The Telfair Pavilion at St. Joseph’s/Candler adds Automated Breast Ultrasound System for screening women with dense breasts

 St. Joseph’s/Candler has added a new tool to its arsenal of weapons in the early detection of breast cancer. Called the Invenia ABUS 2.0 (Automated Breast Ultrasound System), the machine is FDA-approved for breast cancer screening in addition to mammography for women with dense breast tissue.

This ultrasound machine is located at the Telfair Pavilion at Candler Hospital.

Ultrasound is a non-invasive and efficient way to look inside the body at organs and soft tissue. There is no exposure to radiation as with X-rays. Instead, ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to create detailed images of the area being examine.

Ultrasound does not replace mammography but is used in addition to, especially in women with dense breasts. Dense breast tissue has been found to be the most common risk factor for the development of cancer and makes cancer more difficult to detect using mammography alone. That’s because both dense tissue and cancer appear white on a mammogram. With ABUS, suspicious masses appear black against the white dense tissue.

With 3D ultrasound volumes and ABUS software, radiologists can look through hundreds of breast tissue image “slices,” looking at layers of dense tissue to find breast cancers which may have been missed on a mammogram. This is also referred to as whole breast ultrasound or automated whole breast ultrasound.

The Invenia ABUS system is designed to enhance the consistency, reproducibility and sensitivity of breast ultrasound, demonstrating a 35.7 percent improvement in cancer detection in women with dense breasts without prior breast intervention.

It is also more efficient for both the patient and radiologist. Exams are often short and comfortable. Radiologists will be able to examine a wide field-of-view volume of images in a time efficient manner.

The American College of Radiology recommends yearly mammograms for women over 40 or 10 years prior to a first-degree relative’s diagnosis. If you have been told you have dense breasts, you should talk to your doctor or radiologist if Automated Breast Ultrasound is a good additional step to take.

For more information, you can call the Telfair Pavilion at 912-819-7000.