SMALL LESION VISUALIZATION IN SCINTIMAMMOGRAPHY

scintimammography (SMM) to have nide clinical use, physicians must be able to rapidly direct biopsy of small cancers. We therefore undertook a theoretical and experimental study of lesion visibility vs. acquisi tion time and tumor size. Theoretical considerations as to acquisition time and contrast suggested that compression would significantly impr ove lesion visibility for small cancers. These predictions were confir med with phantom studies. Patient studies showed that high confidence images of small primary breast tumors can be produced with the additio n of breast compression. We conclude that breast compression would imp rove SMM detection of small primary breast cancers.