Breast Cancer Screening

Addition of Fuji CR Mammography Technology to Siemens' portfolio provides facilities with options for breast cancer screening.

Siemens Medical Solutions highlighted new additions to its comprehensive women's health portfolio at the 92nd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1 in Chicago. The company launched the newly acquired MammoTest® prone table, which expands its biopsy portfolio by offering clinicians the choice of upright or prone stereotactic systems. In addition, Siemens also featured Fuji's computed radiography for mammography (FCRm) as part of their exclusive agreement to sell Fuji's full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system.

The rights to the MammoTest system were acquired by Siemens this summer from Fischer Imaging. The technology features 360-degree lesion access and an ergonomically designed table for increased patient comfort. In addition, polar coordinate targeting and a high resolution fiber optic camera enable an increased number of biopsies to be performed, enhancing facility workflow and throughput. Its unique versatility also allows for handheld ultrasound biopsy and needle localizations. By late November, the company expects to begin selling the unit globally and will look to incorporate the syngo® platform in the coming year.

"Siemens is now uniquely able to provide maximum flexibility in biopsy solutions," said Anders Steiner, vice president, Special Systems Division, Siemens Medical Solutions. "This technology acquisition enables us to better accommodate clinicians' biopsy preferences by offering both the Opdima® upright system and the MammoTest prone table system."

Already considered to be the gold standard in digital biopsy and spot imaging, Opdima is designed to perform quick and efficient stereotactic needle and core biopsies, as well as localization procedures. The system offers the highest resolution on the market, at 20 lp/mm (line-pairs per millimeter), as well as a very high contrast range of 4,096 shades of grey, enabling the detection of even the smallest micro-calcifications. The system is compatible with most MAMMOMAT® mammography products, including the MAMMOMAT Novation(DR) full-field digital mammography system.

High-speed, High Resolution System Provides Digital Entry for Mammography

Fuji's FFDM system is the first and only Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved CR system for mammography. It is a high quality, versatile system that allows facilities to leverage existing analog units for digital screening and diagnostic exams. The technology offers two configurations - a single- or multi-plate cassette reader, both providing 18 x 24-centimeter and 24 x 30-centimeter fields-of-view, 50-micron pixel sampling, and Fuji's patented dual-side reading technology. The ClearView-1m single-plate reader can be installed in the exam room to address high volume screening and the ClearView-CSm multi-plate reader can accommodate the exam volume of up to three screening rooms with a throughput of up to 20 breast screening exams per hour.

Three important image-processing features of FCRm are Dynamic Range Control (DRC), Multi-objective Frequency Processing (MFP), and Pattern Enhancement for Mammography (PEM). DRC improves the visibility of both dense and soft tissue by amplifying or reducing image density and contrast. MFP selectively applies varying degrees of edge enhancement processing to each individual breast structure dependent on size for improved image quality. PEM detects and improves the conspicuity of minute structural information within the breast, such as micro-calcifications, through pattern recognition for easier visualization.

"The addition of FCRm to Siemens' portfolio allows us to make digital mammography more available to hospitals and women's healthcare centers by providing multiple FFDM options to help better meet the unique throughput, workflow, and budgetary requirements of each facility," said Steiner. "We recognize the need for advanced digital screening capabilities in women's health and look forward to working with Fuji to make it more accessible to the public."

By: Siemens Medical Solutions