First Steps

A gentler. more accurate mammogram?
(continued)

Boone decided to revisit the issue. He realized the early radiation-dose estimates for breast CT were based on use of standard CT machines, which would require the breast and entire chest to be scanned together.

When Boone recalculated radiation dose based on screening the breast alone, he found that CT imaging in fact would use no more radiation than current X-ray mammography — and for women with larger breasts, would use up to 30 percent less.

The next step was to build a breast-only CT machine. Boone, who has six scientific patents to his name, custom-designed a system consisting of a padded table over a floor-mounted CT scanner. The patient lays face down on the table, with one breast at a time extending through an opening in the table. The CT scanner below rotates around the breast.

No breast compression is required. And the breast CT takes only about 10 seconds to screen each breast.

Says Boone: “We truly believe that breast CT has the potential to revolutionize breast cancer screening.