Mammography comfort aid yields better detection

A mammography aid designed to improve patient comfort, used together with additional training for radiology technologists, improves breast positioning and yields better image results for women and their doctors, according to a study conducted at St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, MI.

Researchers concluded that of all the major factors that affect mammogram image quality, positioning has the greatest impact on quality. Optimal breast positioning is crucial in mammography because it allows as much breast tissue as possible to be imaged. Patients who were imaged using the mammography aid also reported that the comfort of the procedure was better than they expected, according to the researchers who used the MammoPad breast cushion, manufactured by BioLucent, Inc.

"I like when technologists use MammoPad because there's no loss of resolution in the mammogram, and patients are pleased with the decrease in the discomfort of the mammogram," said co-author of the study A. Christine Watt, MD, and interim chairman of St. John Hospital's Department of Imaging Services.

The St. John researchers concluded that the positive results of their study were due in part to the relaxation MammoPad produced among the women who were imaged, as well as the physical characteristics of the breast cushion, which creates a grip-like effect that helps hold the breast in place after the technologist positions it.

"The breast cushion helps positioning in so many ways," said Ellen Everett-Massetti, lead mammography technologist and Dr. Watt's co-author. "It warms the mammography device for patients and makes them more comfortable. It makes patients more receptive to the technologist, which makes for better positioning. The soft foam also is a perfect surface, because once we position a patient's breast, it stays there. I have nothing but positive things to say about the cushion."

The study involved two groups of patients who had routine screening mammograms at St. John Hospital's Liggett Breast Center and St. John Surgery Center. Their mammograms were evaluated by comparing current year films to prior year films. The first group consisted of 107 women who were imaged without MammoPad. The second group, which included 377 women, was imaged using the cushion. The technologists who performed the second group's mammograms also attended a positioning workshop that included the use of MammoPad.

Co-authors Dr. Watt and Everett are scheduled to present the results of the study at the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC) national conference in Las Vegas, Feb. 27-March 2.