OMHS now offering SonoCiné for breast cancer screening
Advanced ultrasound technology can detect cancers mammography may miss
OWENSBORO, KY (September 27, 2010) – RDI Outpatient Imaging, a service of Owensboro Medical Health System is now offering SonoCiné, advanced ultrasound technology for breast cancer screening. Early studies indicate that SonoCiné may find smaller cancers than relying on mammography alone.
“SonoCiné makes cancer more visible because the breast tissue appears white while cancerous tissue appears dark."
“Mammography typically finds cancers small enough to be treated successfully,” says Dr. Terry Tyler, a radiologist and chief outpatient diagnostic officer for Owensboro Medical Health System. “Up until now we’ve used breast ultrasound as a diagnostic tool; SonoCiné allows us to use ultrasound for early detection.
“Women with dense breasts on mammography are potential candidates for SonoCiné,” Tyler says.
In women with dense breasts, mammograms are more difficult to interpret because it can be difficult to see through the dense tissue, which shows up as white on mammograms. Cancerous lumps also appear white so they become invisible and difficult to differentiate.
SonoCiné, cleared by the FDA as a supplement to mammogram screening, plugs into existing ultrasound equipment. The technology takes video of an entire patient's breast exam instead of just single pictures; it can be stopped, magnified and reviewed by the radiologist. If a radiologist wants to have a second or third look at an exam the patient doesn't have to come back.
“SonoCiné makes cancer more visible because the breast tissue appears white while cancerous tissue appears dark,” Tyler says. “We can go back and forth through the video to reduce the risk of missing anything, in addition to mammography.”
In a study of American women, adding SonoCiné ultrasound to the annual mammogram doubled the number of cancers found in a group representing approximately 40 percent of all women seeking annual mammograms.
SonoCine is offered at the RDI Springs location, Highway 54.
Owensboro Medical Health System serves an eleven-county region in western Kentucky and southern Indiana. The hospital has received awards for clinical excellence and patient safety from HealthGrades, placing it among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for quality (OMHS is one of only 74 hospitals to receive both honors). Cooperative Health Services, an affiliate of OMHS, also operates the HealthPark—a medical-based fitness center—and a number of clinics and diagnostic centers in Beaver Dam and Madisonville (KY) and Tell City (IN) as well as The Clinic at Wal-Mart in Owensboro, Henderson (KY) and Newburgh (IN).