On August 26, we honored Women’s Equality Day, a reminder that the right to vote was only the beginning, and that equality is also a health imperative. Equality demands that women receive the same quality of healthcare, thoughtfully designed and delivered. Far too often, critical aspects of women’s health are neglected in data, in research, and in clinical practice, and too many solutions fail to reflect women’s real needs.
A Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap published by the McKinsey Health Institute and the World Economic Forum in 2025 highlights how much is at stake. The report singles out nine priority conditions, including breast cancer, heart disease, migraines, and menopause, that account for a third of the global burden of women’s health inequities. Addressing these could add nearly 27 million disability-adjusted life years annually, equivalent to about 2.5 more healthy days per woman each year, and generate 400 billion dollars in additional global GDP by 2040. Equality in healthcare is about healthier lives, stronger communities, and more resilient economies.
Breast cancer is one of the most urgent areas for action. Early detection is often the difference between life and death, yet standard mammography falls short, particularly for the 40 to 50 percent of women with dense breast tissue. In these women, overlapping anatomy obscures abnormalities, and dense tissue itself increases cancer risk. The result is a structural gap in exam results that cannot be ignored.
At Koning, we are responding with innovation. Our Koning Vera Breast CT delivers high-resolution, three-dimensional imaging without compression. It is the only FDA-cleared device of its kind, designed and manufactured in the United States. Instead of flattening the breast between plates, Vera allows a gentle seven-second scan per breast that improves cancer detection across all breast types, including the densest tissue.
Research supports its potential. O’Connell, Avice M. et al. (2021) describe cone-beam breast CT as capable of overcoming mammography’s limitations, particularly with dense tissue and overlapping structures, by offering true high-resolution three-dimensional scans without compression.
Patient comfort is equally important. Mammography’s compression is often painful and discouraging. A 2022 survey by HealthyWomen found that one in six women have skipped screenings because of discomfort. When pain keeps women from returning for imaging, cancers are found later and outcomes worsen. By eliminating compression, Vera makes breast imaging an easier decision, which is essential for early detection.
Women’s Equality Day is a reminder that equality in healthcare requires better data, more inclusive research, clinical standards that reflect women’s realities, and technologies designed with patient dignity at the center. The Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap provides a roadmap, calling on leaders to count women in data, study women in research, care for women in clinical guidelines, include all women in access, and invest in women as innovators.
Our Vera Breast CT is part of that journey. By improving image accuracy regardless of density and by making exams more comfortable, Vera helps remove barriers that have persisted for too long. It demonstrates how equality in health can be achieved when innovation is combined with patient dignity and comfort.
Sources
McKinsey Health Institute and World Economic Forum. Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All. January 2025. McKinsey Report
O’Connell, Avice M. et al. “Cone-beam breast computed tomography: technical principles and potential clinical applications.” European Radiology, 2021. PubMed
HealthyWomen. Screening, Prevention, and Women’s Health Survey Report. 2022. HealthyWomen