Women’s Imaging
Treating women at every stage of life.
Specialized women's health imaging services.
At St. Luke’s Radiology, we understand the unique health care needs of women and are dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate imaging services tailored specifically for them. Our women’s imaging centers are designed with your comfort and privacy in mind, offering a supportive environment for all your diagnostic needs. We utilize state-of-the-art technology and a team of highly skilled radiologists and technologists specializing in women’s health to ensure accurate diagnoses and personalized care. From routine screenings like mammograms to advanced diagnostic procedures, our services are crucial for early detection and effective management of various conditions affecting women at every stage of life along with men with breast health concerns.
Breast awareness: be aware of changes
Your breasts will undergo changes throughout your lifetime. It is important to learn what is normal for you and report any changes to your doctor right away. For the early detection of breast cancer, St. Luke’s and the American College of Radiology encourage adult women to become familiar with their breasts, so patients can recognize a change if one occurs.
Types of breast imaging and clinical exams
St. Luke’s offers a full spectrum of women’s imaging services, emphasizing preventive care, early detection, and accurate diagnosis. Our services are designed to address a wide range of health concerns for both women and men.
Mammography/mammograms
Beginning at age 40, women are encouraged to have a mammogram every following year. Mammograms typically take only a few minutes to perform. At St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging, our team specializes in screening and diagnostic mammograms, including 3D mammography (tomosynthesis), for early detection of breast cancer. The low-dose 3D mammography from GE delivers the quality of a 3D image while limiting the X-ray dose to an amount equivalent to a 2D mammogram. The 3D technology uses a low-dose, short X-ray sweep of the compressed breast. This imaging technique is designed to separate the tissues and to reduce the overlapping of structures.
Clinical and diagnostic breast exam
A clinical or physical exam should be performed by your doctor as part of your regular annual check-up. This should include a visual exam of your breasts, looking for changes in the skin, size and shape of the breast. The physician also should feel or palpate your breasts, checking for lumps. Discuss with your physician how often you should have a clinical breast exam.
A diagnostic exam may include a mammogram, ultrasound or a biopsy, as well as any other testing that may be appropriate. Should the diagnostic exam identify a concern, you will have the opportunity to speak with one of our breast health nurse navigators to ask questions about your diagnostic exam.
The automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is available in Allentown, Bethlehem, Orwigburg, Stroudsburg and Phillipsburg as a supplemental breast cancer screening exam. Patients who have imaging-confirmed dense breasts should consider scheduling their annual screening mammogram and ABUS at the same time and location. Specifically-designed and FDA-approved for women with dense breast tissue, ABUS can provide a clearer, more accurate evaluation of dense breast tissue and can be used to complement screening mammography. ABUS uses sound waves, not radiation, to create state-of-the-art 3D images of the breast tissue.
Minimally invasive diagnostic procedure used to remove a small sample of breast tissue for laboratory analysis when an abnormality is detected on a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI, or is recommended by a radiologist.
Used as a supplementary tool to mammography for further evaluation of breast abnormalities or for screening in women with dense breast tissue using high-frequency sound waves.
A non-invasive advanced imaging technique for high-risk screening, further evaluation of breast cancer, or assessing the extent of disease.
Technique used prior to surgery to locate and mark a mammographic area of concern in the breast. Such areas include masses and microcalcifications.
A localization device placed in the breast to help localize the area during surgery.
Simulates a soothing environment to reduce the worry experienced by some women during mammography by stimulating a woman’s sense of sight and sound simultaneously.
This is an examination using an ultrasound-guided needle to remove fluid from a cyst.
St. Luke’s Women’s Imaging Centers
As an international show site for GE Healthcare, St. Luke’s University Health Network offers state-of-the-art breast imaging technologies at Women’s Imaging Centers throughout its network in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
St. Luke’s Individualized Breast Screening Program
If you’re 40 or older, yearly screening mammograms are an essential part of your health care. However, some women may benefit from additional breast screening to supplement mammography.
St. Luke’s tailors breast screening based on individual risk factors, to develop an individualized screening program, resulting in earlier detection of breast cancer. A combination of carefully chosen screening exams may lead to a significant increase in early cancer detection while decreasing the amount of unnecessary return visits and biopsies.
The St. Luke's Breast Care Team
Our radiologists, technologists, nurses are highly skilled professionals with advanced certifications in breast imaging and breast health navigation. Your mammogram will be interpreted by a board-certified radiologist who also serves as a consultant to your personal physician. Should further treatment be necessary, our breast health nurse navigators will reach out to you to schedule to appropriate diagnostic imaging tests.