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Breast MRI is an imaging technique which can
be quite sensitive in the detection of
breast cancer. The technique can also be nonspecific.
Sometimes benign tissue can look like
malignant tissue.
There are special techniques
to improve the sensitivity and sensitivity of the exam.
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Contrast is given to detect abnormal
blood vessels or blood flow with a tumor.
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Cancers
need to develop a blood supply to grow and these vessels and
the surrounding tissues often enhance
differently than normal tissue.
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There are
also special techniques to look for the presence of the
cancer by detecting a mass or area of
distortion in the tissues.
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Finally, a general
MRI imaging screen of the chest can be performed to evaluate for
enlarged lymph nodes or bony
metastatic disease. these techniques
are only half of the story. the other half is how they are
actually used.
The real question is whether a
site has the equipment and expertise
to perform them optimally.
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First, it
is important to have not a good but a great MRI machine. The
more powerful the machine and more
uniform or better quality the magnet the better
chance there will be to detect cancers. At SimonMed we use a
cardiac and spectroscopy high field
short bore MRI. These terms are important. Because
our magnet has cardiac capability so that it has the ability
to create sharp images quickly which
is essential when we look at the contrast blood
flow in the tissue.
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The magnet is also a
"spectroscopy" magnet which means
which can create an extremely uniform magnetic field to
create better pictures. These MRI magnets are often twice as expensive as the typical high
field MRI and about four times as expensive as the so called
low field open MRI units. Because of
the difference in price, and lack of any difference
in reimbursement for quality, these types of magnets are
usually only found in large academic
centers. At this time, SimonMed imaging has the
only Siemens Sonata Cardiac MRI and Spectroscopy Magnet in
the state of Arizona.
Besides the MRI itself, the type of computer hardware and software
used to process the data is essential. At SimonMed imaging,
we use a dedicated breast MRI workstation to process the data correcting for any motion
artifact and more importantly, to use the computer to
quantitate abnormal blood flow
throughout the breasts.
We use the CADSTREAM breastMRI
workstation from Confirma, Inc. We are the
only site in Arizona with this system
and are one of the few sites around the country. Again, most
sites to not use this system, often
again because of the significant added time and
expense.
Finally, at SimonMed, we do look at the surrounding
tissues outside the breast when we
perform breast MRI. This additional look is not reimbursed
and thus often is not performed at traditional
centers. At
SimonMed, we are determined to provide the
best care possible.
We are also looking
at a technique called breast spectroscopy to look at the
actual chemical make up of the tissues
to improve our sensitivity and specificity in
detecting cancer. This is performed under a research
protocol.
In summary breast
MRI is a
sensitive but not always specific method to detect breast
cancer. the technique can vary from site to
site based on equipment, expertise,
and the dedication of the site to optimizing the exam.
Breast MRI is a supplement to
mammography and ultrasound as each of these exams can
provide a unique bit of information to aid in the detection
of cancer.
For complete information about our many
available procedures, please call us at 480-614-8555 or
email us at info@simonmed.com.
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