trends that are emerging in the
industry. This will help them advance their skills in offering
their services and as a result, there will be improved patient
care. Wording is this paragraph needs to be redone – not able
to understand what you are trying to say. Need for professional
development to learn new methodologies?
Breast tomosynthesis has had an impact the patients as well.
This technology has helped patients to discover breast cancer
early as it is capable of detecting even the smaller cancers that
may be hidden in dense breast tissues. Patients can begin
prompt treatment, and this has helped patients to save a lot of

6. money and heavy avoid consequences that could have happened
if the disease was detected later. Breast tomosynthesis tests are
also accurate, and they accurately identify breasts tissues as
having cancer or not in a simple, fast and painless procedure.
References Please review APA guidelines for how to cite
references – this formatting is not correct
American Cancer Society. (2013). Breast cancer facts and
figures. Atlanta, Ga: American Cancer Society. Is this a
website? If so you need to state which paragraph you are citing
in the body of your paper.
Fenton, J., Taplin, H., Carney, A, et al. (2007). Influence of
computer-aided detection on performance of screening
mammography.
Freeman, T. (2010). Imaging: New techniques. In: Harris, R,
Lippmann, E, Morrow, M, Osborne, K, eds. Diseases of the
breast. 4th Ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins.
Raised,? L., Tidwell, L. & Bujnoch, J. (2006). Implementation
of breast tomosynthesis in a routine screening practice: an
observational study.
Townsend, 2008?