SAN DIEGO -- A potential new tool for detecting breast cancer is being tested at the University of California, San Diego.

It is a different approach that could help doctors zero in on changes in the breast that may not show up on mammograms and is also pain-free.

Mammograms are a vital and proven screening tool for breast cancer.

Now, a newer technology could vastly improve detection methods.

"We are still using the same technology that's 50 years old," said Dr. Christopher Comstock, a UCSD radiologist.

Some women said they believe it is uncomfortable and just close their eyes to get through it.

"I don't watch it, that's for one thing. I usually try to focus on a different place in the room," said one patient.

Thanks to advances in technology, researchers are looking at optional ways to image the breast.

"Newer technologies are looking for more than just shapes but actual information," said Comstock.

With the new SoftScan technology, a woman’s breasts actually float comfortably in a warm solution without being squeezed while the imaging takes place.

"It's basically a laser than shines through the breast that scans through the breast," said Comstock.

SoftScan is an optical scanner that uses a certain frequency of light to scan through the breast to detect areas of increased blood flow that might be a maker for breast cancer.

"Cancers have potentially more vascular hemoglobin. They may scatter light differently and they may have different oxygenation levels," said Comstock.

Researchers at UCSD are comparing images from mammograms to the images produced by the SoftScan technology.

The UCSD study is looking at how accurately the SoftScan can identify lesions in the breast and in areas of increased blood flow.

Study participant Andrea Cherkow is among 40 women who are undergoing the experimental scan.

"Your breasts kind of floats in a bath of what I would describe like soy milk,” said Chertkow.

If SoftScan technology proves itself, it would be used as an adjunct diagnostic tool to mammography.

For more information, you can log onto the Breast Cancer Unit at Moores UCSD Cancer Center or log onto Dr. Christopher Comstock's page to request an appointment.