Mammograms in 3-D!
Most people remember the View-Master—the 1940s technology that delivered 3-D images of Mickey Mouse and the Grand Canyon. Researchers are using the same method to create three-dimensional mammograms. Radiologists take images of the breast from slightly different angles and then view them on equipment that is a high-tech update of the classic children's toy. An Emory University study of 1,500 women revealed that the 3-D mammograms improved the chance a cancer would be detected by 23 percent; they also reduced the risk of false positives by 46 percent. Mary S. Newell, MD, assistant director of breast imaging at Emory University in Atlanta and co-author of this research, loves the simple new scan: "It doesn't require expensive upgrades; the glasses are a low-tech affair. I look like Roy Orbison in mine."
