Magnetic resonance imaging or an MRI is usually used to locate unseen problems dealing with the head, neck, spine and extremities.
Now, add the detection of breast cancer to that list. New computer software is making it possible. MRI’s could have been used to scan breast tissue in the past, but it simply wasn’t practical. The test produced hundreds upon hundreds of images that radiologists just didn’t have the time to interpret.
But now, something called CAD, or computer-aided detection, is serving as a second, more efficient set of eyes. When it comes to detecting breast cancer, mammography has long been the gold standard, along with physical examination and ultrasound technology.
But there are limitations. Dr. Doron Finn says, “The mammogram and the physical examination together will pick up most breast cancers. Individually, they both miss 10 to 20 percent of breast cancers.”
Magnetic resonance imaging is improving those odds.