The system received FDA approval in 2014. That year, Dr. Monica Saini, a radiologist at Santa Fe Imaging, told Forbes that the system appealed to her patients in some ways that mammo and 3-D mammo didn't. “In Santa Fe there’s a lot of concern about radiation,” she said. “After speaking with many patients, we realized that many were more amenable to an extra ultrasound exam than to tomosynthesis."

She and four colleagues in the Santa Fe practice began using the ABUS system in July 2014. “Most patients have liked it,” she said. “It’s nice because there’s no compression, as with mammography.”

The following video from 2014 offers an overview of how the system works.



While it remains to be seen how ABUS will change breast cancer screening protocols and if it is cost effective, Wilczek is enthusiastic about the findings. "If, as a woman to be screened, I would be offered ABUS I would not hesitate to accept the examination," she said.

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