VolparaDensity now available at Mercy Radiology

We are proud to offer VolparaDensity, a powerful tool to measure breast density to help determine each patient’s unique imaging needs for optimal results. 

The screening of women with dense breasts is complicated by three issues:

• dense tissue can mask cancers and reduces the sensitivity of mammography,

• an increased risk of developing breast cancer, and

• an increased risk of developing more aggressive breast cancers.

Accurate and reproducible breast density measurements assist clinical decision-making regarding supplemental imaging and enable personalized screening.

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VolparaDensity is a fully automated breast density assessment software that estimates the volume of fibroglandular (dense) tissue in the breast from digital mammograms. Independent researchers have published studies showing a strong association between the volumetric breast density, as assessed by Volpara, and breast cancer risk.

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The VolparaDensity algorithm is based on the volumes of tissue in the breast. Unlike when the radiologist looks at the images and estimates the area of density, Volpara looks deep inside the breast to appreciate the absorption of X-rays in the breast caused by fibroglandular tissue. As a result, Volpara is looking at the true tissue, not the shadow of the tissue