Philips Enters North American Mammo Market with New System

Given concerns about radiation dose and a call for more comfortable machines, officials at Philips saw an opportunity for a new product in the North American mammography market. Last week Philips introduced their MicroDose Mammography system, which officials said provides a lower dose, less stressful scan.

“The U.S. is in the process of turning over the generation one machines to a purchase cycle, so we believe this is the perfect product” for the market, said Pam Benkert, general manager, women’s healthcare for Philips Healthcare. “We wanted a differentiated offering.”

MicroDose is the only FDA-cleared mammography system to use X-ray photon counting technology. The detector captures almost every photon that travels from the source to the breast to the detector, Benkert explained. There’s very little scatter, which allows for an up to 50 percent dose reduction, she said.

The machine also has curved support and a warm position surface, intended to make it more comfortable for the patient, she said.

The product, she said, is “uniquely suited to the population” in North America.