New system could provide safer, cheaper, more detailed mammograms
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ARGONNE, Ill. (Oct. 26, 2007) — A new ultra-high resolution mammography system
that detects cancerous tumors with higher-quality images, more efficient
radiation exposures and lower cost has been developed by a team of U.S. and
German scientists.
Radiography is the oldest and most frequently used method for detecting
internal masses in medical imaging. It allows doctors to save lives
by discovering cancerous tumors or irregularities early.
Breast cancer deaths have been declining since 1990, but the disease annually
kills 40,000 women. “Better imaging technology is crucial in lowering deaths
and increasing early diagnosis and prevention,” said Jacqueline Johnson, a
materials scientist in the Nuclear
Engineering Division at the U.S. Department
of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.
Johnson, in collaboration with Rick Lubinsky from New York and
Stefan Schweizer from Germany, honed computer radiography technology to produce
the Ultra-High Resolution Mammography System, which was recently honored with
an R&D 100 award.
The system uses a glass-ceramic plate, which is transparent to lessen
light scattering, and a readout device designed specifically to maximize the
efficiency of the glass-ceramic material. The plates, made from a photostimulable
phosphor, have many advantages over traditional photographic film and scintillating
screens, such as reusability, wide dynamic range and direct digitization.
Although flat-panel-based digital radiography technology (DR) has started
to surpass computer radiography (CR) in leading research hospitals, DR systems
are much more expensive, and each individual detector in a room requires a
separate DR detector. “The average hospital could still benefit greatly from
a high-resolution system that enables early diagnosis of breast cancer but
is affordable,” said Johnson.
In general radiography, the current conversion rate from analog to digital
technology is about 50 percent, but it is less than 10 percent for
mammography systems. However, the new system achieves as good or better resolution
than screen or film, and it has the potential to greatly increase the use of
CR for mammography. The technology also reduces the amount of chemicals used
and the production of waste, which make the system attractive for other applications,
including inspection of micro-electronic parts or X-ray diffraction analysis
of biological materials.
Argonne National Laboratory brings
the world's brightest scientists and engineers together to find exciting and
creative new solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology.
The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic
and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne
researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities,
and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific
problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for
a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed
by UChicago
Argonne, LLC for
the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office
of Science.
By Jenny DeAngelis
For more information, please
contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov)
at Argonne.
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