by
Lisa Chamoff, Contributing Reporter | July 04, 2022
From the July 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
"These technologies offer the potential to truly transform personalized breast cancer screening and risk stratification, and could ultimately lead to more appropriate utilization of supplemental imaging and biopsies, less anxiety for women and decreased costs to the system overall," Stevens said.
Koning Corporation
Koning recently launched the third generation of its breast CT system, called Vera. The new version has a smaller footprint, improved resolution, lower radiation dose and a scan time reduced from 10 seconds to 7 seconds. As with all Breast CT devices, there is no breast compression.
Vera can also be outfitted to accommodate all breast imaging procedures, including 3D image-guided needle biopsy and contrast-enhanced imaging without gadolinium-based contrast agents, as an alternative to breast MR, said David Georges, president of Koning Corporation’s USA division.
“With contrast, it is a very suitable alternative to breast MR, which is obviously much more expensive, much more time consuming and they use a completely different contrast,” Georges said.
Unlike conventional mammography, the Koning Breast CT device supplies true isotropic 3D images, similar to whole body CT, including maximum intensity projection (MIP) and multiplanar reformation (MPR), Georges said. Radiation dose levels are in the same range as mammographic imaging, including for exams with contrast.
“Vera delivers a complete data set to the radiologist, providing opportunity to read a single image or view the area of interest in multiple planes,” Georges said. “[There’s] no need for additional views or retakes due to poor positioning, which is relatively common with mammography.”
PenRad
Earlier this year PenRad, which provides mammography tracking, reporting, analytics and compliance software, advanced its high-risk platform to include automatic identification of patients who are eligible for genetic testing, and bundled it with their automation solutions.
At the core of PenRad’s automation and patient intake solution is PenXpress. PenXpress facilitates the update of a patient's personal health history and risk, along with genetic testing eligibility documents, prior to the imaging appointment via a personal computer, tablet or mobile device. The solution, which is bundled with the company’s PenForms and PenConnect patient forms and electronic communication modules, streamlines patient intake and automates identification of patients at high risk of developing breast cancer and those eligible for genetic testing, creating opportunities for additional screening procedures such as breast MR and genetic screening for susceptibility to multiple cancer types.
