Women's Imaging

The Dignity Health – Cancer Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is proud to offer a comprehensive Women’s Imaging Center to our community. Screening and diagnostic imaging plays a vital role in the early detection and treatment of an illness and in developing a patient’s individualized treatment plan.

Our Women’s Imaging Center is staffed by highly trained and certified medical professionals.

The latest in 3D mammography technology reduces the number of false positives and unnecessary patient call backs. 

Diagnostic imaging can determine if further treatment is needed - and disease-specific expertise is down the hall. Additional imaging or procedures can be performed the same day.

Free valet service, elegant features, and a convenient, centrally located full-service facility creates an exceptional patient experience.

The Latest Diagnostic Equipment

Our innovative equipment offers the most advanced technology for women’s imaging and is capable of performing the following:

  • Ultrasound
    • Thyroid
    • Extremity (Non-Vascular)
    • Abdomen
    • Abdominal Doppler
    • Renal
    • Renal Arteries
    • Breast
    • Pelvic
  • Mammography (3D Tomosynthesis)
    • Screening
    • Diagnostic
    • Additional Views
  • Bone Densitometry
    • Dexa
    • Atypical Femur Fracture Assessment
    • Vertebral Fracture Assessment
    • Body Composition Assessment
  • Breast Biopsies
    • Ultrasound or Stereotactic

Bone Density Studies

The most effective test when screening for osteoporosis, or trying to detect the early onset of the disease, is a bone densitometry scan. Osteoporosis is a condition that causes thinning and weakening of normal bone. When this occurs, a patient with osteoporosis will have a higher risk of a bone fracture due to their inability to adequately support the weight of their body.

Digital Mammography

Our facilities are MQSA and ACR certified and offer patients direct access to certified technologists, board-certified radiologists and women’s imaging specialists. Our radiologists are on site and offer same day results. This rapid response allows same day or next day follow up examinations when needed.

While a mammogram can’t prevent breast cancer, it is vitally important in the early detection and treatment of the disease.

Schedule a mammogram by calling (602) 406-6700.

Ultrasound Imaging

Ultrasound, sometimes referred to as sonography, is a diagnostic procedure that uses high frequency sound waves to show images inside your body. The sound waves are directed from a small, hand-held device – or transducer – which sends and receives these signals. The images obtained during this procedure are recorded digitally and will be interpreted by the radiologist at a computer work station.

An ultrasound is a safe procedure and the sonographer who will perform your examination is a certified and specialized technologist. This includes extensive knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and disease processes, allowing the sonographer to tailor the examination to your individual needs. The sonographer works under the close supervision of a radiologist who is a medical doctor with specialty training in interpreting imaging studies.

Ultrasound is an excellent tool in many different diagnostic situations, including the evaluation of the abdomen, breasts, extremities, neck and pelvis.

Breast MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast – or breast MRI – is a technique that captures multiple cross-sectional pictures of the patient’s breast. Breast MRI involves combining the images, using a computer, to generate detailed two- and three- dimensional pictures.

Breast MRI is performed when your doctor needs more information than a mammogram, ultrasound or clinical breast exam can provide. It is used in addition to a mammogram or other breast-imaging test – not as a replacement for a mammogram. Although it’s a very sensitive test, breast MRI can be used 
for high-risk screening and treatment planning. MRI can still miss some breast cancers that a mammogram will detect.

Breast Biopsies

The Women’s Imaging Centers are here to provide minimally invasive breast biopsies to patients who  have been referred by their doctor. The goal of the biopsy is to collect small samples of tissue that will be sent to pathology for evaluation and diagnosis. The majority of patients are able to resume their basic activities  immediately after the procedure.

  • Stereotactic imaging is used if a lesion was best seen on a patient’s mammogram. Patients are positioned upright in a chair or lying on their stomach, the breast is compressed in a mammographic unit. Images are taken at two different angles to allow the computer to calculate the depth that the biopsy needle must be advanced to reach the targeted area. Although the biopsy itself takes only a few minutes, the entire stereotactic procedure takes anywhere from 60-90 minutes.

  • Ultrasound imaging is used to guide the needle into the breast lesion while the patient is positioned lying on their back or side.

  • MRI is used to guide the biopsy needle into the breast. Patients lie on their stomach, with the breast in a special breast coil. An intravenous needle may be inserted into a vein if a contrast agent is necessary to see the area to be biopsied.