How is an Elastogram Done?
To take an "elastogram" of a breast, first a sophisticated ultrasound machine images the breast. Normal breast tissue has small features that show up in ultrasound images, and these features work as position markers for what comes next. If there are any lumps, these will show up too, but so far the ultrasound image does not tell the doctor anything more than the fact that there are suspicious lumps, which mammograms do as well.The critical step comes next. A small amount of controlled pressure is applied to the breast, just enough to move it slightly. (This pressure is probably much less than you receive when your breasts are squeezed to take a conventional mammogram.) With the pressure applied (think "spoon on top of gelatin"), the system takes another ultrasound image. Then, a computer program compares the two images and produces a map showing how elastic the different regions are. This map, called an elastogram, is very effective in revealing hard, inflexible lumps, which are almost always cancerous. The more flexible lumps are typically benign.
