科研人員正在開發一種具有開創性的早期乳房癌癥的新型影像檢測方法。如果這項技術能夠被證明是成功的，那么該技術就可以在各種年齡女性中使用。

這種檢測技術的特性能夠對乳房癌女性生存率產生重大影響。該技術使用一種全新的雷達系統，使得女性能夠定期接受影像檢查而無需當心過多的暴露于電離輻射的危險，這種輻射困擾著目前使用的X線系統，例如乳房X線影像檢查。這種新技術具有穿透高密度乳房組織顯像的能力，因此能夠比乳房X線影像檢查的所能檢測的乳腺小葉還要廣泛。

新技術掃描乳房的方法是：通過向乳房發射非常短的脈沖，然后評估來自乳房的反射。然后使用算法庫評估放射來確定是否出現了異常。Alan Preece醫生是英國Bristol大學醫學生理學教授，是這項研究的首席研究員，他說：“乳腺癌是當今世界女性所面臨的最大殺手。每年僅僅在英國就有41000例新病例出現。我們對這種新技術感到十分高興，該技術的應用或許能夠帶來巨大的益處。”

尤其是小于50歲的女性能夠從這種新型影像檢測中獲得巨大好處，在這個年齡組更多的依賴X線檢測來發現腫瘤。這種新技術比乳房X線影像檢測更加令人舒服，因為無需將乳房壓縮在兩個托盤之間。

這項研究在Bristol大學、Bath大學、Southampton大學以及Surrey大學之間合作進行。SETsquared公司(Southampton, UK)也參與了這些英國大學的研究項目。

Revolutionary Breast Imaging Technique
 
Scientists are developing a ground-breaking new imaging method to detect breast cancer at an early stage. If the technique proves successful, this method could be effective for women of all ages.

This modality could have a dramatic effect on the survival rate for women with breast cancer. The test uses a revolutionary radar system and will enable women to be imaged regularly without the fear of overexposure to ionizing radiation, a problem with existing x-ray systems, such as mammography. The new technology has the ability to image through dense breast tissue and thus can reach a much wider segment of women than mammography can.

The technique scans the breast by transmitting a very short impulse to the breast and then evaluates the reflections from within the breast. Algorithms are then utilized to assess the reflections to determine if abnormalities are evident. Dr. Alan Preece, professor of medical physics at the University of Bristol (UK) and one of the lead investigators on the study, stated, “Breast cancer is one of the biggest killers that women currently face. Each year, there are over 41,000 new cases in the UK alone. We are very excited about this new technology and the benefits that might come from its use.”

Women younger than 50 years of age will greatly benefit from this new imaging test, which is much more reliable than x-rays at finding tumors in this age group. The technique is also a much more comfortable procedure than mammography because it does not involve compressing the breast between plates.

This study is a collaboration between the universities of Bristol, Bath, Southampton, and Surrey (all in the UK). The company, SETsquared (Southampton, UK), is also working with the UK universities on the project.