A CT scan of the breast provides a 3D view and high level of detail for diagnostic and treatment planning purposes. It can also be used for preventative care and examining nearby organs. The scan can identify growths and help plan treatment, and has advantages over mammograms in terms of comfort and detail.
A computed tomography (CT) scan of the breast is a medical imaging study of the breast that offers a view in three dimensions. This can provide a high level of detail to a clinician reviewing the information for diagnostic or treatment planning purposes. There are also potential applications for CT in preventative care, where they may offer advantages over conventional mammograms used to evaluate the breast for early signs of cancerous growth.
During a CT scan of the breast, the patient lies face down on a table that slides into the scanning equipment. In some cases, a doctor may inject a contrast medium to highlight certain structures within the breast. Inside the equipment, a series of X-rays capture different angles of the breast, and a computer can process these images to create a detailed series of “slices” of different layers of the breast, as well as a three-dimensional rendering. The level of resolution can be very high, especially with newer equipment.
The equipment can be set up to also capture a larger area during a CT scan of the breast. This may allow nearby organs and structures such as lymph nodes to be examined for signs of disease. The area covered by the scan can be determined by a supervising physician based on the amount of information that will be needed to provide the patient with the best medical treatment.
Diagnostically, the CT scan of the breast can allow a doctor to identify a growth in the breast and learn more about its location, size, and nature. This can be important for treatment planning, which can include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to aggressively treat breast cancer. Radiologists can review scans and provide specific medical advice, and can also be helpful to surgeons who want to plan the best breast surgery approach. Patients can review their CT scans with a doctor to learn more about their condition and treatment options.
In preventive screening, breast CT has several advantages. The first is a high level of detail and resolution, which can allow the reviewer to detect small growths and distinguish between image artifacts and real tumors. For patients, a breast CT scan is much more comfortable than a mammogram, which requires compression of the breast to capture a clean x-ray image. This test uses the same amount of radiation as a mammogram, so it doesn’t pose any greater risk to patients.
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