Edition: U.S. / Global

A Twist on Technology

Published: January 9, 2001

To the Editor:

As researchers debate digital mammography (''An Upgrade That Matters? Mammography's Next Step Is Assessed,'' Jan. 2), a related issue receives scant attention: the method of taking mammography films.

Every mammography machine I have seen places a woman's breast between two flat, hard plastic plates. The operator then torques down one plate, flattening the breast until the patient wants to scream in pain -- ''to get the best possible image.''

Now, imagine a presentation to introduce a detection device for testicular cancer. A salesman, before a room full of male urologists, male cancer researchers, male manufacturers and male buyers, flips on a slide of the prototype: ''The patient places his scrotum on this plexiglass plate, here. The operator turns this knob, here, tightening the second plate until the patient's scrotum is compressed to a thickness of about a quarter inch, providing extremely high quality images. . . .''

The salesman finishes and asks for questions.

Every male face in the room is white. There's dead silence. Then some wag hollers, ''Why don't we just use vise grips?'' The room explodes in nervous laughter. The design sinks without a trace.

That is, until the salesman shows up at the next year's convention with a design for a mammography machine.


Westford, Mass.