Fujifilm’s ASPIRE Cristalle Mammography System: Inspiring Diagnostic Confidence

Radiologists Report Improved Confidence Thanks to Fujifilm’s ASPIRE Cristalle with Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (3D Mammography)

Dean Phillips, M.D., says it’s a case he’ll never forget.

As a radiologist with Northern Radiology Associates in Watertown, New York, Dr. Phillips was reviewing a mammogram that appeared normal, except for one small area of potentially increased density. Spot compression views confirmed its persistence and three-dimensional (3D) Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) images from the FUJIFILM ASPIRE Cristalle system revealed suspicious details that didn’t show up on previous images.

Dr. Phillips biopsied the mass, which turned out to be an extremely rare cancer.

“It was adenoid cystic breast carcinoma. It has a prevalence of less than 0.1% of all breast cancers. It’s a one-in-a-million cancer,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the ASPIRE Cristalle DBT images, I could have missed that lesion.”

Digital breast tomosynthesis is the latest technology aimed at helping to detect breast cancer early. This advanced exam uses X-rays from multiple angles to create a 3D picture of the breast. It allows clinicians to differentiate between layers and reduces obstruction from overlapping layers, which can improve detection sensitivity and reduce false-positive callbacks. Research indicates DBT could make breast

cancers easier to see in dense breast tissue and could detect cancer early, at a point when it is most treatable.

ASPIRE Cristalle with DBT incorporates Fujifilm’s state-of-the-art Hexagonal Close Pattern (HCP) detector design, which outperforms traditional pixel arrays to support superior diagnostic accuracy and improve physician confidence in patient treatment and management. It can also help reduce patient fear and anxiety.

 

Fujifilm is bringing the ASPIRE Cristalle with DBT to underserved communities through its “Aspire to Be Fearless” campaign, which offers free DBT breast cancer screening to women across the U.S. The campaign features a mobile mammography coach equipped with the ASPIRE Cristalle digital breast tomosynthesis system and the ASPIRE Bellus II, mammography diagnostic workstation.

Patient education is paramount with the “Aspire to Be Fearless” campaign as, along with free 3D mammograms, the mobile coach provides education on the importance of early screening, breast cancer statistics and survival rates, and access to a network of providers and specialists.

“Mammograms cannot work if women do not get them. But by reaching out to women across the U.S., we hope to engage more women within the screening process and detect more breast cancers earlier to have a lasting impact on women’s lives,” said Susan Crennan, Women’s Health Product Marketing Manager, FUJIFILM Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc.

Technology that’s worth the wait

Amy Thurmond, MD, a radiologist at Women’s Imaging & Intervention in Lake Oswego, Oregon, started evaluating the first DBT systems in 2010, but waited to invest in the technology until ASPIRE Cristalle with DBT was available in 2017. Dr. Thurmond shared her experience during The Pink Table Brunch, an educational event in June 2019 that helped to kick off the “Aspire to Be Fearless” campaign.

“I am so glad we waited. We saw the ASPIRE Cristalle DBT images and thought they were stunning, crisp and clear. Having good images makes all the difference in the world,” she said.

Practice-changing technology

For Dr. Phillips, ASPIRE Cristalle with DBT has been a practice-changing technology that gives him increased confidence, helps his patients get earlier diagnoses, and produces more images to help him make a diagnosis.

“DBT has changed the way that we practice in a positive way, where our confidence has gone through the roof. I couldn’t imagine reading mammography now without having DBT images to scroll through,” he said. “We feel more comfortable now when we read screening mammograms, knowing we have the added information that DBT gives us to look very closely at areas that we might have passed as part of a normal exam.”

He added that while reading DBT studies will take radiologists a bit more time, the results are better.

“Take a breath and understand it’s going to take you a little longer to read the study. You’re not just taking four prior images compared to four new images. You may have upward of a hundred images to scroll through. Be happy about that, because you’re going to pick up something that potentially you might have missed otherwise.”

For more information about the Aspire to Be Fearless Campaign check out Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

For information about the Fujifilm’s ASPIRE Cristalle Tomosynthesis Equipment visit https://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/medical/digital-mammography/.

For Continuing Medical Education for Radiologists and Mammographers visit appliedradiology.org/6a