Also known as Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), 3-D mammography is the latest breakthrough in breast cancer detection. For some women, images of cancers can often be obscured by dense breast tissue, causing some cancers to go undetected.
2-D mammography typically takes two X-rays of each breast from different angles—from side-to-side and top-to-bottom. The breast is stretched and compressed. This compression causes overlapping of the breast tissue, which can sometimes hide a breast cancer. Mammograms take a single picture across the entire breast.
Whereas 2-D mammography produces just a single picture of each breast, 3-D mammography takes multiple pictures of each breast from many angles. During the imaging session, an X-ray tube moves in an arc around the breast, taking a volume set of images in a matter of seconds. The breast radiology specialist then reviews the clear, highly focused images of the breast tissue, layer by layer.
The images below show the difference between a 2-D and 3-D mammogram of the same region. The tumor is obvious on the 3-D view and could easily be missed on the 2-D view.
In addition to receiving some of the highest scores possible by the American College of Radiology (ACR), our Breast Imaging Centers in Walnut Creek and Concord have also been designated as Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence—the highest award given to breast imaging centers by ACR.
Our Breast Imaging Centers are recognized as Breast Imaging Centers of Excellence, the highest award given by the American College of Radiology (ACR).