RELEASE ON RECEIPT



			                          CONTACT:  Katherine Jackson
                    U.VA. PROFESSORS HAD HAND IN DESIGNING
                           NEW MAMMOGRAPHY MACHINE
                 By Detecting Cancer Earlier, It Could Save Lives 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., April 4 -- An innovative mammography machine 
that University of Virginia professors helped design could save the lives of 
thousands of women with breast cancer by detecting cancerous tissues at their 
earliest stage. 
	Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women, is curable 95 percent 
of the time if detected early. Nationally, it is estimated that about 184,300 
new cases of invasive breast cancer will occur and about 44,300 women will 
die from the disease this year.
	U.Va.'s full-breast digital imaging machine "permits radiologists to 
view and manipulate images to bring out findings or abnormalities that may be 
invisible to the eye," said Dr. Laurie Fajardo, associate professor of 
radiology and one of the designers. Computer programming allows the machine 
to enhance potentially dangerous lesions as small as 1/20 of a millimeter.  
By enhancing images of minute breast lesions, doctors are able to intervene 
early if abnormal tissues are present, Fajardo added.
	Mark Williams and Hong Liu, assistant professors of radiology, have 
been working for several years on digital detectors for mammography. "These 
detectors allow doctors to manipulate the image using computers for optimized 
visualization of subtle breast lesions," said Williams. 	
        Located in U.Va.'s Diagnostic Center for Women, the machine is 
supported by an industrial grant and nearly $500,000 from the National 
Institutes of Health.  It was built by Thermotrex/LORAD, and the corporation 
collaborated with U.Va. on its design. The Federal Drug Administration trials 
at U.Va. have included 75 volunteers using the machine for mammograms since 
November 1995 and will continue through the fall of 1996.  
	"The digital breast imaging system is most useful for detecting 
abnormalities on mammograms in younger women, as well as for women with dense 
breast tissue, or those having multiple lesions," Fajardo said.    
	Unlike conventional mammography, the digital image procedure offers 
several options. "It uses a unique computer chip, rather than film to produce 
pictures of breast tissues.  Clearer images produced by the digital technique 
can be displayed and adjusted on a television monitor.  In most cases this 
process eliminates the need to repeat procedures, reducing radiation 
exposure.  This technique also allows images to be printed on film using a 
laser film printer," Fajardo said.  
	"Although the breast is positioned in much the same way as the 
conventional X-ray procedure," said Williams, "the digital system has two 
moving cameras that capture the image of the entire breast, which usually 
takes about six seconds, although the X-ray exposure is less than six seconds 
because the X-ray beam is turned off while the cameras are moved." 
	Another benefit over conventional X-ray film is that "mammographic 
images can be telecommunicated in real time across the country enabling 
consultations or second readings with other physicians," she said. 
	Some abnormal breast tissues are invisible on conventional X-ray film 
because there is no mechanism to adjust the contrast or change the film's 
image.  "What you see is what you get on the film," Fajardo said. "But with 
the digital system, there are many more options and features to produce 
better mammographic examinations."
	Women interested in participating in the study should call 
(804) 982-2572 or 924-5194.					
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                                                                  April 3, 1996
	For more information, call Dr. Laurie Fajardo at (804) 982-4239 or 
Katherine Jackson at (804) 924-5679. Television reporters should contact our 
TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.