A hospital in Greater Manchester is set to become the first in the UK to use a new high-tech system for detecting breast cancer.
Computer-aided detection (CAD) is the technology behind the MAMMOMAT Inspiration Full-Field Direct Digital Mammography system, from Siemens Healthcare.
Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, part of the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, has ordered two of the units which will help radiologists to interpret digital breast images by flagging up areas of possible concern.
Colours will be used to soothe and calm patients undergoing tests for breast cancer, with one of the units set to include a unique mood-light feature that emits soothing pastel colours, which can be personally selected by the user.
Siemens spokeswoman Samantha Smith said: “The use of colours to soothe and promote calmness, in what is naturally an anxious and sometimes embarrassing procedure for patients, can have a positive effect.
“This not only helps in the short term, but also in the long-run as it may help persuade patients to return for their next examination.”
The system can examine more than 15 patients an hour and is as effective as the current practice of two experts reading the mammograms, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Copyright PA Business 2008
