Jump to content

Choose locationChoose Location
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Open I want to choose my medical group or hospital
    • Clear my location
Change Location
Sutter Health
  • Video Visits
  • Find Doctors
  • Find Locations
  • Treatments & Services
  • Locations
  • Sign in or Enroll
    • Video Visits
    • Find Doctors
    • Find Locations
    • Treatments & Services
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Monkeypox Resources
    • Pay a Bill
    • Symptom Checker
    • Get Care Today
    • Health & Wellness
    • Classes & Events
    • Research & Clinical Trials
    • For Patients
    • About Sutter Health
    • Giving
    • Volunteering
    • Careers
    • News
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Other Business Services
Close Search
  • Home
  • All CitiesAll Cities
  • Services
  • Imaging
  • Breast Imaging Services
Content

Breast Imaging Services

If you discover a lump in your breast, contact your doctor immediately—but it's important to keep in mind most breast problems aren't cancer. Breast imaging can help you get the information you need.

Close up of breast ultrasound imaging examination

Featured Services

  • 3D Mammography and Imaging
  • Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS)
  • Breast MRI
  • Breast Ultrasound
  • Image-Guided Breast Biopsy

State-of-the-Art Breast Imaging

Depending on your symptoms, your family history and the density of your breasts, breast imaging experts across the Sutter Health network can use a combination of imaging technologies to screen for and diagnose breast abnormalities. Mammography is the foundation of breast cancer screening, but we offer many additional imaging technologies to assess breast health. Here are some of the services we provide:

Screening and Diagnostic Mammography

During a mammogram, pictures are taken of each breast using a machine that compresses your breast tissue and emits low-dose radiation. Most Sutter imaging centers use digital mammography machines for an even lower-dose procedure that allows radiologists a better view of the entire breast to the chest wall. If you feel a lump, have nipple discharge or a positive screening mammogram, a more focused mammogram is performed.

Woman receiving annual breast exam

3D Mammography

Also known as digital breast tomosynthesis, this new breast imaging technology acquires multiple images of the compressed breast and reconstructs them in three dimensions. Breast tomosynthesis provides the radiologist with more detailed information and is particularly helpful in women with dense breasts.

Breast MRI

Lying face down on the MRI table, you will be advanced into a donut-shaped spinning gantry that contains a large super-conducting magnet. Better suited to the imaging of tissue, the test may be used to evaluate a lump that is not seen on a mammogram, screen high-risk women or check for possible breast implant rupture.

Breast Ultrasound

Ultrasound gel and a wand called a transducer are placed directly on the skin to generate—and collect—sound waves, producing images of the structures inside the breast. Ultrasounds may be used for women with dense breasts or a family history of breast cancer, those whose lump cannot be seen on a mammogram, or on pregnant women to avoid the use of radiation. It also can distinguish between cysts and tumors. Some Sutter Health affiliate locations offer Automated Breast Ultrasound, which scans both breasts and adjacent structures. The automated exam collects up to 5,000 images that the radiologist can view in a motion-picture format.

Positron Emission Mammography (PEM)

PEM is a nuclear imaging procedure customized for the breast that visualizes the rapid metabolism associated with cancer. PEM enables the radiologist to assess the presence and extent of disease when MRI is not appropriate due to a pacemaker or aneurysm clip.

In Your Corner

Nurse consoling patient

Nurse Navigators

If you receive a breast cancer diagnosis, a cancer nurse navigator will guide you every step of the way, from treatment options to survivorship.

Patient Stories

Thankful for Technology

Funded entirely by generous donors, new 3D mammogram machines have set a new standard of care for the women in the community screened each year.

View All Stories

Doctor Profiles

The following doctors are part of the Sutter Health network. Learn about the doctors on this site.
Joseph V. Mersol, M.D.

Joseph V. Mersol, M.D.

  • Radiology

Mark K. Tu, M.D.

Mark K. Tu, M.D.

  • Radiology

Howard A. Carpenter, M.D.

Howard A. Carpenter, M.D.

  • Radiology

Torben Kristensen, M.D.

Torben Kristensen, M.D.

  • Radiology

Renu C. Liu, M.D.

Renu C. Liu, M.D.

  • Radiology

John C. Pestaner, M.D., FACR

John C. Pestaner, M.D., FACR

  • Radiology

Eric D. Smith, M.D.

Eric D. Smith, M.D.

  • Radiology

Avanti Ambekar, M.D.

Avanti Ambekar, M.D.

  • Radiology

Ronald S. Chan, M.D.

Ronald S. Chan, M.D.

  • Radiology

View All Related Doctors

Services Near You

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center

Sutter Gould Medical Foundation

Sutter Gould Medical Foundation

Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation

Sutter East Bay Medical Foundation

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation

Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation

Novato Community Hospital

Novato Community Hospital

Sutter Delta Medical Center

Sutter Delta Medical Center

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Sutter Amador Hospital

Sutter Amador Hospital

View All Related Locations

About Sutter

  • About Our Network
  • Annual Report
  • Awards
  • Community Benefit
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Giving
  • Find Care

  • Birth Centers
  • Care Centers
  • Emergency Rooms
  • Hospitals
  • Imaging
  • Labs
  • Surgery Centers
  • Urgent Care
  • Walk-In Care
  • View All >
  • Featured Services

  • Behavioral Health
  • Cancer Services
  • Family Medicine
  • Home Health and Hospice
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatrics
  • Pregnancy
  • Primary Care
  • Women's Health
  • View All >
  • Patient Resources

  • Accepted Health Plans
  • Classes and Events
  • Estimate Costs
  • Health and Wellness
  • Medical Records
  • Medicare Advantage
  • My Health Online
  • Pay a Bill
  • Symptom Checker
  • Our Team

  • For Employees
  • Physician Careers
  • Recruiting Events
  • Residencies and Fellowships
  • Sutter Careers
  • Vendors
  • Volunteers
    • ADA Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    • LinkedIn Opens new window
    • YouTube Opens new window
    • Facebook Opens new window
    • Twitter Opens new window
    • Glassdoor Opens new window
    • Instagram Opens new window

    Copyright © 2022 Sutter Health. All rights reserved. Sutter Health is a registered trademark of Sutter Health ®, Reg. U.S. Patent & Trademark office.

    Cookie Policy

    We use cookies to give you the best possible user experience. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences

    Privacy Policy Cookie Preferences