Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Technology

Inducted In: 1997, Health, Medicine

NASA Image of Hubble Telescope
Induction year:
Inducted individuals:
Dr. Morley Blouke
Kenneth De Freitas
William Delamere
David Dorn
Thomas Ebben
Dr. Randy Kimble
Carolyn Krebs
Pauline Marriott
Debra Murata-Seawalt
Jeffrey Orbock
Anthony Pellegrino
Richard Reed
Anthony Scandura
Milton Stoller
Jeffrey Storm
Dr. Bruce Woodgate
Inducted organizations:
Scientific Imaging Technologies, Inc
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
LORAD

The ability to see faint objects, such as distant galaxies, is a critical element of the Hubble Space Telescope’s mission. NASA researchers found that available technology could not meet Hubble’s stringent requirements. A joint development effort between NASA and Scientific Imaging Technologies, Inc. (SITe) developed a new charged coupled device technology fulfilling the rigorous needs. The new technology was ideal for application to breast cancer detection because of common requirements between space and medical imaging, such as high resolution to see fine details, wide dynamic range and low light sensitivity to shorten exposure time.

The stereotactic breast biopsy system incorporates the charged coupled technology as the key component of a digital camera system that scans the breast structure with x-rays. The system images suspicious breast tissue more clearly and efficiently, and saves women time and money; reduces pain and radiation exposure; and eliminates the scarring of more invasive techniques. With more than 500,000 women undergoing breast biopsies each year, the system dramatically reduces annual health care costs. The system that first made possible this new technique is the LORAD Stereo Guide Breast Biopsy System, which incorporates SITe’s CCD as part of its digital camera system.

The technology breakthrough that spawned the LORAD system originated at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where scientists had developed the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, now installed on the Hubble. The Hubble-derived CCD is now leading the field of digital breast imaging with radiologists predicting the new technique will reduce national health care costs by more than $1 billion a year.

Related Technologies

Bubble Detector

Bubble Detector

Inducted In: Featured, Health, Public Safety

Canada’s Bubble Technology Industries (BTI) created the Bubble Detector to detect and record levels of neutron radiation exposure to humans. The detector is a small vial about the size of your thumb. It is small enough and portable enough to…

Apollo 70 Cardiac Care Monitoring System

Apollo 70 Cardiac Care Monitoring System

Inducted In: Featured, Health, Medicine

Founded in 1958, Spacelabs Healthcare approached NASA with their concept of a real-time system for monitoring astronauts’ vital signs while in orbit, including a telemetry system to simultaneously transmit the data back to Earth. From 1962 to 1967, Spacelabs was…

Programmable Implantable Medication System

Programmable Implantable Medication System

Inducted In: Health, Medicine

A family of biomedical implantable devices have been developed over the past decade which are based on a wide array of space technologies, including battery advances, miniaturized circuitry, digital telemetry, and electronic sensing systems. The initial device was the rechargeable…