January 11, 2017 — Gamma Medica announced in November that Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia had committed to purchase Pennsylvania’s first clinical LumaGEM Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) system.
MBI is a secondary screening and diagnostic tool that is particularly useful for women who have dense breast tissue and women with a high risk of being diagnosed with cancer. It is a proven, effective supplementary screening method to standard mammography and/or tomosynthesis (3-D mammography), significantly increasing early detection in women who are at a higher risk due to dense breast tissue.
Approximately 50 percent of U.S. women are reported to have dense breast tissue, but many women do not realize they have dense breasts and if they do, they may not understand what it means for their increased risk of breast cancer. Dense breast tissue is a risk factor and personalized screening is reported to be best practice in early detection. Because dense breast tissue and cancer both appear white on mammograms, cancer detection through mammography alone is difficult and may lead to false negatives or delayed diagnoses. Over 40,000 U.S. women die from breast cancer annually, making early detection imperative.
While mammograms may fail to detect breast tumors due to tissue density, MBI highlights metabolic activity in these tumors despite breast density, leading to an earlier diagnosis. A retrospective clinical study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology confirmed MBI’s high incremental cancer detection rate: MBI was able to detect 7.7 cancers per 1,000 women screened compared to mammography. Approximately 85 percent of these cancers were node negative, meaning they were detected at an earlier stage and presented a better prognosis.
“Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia is thrilled to add Gamma Medica’s LumaGEM to our suite of leading breast imaging technology,” said Debra Somers Copit, M.D., director of breast imaging for Einstein Healthcare Network. “As a supplement to 3-D mammography, MBI will help us detect cancers in dense tissue that may have been missed by mammography alone. We feel confident that LumaGEM will support our mission to provide the best diagnostic care for our patients — the data behind MBI speaks for itself.”
For more information: www.gammamedica.com
May 03, 2024 
