Better Images. Better Care.
And a Look at the Future of Breast Imaging.

The Breast Imaging Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, one of the leading teaching hospitals in the U.S., has gone digital with the Hologic Selenia mammography systems. The Center is also actively involved in researching what is believed to be the next wave in mammography technology: breast tomosynthesis.

"From my perspective," says Dr. Steven Poplack, co-director of the Breast Imaging Center at Dartmouth and an associate professor at the Dartmouth Medical School, "it's all about image quality. With the Selenia system, there was no question... the digital image quality was superior. And that's why we went with it.

"Because the radiologist can easily manipulate the contrast on the Selenia system, they are seeing much more detail, in much less time. Greater contrast control is especially important when dealing with patients with denser breast tissue, or implants.

One of the most important benefits to patients remains unseen. Says Dr. Poplack, "Digital mammography can be performed with less radiation exposure to the breast than analog, while maintaining excellent image quality.

"Because digital technology has eliminated the errors associated with the analog film process, and reduced the number of callbacks because of those errors, it has gone a long way towards alleviating much of the anxiety associated with mammograms.