About CRL

A Premier, Full-Service
Radiology Practice

Consulting Radiologists, Ltd. (CRL) is a physician-owned practice that has been serving patients and providers throughout the Upper Midwest for over 75 years. CRL’s 70 board certified radiologists represent all imaging subspecialties, including breast, body, diagnostic, interventional, neuroradiology, interventional neuroradiology, musculoskeletal, nuclear medicine
and pediatrics.

CRL is trusted to deliver a complete range of radiology services to the healthcare community, including:

• Outpatient imaging services at three convenient Twin Cities locations.
  
  
• Outpatient vein disease treatments for varicose and spider veins.
  
  
• On-site radiology services for over 35 partner hospitals and clinics, including Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.
  
  
• Teleradiology-based interpretation services for over 60 healthcare organizations throughout the Upper Midwest.

 

 

(EXAMPLE) A lesion that is difficult to detect with a mammogram (left) can be obvious with Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (right).

 

New Technology Improving Breast Cancer Detection at CRL Imaging Southdale

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Medical Facility’s Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging Has Become a Vital Breast Cancer Diagnostic Tool that Provides Patient Benefits and Operational Improvements

June 2009

 

Edina, MN -- CRL Imaging at Southdale is providing local women with an innovative new procedure for the diagnosis of breast cancer when post-mammogram evaluation is indicated: Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI). When further diagnostic evaluation is needed, BSGI helps radiologists and breast surgeons determine if an area of concern is cancerous or not.

How BSGI Works

Working on a cellular level, BSGI provides the needed capability of helping differentiate cancer from other structures or benign tissue in the breast. BSGI can help detect cancers at very early stages allowing for optimal intervention and treatment; and has the potential to significantly reduce the number of surgical biopsies that result in negative findings for thousands of women annually.

BSGI Provides the Needed Clarity

Unlike mammography, BSGI is not affected by tissue density. BSGI technology is especially useful for patients who have dense breasts, palpable lesions that cannot be detected using mammogram or ultrasound, scar tissue, or implants.

High Specificity Helps Differentiate Benign From Malignant

Through multiple clinical studies and widespread national clinical use, BSGI has demonstrated a high sensitivity by identifying early stage cancers as small as 3 mm, and has consistently provided a specificity of greater than 92 percent, significantly helping to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. According to data presented at the Radiological Society of North America meeting (RSNA) in November 2005, BSGI with the Dilon 6800 Gamma Camera provides an equivalent sensitivity but improved specificity in detecting malignant tumors in the breast when compared to another widely used diagnostic procedure, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

"When our patients have a BSGI study," said Dr. Deborah Day, Radiologist, Consulting Radiologists and "they receive a small amount of a radiotracer agent that is absorbed by all cells in the body. Because cancerous cells have a higher rate of metabolic activity than healthy cells, they absorb a greater amount of the tracer and light up to reveal themselves as '‘hot spots.' Using the Dilon 6800 high-resolution gamma camera as a complementary diagnostic tool to mammography, our physicians can more effectively differentiate cancerous from non-cancerous tissue sans scalpel."

Mammography Still Key Screening Tool

While X-ray mammography is still the first-line screening tool for breast cancer, radiologists and breast surgeons can encounter challenging cases where mammography may not be fully conclusive. Mammography primarily measures differences in tissue density, but because dense tissue and cancers often display as the same color and structure on a mammogram, it may be difficult to locate masses.  

For more information, please read about BSGI Service at CRL.

Contact Information:
Carrie Peterka, RT(R)
Clinic Manager
Consulting Radiologists, Ltd
CRL Imaging 952-915-4322