preview

Breast Cancer: A Mammogram Analysis

Decent Essays

A mammogram is a picture created during an X-ray exam for patients’ breasts to check for breast cancer. How it works is that the patient would put their breasts on a flat surface. Then, a parallel compressing plate would press down onto the breast which would create images and transmit electronic signals to make a digital image. The compression helps by stabilizing the patient and also it flattens the patient’s breast which would make it easier for the X-rays to travel through faster meaning less radiation goes through the body and higher quality images. On a mammogram, lower density areas appear to be translucent whereas higher density areas appear to be white which can be seen since the mammogram has a black background.
There are two types of mammogram. The first type is the screening mammogram which is an X-ray of the breast. It is used in order to see breast changes. It is usually for women who exhibits no sign/symptoms of breast cancer. The other type is the diagnostic mammogram which is also an X-ray of the breast, but it is used for …show more content…

Salomon would take each breast and compare them next to each other to look for lumps which indicated that they would have breast cancer. Then in 1949, the compression technique started being in use which ended up to be a technique that doctors still use today. After that, another technique was born and it is to use an intensifying screen with an industrial film which would create much clearer images. According to studies, death rates caused by breast cancer was lowered by a third at this time. In 1969, the mammogram we use today was invented, so now X-ray could help with breast imaging. Several years later, in order to find images in better quality, fast processing, and a much shorter exposure towards radiation. Nowadays, we have mammograms with less radiation and high-quality 3D

Get Access