3-D Mammography

At Catawba Valley Imaging Center (CVIC), a service of Catawba Valley Health System, you have access to some of the most advanced breast cancer screening technology available. This includes digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) mammography, an imaging technique that creates a three-dimensional (3-D) like image of breast tissue, to help screen patients for breast cancer. While standard mammogram machines take a static picture from above the breast, the tomosynthesis tube moves over the breast in an arc.

A 3-D mammogram has 20 projection images each taken at slightly different angles along that arc. The information is fed into a computer which reconstructs composite images into extremely thin slices. Just as in computerized tomography (CT), the ability to evaluate breast tissue without overlapping structures offers greater image clarity. So it’s fundamentally like a mammogram with an enhanced ability to reconstruct the image into multiple thin slices, providing a clearer image of the breast tissue.

The introduction of tomosynthesis technology is one of many significant investments made by Catawba Valley Health System to more accurately diagnose patients with breast cancer. Women who are identified as having dense breasts can particularly benefit from DBT screening as research shows they have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Providing the most advanced care for women, including those notified of increased breast density, is Catawba Valley Health System's top priority. With DBT mammography, we can get the same or slightly better degree of sensitivity as with digital screening mammography, but it is much more specific. This decreases the number of callbacks for screening mammography, but at the same time increase our cancer detection rate.

For more information about breast screenings, please contact Catawba Valley Imaging Center at 828-485-2774 located at 1501 Tate Blvd. SE, Suite 101 Hickory, NC 28602.

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