Digital Mammography Vs. Analog Mammography

Mammograms help detect breast cancer.

Mammograms are used to help detect breast cancer in women. A mammogram is a breast x-ray, and is used for both screening and for diagnosis. Diagnostic mammograms involve more pictures than screening mammograms.

Recommendations

The National Cancer Institute recommends that a woman who is 40 or older should have a screening mammogram every one to two years. If you are at a higher risk of breast cancer, you should speak with your doctor about getting a mammogram sooner.

Analog Mammogram

During an analog mammogram, the breast is pressed between two plates and x-rays are taken. The film is used to take the picture and to view the picture, which is a fixed image.

Digital Mammogram

Digital mammograms were first cleared by the FDA for use in 2003. The process is the same as the analog mammogram for the patient, except that it takes about half the time. The digital nature of the mammogram allows the image to be viewed on a monitor or printed in high resolution.

Advantages

Digital mammography offers the advantages of electronic film archiving, faster results, fewer patient callbacks and more shades of gray for analysis.

Cancer Detection

Cancer detection rates are about the same when using either digital or analog mammography. However, the digital does seem to work better at detecting abnormalities in a dense breast, according to the Emory Winship Cancer Institute.

References

• National Cancer Institute: Mammograms
• Medcompare: Digital Vs. Analog Mammography
• CNN: Do digital mammograms make a difference?