New Breast Scanner Rivals Mammograms

The pilot study will continue until 60 participants have been imaged. A larger trial is planned for next year.

Koning Corp. hopes to have a commercial scanner on the market as soon as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the device. But other technologies may be further along, Kalowitz said.

"There's a lot of new stuff on the horizon," he said. "Five years from now, we'll be in a lot better shape, but right now, we have to see which ones will end up being the best."

Other research being presented at the Radiological Society meeting found that a new ultrasound technique called "elasticity imaging" allows doctors to accurately differentiate malignant and benign breast lesions.

An estimated 213,000 U.S. women will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2006, and about 40,970 women will die from the disease this year. Right now, there are slightly more than 2 million American women who have been treated for breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

More information

Visit the National Cancer Institute for more on breast cancer screening.

SOURCES: Joshua Kalowitz, M.D., chief of breast imaging, Maimonides Cancer Center, New York City; Nov. 27, 2006, presentation, Radiological Society of North America annual meeting, Chicago