SmartCurve aims to make mammograms more comfortable

BRYN MAWR, Pa. - It's a test that can be filled with anxiety and sometimes pain. Now, doctors hope some new technology will make mammograms more comfortable.

"Mammography is still the best way that we have for detecting early breast cancer,' Dr. Emma Simpson told FOX 29.

Dr. Simpson, chair of radiology at Main Line Health, is hopeful the piece of plastic, along with increased awareness may make it easier to get more women to come in and get tested.

"You put the thickest part in the area that's curved and the pressure you need to get to that thin part of the breast is going to be the same as the thick part," Dr. Simpson explained.

The flat paddle applies the same pressure from thin to thick, while the curved paddle designed in the shape of a breast is supposed to allow for imaging that doesn't squeeze you to tears.

A longtime donor recently purchased some of the SmartCurve paddles for Bryn Mawr Hospital's mammogram patients.

Dr. Simpson hopes the fear of pain will not be a reason any longer to avoid getting a mammogram and hopes new technology helps to save more lives.

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