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LIKE
many things in life, getting
a mammogram is something you
know is important to do, yet it’s
also something you don’t relish
actually doing. e time it takes for
the exam itself, the discomfort and
the waiting for results are all factors
women cite as reasons to dislike the
mammogram process.
New equipment at Simi Valley
Hospital’s Nancy Reagan Breast
Center is helping to address all of those
factors, making the mammogram
experience much more pleasant for
most patients. In operation since late
winter, the GE Senograph Essential
direct digital mammography units and
related equipment o er faster exams,
a lower dose of radiation, typically
less discomfort and more rapid results.
“In the past, when lm was used
to make an image of the breast, the
exam could take 20 to 25 minutes,”
said Katherine Hillard, director of
diagnostic imaging at Simi Valley
Hospital. “Now that everything is
fully digital, it typically takes just
six to seven minutes for a screening
mammogram. en the patient can
be on her way.”
In addition to being shorter,
the mammography process is now
more comfortable. The Nancy
Reagan Breast Center uses “flex
paddles” to compress the breast
during the imaging process.
“ e new paddles enable us to
get more uniform compression, and
patients report less discomfort than
with conventional paddles,” Hillard
said.
Image quality with the new system
is also greatly improved, she said,
enabling radiologists to see the
structures within the breast more
clearly than ever before.
Digital assistance
Also new at the Nancy Reagan
Breast Center is computer-aided
detection (CAD), a digital “second
eye” for the review of mammogram
images. CAD’s sophisticated so ware
helps to pinpoint potential areas
of concern on the mammogram,
agging them for closer review by
a radiologist.
“A radiologist looks at every
mammogram image,” Hillard said.
“ e CAD system helps him or her
in that task. As a result, we’re able
to eliminate the need for a second
radiologist to review screening
mammograms, which can cut an
entire day out of the time it takes to
get the results of the exam.”
CAD is used with all types of
mammograms. For diagnostic
mammograms (taken when
symptoms are present) and follow-up
mammograms, two radiologists
review the images.
A closer look at mammograms
To schedule your
mammogram at
the Nancy Reagan
Breast Center, call
805-955-6122.
