Swedish hospitals choose digital mammography with lowest radiation dose on the market

The Gävleborg County Council in Sweden is investing in digital mammography that provides safe, effective and ergonomic examinations for women in the county. The mammography systems in which the county is investing have the lowest radiation dose on the market and are being delivered by the Swedish IT and medical-technology company Sectra. The order value is SEK 5.9 million.

The new mammography systems, Sectra MicroDose Mammography, will replace existing analog equipment at the mammography screening units at the two hospitals in the county.

“We have seen the Sectra system in operation at the Söder Hospital in Stockholm, an experience that convinced us that the system is optimal for mammography screening and meets our demands for productivity and user-friendliness,” says Anders Åkerlund, Chief Physician and head of the mammography operations in the Gävleborg County Council.

Reduced radiation dose
A switch to digital mammography provides a number of advantages compared with today’s analog operations at the hospitals within the Gävleborg County Council. One of the benefits is that the digital equipment reduces the radiation doses women receive during a mammography examination. This is additionally important in screening operations in which healthy women are examined on a relatively large number of occasions at regular intervals.

“One of the greatest advantages with our new system is that it has the lowest level of radiation, which is of the utmost importance for the women we examine,” continues Anders Åkerlund.

All women in Gävleborg County between the ages of 40-74 are summoned every other year to a health examination and about 30,000 women are examined each year in the county. The aim is to identify possible breast cancer at an early stage when treatment has the greatest impact. Early detection saves lives and medical costs.

Better environment without developing and heavy film processing
The radiology departments in the county already use Sectra’s IT system for processing and archiving of patient data and images and with the new mammography equipment they gain a fully digital solution. Images are reviewed on a computer workstation and all developing and heavy film processing will be eliminated. Physicians and radiology nurses review images and information quicker. In addition, the digital technology provides substantially improved ergonomics and work environment for personnel.