ProMedica Toledo Hospital now has new tool to help evaluate breast tissue density on mammogram

Radiologists at ProMedica Toledo Hospital Breast Care Center have a new tool to help evaluate breast tissue density on a mammogram. It's called VolparaDensity™, a breast imaging software tool that uses complex physics and software to measure the amount of tissue within a patient's breast. This information is used by a breast imaging radiologist to decide if additional breast screening, beyond a mammogram, might be necessary. Additional breast screening tools include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and molecular breast imaging (MBI).

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 40 percent of all women have dense breast tissue. A dense breast has more tissue than fat. Dense breasts make it difficult to detect breast cancer on a mammogram because breast tissue and cancer can both appear white. Experts compare it to trying to identify a snowball in a snow storm. As a result, 35 percent of breast cancer goes undetected in these patients.

Toledo Hospital is the first hospital in Ohio to offer VolparaDensity. The center's medical director Robin Shermis, MD, says VolparaDensity was selected because it offers a consistent and standardized approach to calculating breast density when used in conjunction with the radiologist.

"We evaluated other commercially available density measurement tools, but adopted VolparaDensity because it has been proven to offer a reliable and objective volumetric measurement," says Dr. Shermis. "Our patients can take comfort in knowing that when they come to our center, they will be thoroughly assessed and vectored to additional screening in our effort to improve the early detection of cancer."

Cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), VolparaDensity is in use at sites around the world. It was developed by Matakina International based in New Zealand. The company's mission is to improve the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.

Toledo Hospital's Breast Care Center is devoted exclusively to patients with breast health issues. It is recognized as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology for meeting the highest standards of the radiology profession and achieving accreditation in mammography, breast ultrasound, ultrasound-guided biopsy and stereotactic breast biopsy. In 2011, the center introduced the LumaGEM™ MBI system, the industry's first commercially available, dual head digital imaging system. MBI requires less radiation and provides higher quality images that are easier to interpret.

"The MBI technology compliments our state-of-the-art MRI program," says Dr. Shermis.