Central Texas Medical Center Offers New, More Comfortable Mammogram To Detect Breast Cancer Earlier

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS — Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) is making women’s comfort and breast health a priority by offering the SmartCurve breast stabilization system.

In Andrew Smith’s 2017 study on “Improving Patient Comfort in Mammography,” the state-of-the-art system was clinically proven to deliver a more comfortable mammogram without compromising image quality, workflow or dose.

It also includes the new Clarity HD high-resolution 3D™ imaging technology, which provides radiologists with the highest resolution 3D images to help identify cancers early.

These innovations come as part of CTMC’s ongoing commitment to superior breast cancer detection and providing an improved mammogram experience for our patients.

The technology increases diagnostic confidence with its exceptional images and has the potential to increase screening volume and compliance for the countless women who have reported avoiding regular mammograms due in large part to the fear of discomfort associated with breast compression.

“These technologies not only enable us to improve the experience for our patients by providing them with a more comfortable mammogram, but more importantly allow us to do so while maintaining clinical accuracy with the industry’s fastest, highest resolution 3D images to accelerate screening and analysis,” said CTMC President/CEO Anthony Stahl. “Being able to arm doctors with the advanced ability to identify subtle lesions to help pinpoint cancers in early stages, while also keeping patients more comfortable than ever before, is priceless.”

The SmartCurve system and Clarity HD high-resolution 3D imaging technology are available exclusively with Hologic’s GeniusÔ 3D MammographyÔ exam, which is currently in use by CTMC and detects more invasive cancers, reduces false positives, and is FDA approved as superior, compared to conventional 2D mammography for all women, including those with dense breasts.^3,4,5

The SmartCurve system features a proprietary curved surface that mirrors the shape of a woman’s breast to reduce pinching and allow better distribution of force over the entire breast.

In a recent clinical study comparing the SmartCurve breast stabilization system to traditional flat paddle compression, the SmartCurve system improved comfort in 93 percent of women who reported moderate to severe discomfort with standard compression.¹ In addition, 95 percent of those surveyed would recommend facilities that use the system.¹

“We’re excited to provide these technologies for all of our patients and remain committed to offering the women of our community the most advanced breast care possible alongside an improved mammogram experience,” said CTMC Director of Radiology Shayne Musick.

For more information about CTMC and its breast health services, visit CTMC.org. To schedule your mammogram, visit CTMCMammo.com or call 512.753.3661.

³ Results from Friedewald, SM, et al. “Breast cancer screening using tomosynthesis in combination with digital mammography.” JAMA 311.24 (2014): 2499-2507; a multi-site (13), non-randomized, historical control study of 454,000 screening mammograms investigating the initial impact the introduction of the Hologic Selenia® Dimensions ® on screening outcomes. Individual results may vary. The study found an average 41% (95% CI: 20-65 percent) increase and that 1.2 (95% CI: 0.8-1.6) additional invasive breast cancers per 1000 screening exams were found in women receiving combined 2D FFDM and 3DÔ mammograms acquired with the Hologic 3D MammographyÔ system versus women receiving 2D FFDM mammograms only.

⁴ Bernardi D, Macaskill P, Pellegrini M, et. al. Breast cancer screening with tomosynthesis (3D mammography) with acquired or synthetic 2D mammography compared with 2D mammography alone (STORM-2): a population-based prospective study. Lancet Oncol. 2016 Aug;17(8):1105-13.

⁵ U.S. Food & Drug Administration Premarket Approval (PMA). FDA.gov https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpma/pma.cfm?id=P080003 accessed June 5, 2017.