Breast Tomosynthesis Is a Major Step Forward in Image Clarity and Patient Care. Kellie Bedenbaugh, a registered breast imaging technologist at the Breast Health Center at Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center, is excited about the hospital’s recent installation of two tomosynthesis systems and what it means for her patients. “Tomosynthesis helps our radiologists see inside the breast much more thoroughly. The images acquired produce a high-quality digital mammogram along with images that the computer divides into multiple layers, which the radiologist can view one millimeter slice at a time,” explains Bedenbaugh. The Breast Health Center is part of Georgia Health Sciences Health System, the clinical arm of Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU). An academic health center, GHSU prides itself on its combination of research, technical expertise and patient care. The hospital installed two Hologic Selenia Dimensions
digital mammography systems in February and added the Dimensions digital tomosynthesis capability
three months later. The Breast Health Center uses the tomosynthesis system for all mammograms, both screening and
diagnostic, and is the first health system in Georgia and one of only a handful in the country to make
tomosynthesis the standard for care in breast imaging. “The usual screening population is asymptomatic,” states Dr. James Craft, a breast imager at the Center and Assistant Professor of Radiology at GHSU. “Seventy-six percent of women who develop breast cancer don’t have any risk factors. We can’t predict who will get breast cancer, and the tomosynthesis dose is less than it was when we were doing film studies a year ago, so we give everyone the best exam and the best care that we can.”
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