UK breast screening service invests in mobile mammography with lowest radiation dose
Somerset Breast Screening Service is the latest UK breast screening service to invest in mobile mammography solutions from Sectra. Using MicroDose, Somerset BSS will be able to maintain its intense screening schedule, while providing mammography screening with a radiation level that is considerably lower than any other commercially available system.
Sectra MicroDose offers the same or better image quality while requiring a considerably lower radiation dose than all other systems in the market. In addition to the low dose and high resolution benefits, Sectra MicroDose’ unique characteristics, such as detector stability and robustness, make it ideal for mobile installation. The Somerset BSS order comprises two MicroDose Mammography systems as well as Sectra Breast Imaging PACS to manage and archive digital breast images.
“We chose the Sectra MicroDose system as it was important for us to maintain the high throughput that our service requires. Our mobiles operate from 8am until 8pm with 6 minute appointments for each client. Other Sectra customers demonstrated similar volumes as ours, screening up to 500 clients a week. Our mobiles also run on generator power so the ability to turn off all power including heating and air-conditioning at night with no risk of damaging the detector was a real bonus,” says Patricia Middleton, Manager of the Breast Screening Service at Somerset BSS.
Somerset BSS have installed a Sectra Breast Imaging PACS that will manage all breast imaging, providing a truly multi-vendor environment; integrating with information systems, such as the National Breast Screening System (NBSS) and the local hospital RIS as well as the local hospital PACS and all modalities.
As low radiation dose as possible
Mammography screening is the best method for early breast cancer detection. Breast tissue is sensitive to radiation, and it is therefore crucial that the dose is as low as possible. This is especially important in mammography screening, which involves examination of a large number of healthy women. With superior image quality, Sectra’s mammography system, Sectra MicroDose Mammography, generates by far the lowest dose of radiation of all of the systems offered on the market. Sectra MicroDose Mammography is based on patented photon counting technology.
MicroDose Mammography has already been installed at numerous hospitals and clinics in 17 European countries, as well as in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It is pending FDA approval.
For further information, please contact:
Dr. Torbjörn Kronander, President, Sectra Imtec AB, +46 705 23 52 27
Dr. Jan-Olof Brüer, CEO and President, Sectra AB, +46 13 23 52 09
About Sectra’s medical operations
Sectra develops and sells IT-systems and products for radiology, mammography and orthopaedic departments. More than 1,100 hospitals worldwide use the system daily, together performing over 52 million radiology examinations annually. This makes Sectra one of the world leading companies within systems for handling digital radiology images (PACS). In Scandinavia, Sectra is the market leader with more than 50% of all film-free installations. Outside Scandinavia, Sectra’s system is installed at customers in North America and most major countries in Europe and the Far East.
About the Sectra Group
Sectra successfully develops and sells cutting-edge products in the expansive niche segments of medical systems and secure communication systems. The company was founded in 1978 and has its roots in the Linköping Institute of Technology in Sweden. Today, Sectra has offices in twelve countries and operates through partners worldwide. Sales in the 2009/2010 fiscal year totaled SEK 848 million. The Sectra share is quoted on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB exchange. For more information, visit http://www.sectra.com/.