Mammography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

Amar  Bhidé; Srikant M. Datar; Katherine  Stebbins

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2019

Mammography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

by Amar Bhidé, Srikant M. Datar and Katherine Stebbins

Abstract

We describe how the development of x-ray–based techniques and equipment (“mammography”) lead to widespread screening for breast cancer and enabled “minimally invasive” biopsies of breast tumors. Specifically, we chronicle how 1) new protocols and equipment catalyzed the first widespread screening programs and minimally invasive biopsies in the 1960s and 1970s; 2) concerns about safety and accuracy spurred technological advance in the 1980s; and 3) digitization further improved the safety and accuracy of mammography in the 1990s and 2000s.

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Technology Adoption; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;

Language: English

Format: Print

38 pages

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Citation:

Bhidé, Amar, Srikant M. Datar, and Katherine Stebbins. "Mammography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-002, July 2019.

We describe how Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG, or more popularly, “bypass”) operations revolutionized the treatment of coronary disease (that can produce fatal heart attacks and debilitating angina). Specifically we chronicle the 1) development of the foundational procedures and technologies that provided a base for CABG; 2) early CABG operations performed in the 1960s; 3) rapid—and controversial growth—that occurred in the U.S. in the 1970s and; 4) emergence and rapid diffusion of the less invasive angioplasty alternative that slowed the growth of CABG in the last two decades of the 20th century.

We describe how Computed Tomography (CT) scanners—that combine x-rays and computers to image soft tissues of the brain and other organs—have become a widely used diagnostic tool. Specifically, we chronicle the following: 1) development of the first CT scanner (through the early 1970s); 2) rapid and enthusiastic adoption of CT scanning (until the late 1970s); 3) regulatory backlash against the perceived overuse of this expensive technology (in the 1980s); and 4) innovations that reignited growth (in the 1990s and 2000s).

We describe how a chance discovery of bacteria that infects stomach linings completely changed how physicians treat ulcers. Specifically, we chronicle how 1) two Australian physicians brought the bacterial infection to the world’s attention and challenged the conventional view that stomach acidity caused ulcers; 2) a global community of researchers helped corroborate the Australians’ findings and developed convenient tests and effective treatments; and 3) these tests and treatments were gradually, but not immediately, adopted.

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Mammography: Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances

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