September is Pain Awareness Month, a time to recognize how pain affects daily life and influences the choices people, especially women, make about their health. In breast care, pain is often a deciding factor in whether women follow through with annual examinations or avoid them altogether.
Mammography has been the cornerstone of breast cancer imaging for decades, yet many women describe the procedure as painful or distressing. During a mammogram, the breast is compressed by a plate with a force of up to 44 pounds. This compression is not only uncomfortable but can be enough of a deterrent to delay or skip appointments. A national survey conducted by HealthyWomen in 2022 found that one in six women had avoided a mammogram for this reason. When pain becomes a barrier, early detection loses its effectiveness.
Our Koning Vera Breast CT was created to solve this problem. It provides high-resolution, 3D imaging without the need for compression. A patient lies comfortably on a table while the system completes a scan in 7 seconds per breast. Our design combines speed, precision, and comfort in a way that makes exams a more dignified, painless experience. By removing a major obstacle, Vera gives women a clearer path to staying on schedule with diagnostic care.
Accuracy is just as important as comfort; breast density can obscure cancers on mammography, and approximately half of all women have dense breast tissue. This makes advanced imaging crucial. Vera’s 3D cone-beam computed tomography captures a full dataset that radiologists can examine from multiple angles. Peer-reviewed research has shown that cone-beam breast CT reduces the challenges of overlapping structures and provides diagnostic clarity that traditional two-dimensional imaging cannot always deliver.
Pain Awareness Month is an opportunity to consider how compassion and innovation can work together. When women feel comfortable during imaging, they are more likely to return for routine follow-ups. That consistency leads to earlier diagnoses, more treatment options, and life-changing outcomes.
The FDA granted approval to Vera as a dedicated breast CT system for diagnostic imaging and 3D-guided biopsy, affirming its role as a future potential new default imaging method. For patients with symptoms, inconclusive findings, or dense breast tissue, Vera provides a diagnostic step that does not force them to choose between clarity and comfort. It reflects a broader principle: that medical technology should be judged not only by the images it produces but also by the experiences it creates.
At Koning, we believe that pain should never stand between a patient and potentially life-saving information. By pairing advanced imaging science with patient-centered design, Vera represents a future in which women no longer have to endure discomfort to protect their health. It shows that progress in medicine can be both technical and humane.
This September, as we reflect on the impact of pain across healthcare, we recognize its influence in breast imaging and affirm our commitment to compassionate innovation. The Koning Vera Breast CT makes early detection more accurate, more comfortable, and more equitable. That is how we move from awareness to action.
Sources
HealthyWomen. Screening, Prevention, and Women’s Health Survey Report. 2022.
Li H, et al. “Comparison of comfort between cone beam breast CT and mammography.” European Radiology, 2019.
O’Connell, Avice M. et al. “Cone-Beam Breast Computed Tomography: Time for a New Paradigm.” Radiographics, 2021.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Premarket Approval P130025. Koning Breast CT.