WMC preps new mammography unit

Modern mammography, or the ability to detect cancerous growths in the breast has existed in medical science since 1969, when inventor Albert Salomon developed a dedicated X-ray unit for the procedure.

Before that time, simple X-ray machines were used to seek out malignant tumors in the breast. With the passage of time, however, technology has taken the science – and art – of detecting those tumors to new heights.

Wrangell Medical Center can now add their name to the list of hospitals across the nation that possess the latest in cutting-edge equipment used to detect cancer, and save millions of lives each year.

The new mammography machine, a Senographe 2000D built by General Electric, was delivered last month to WMC and is currently undergoing testing by physicists and preparation by staff for its debut in July.

“This is a full-field digital machine, and we’re very excited to have it here,” said WMC radiology supervisor Ann Kramer.

She added that with the addition of digital, over older analog technology used in the past, will boost the safety of patients using the machine.

“The most important aspect for people to know is that this machine uses about half the dose of radiation as our previous machine,” Kramer said. “There is also a much better signal-to-noise ratio so we have excellent contrast with the images. We also have faster acquisition time.”

The faster results of the X-ray are a result of the unit using digital radiography, or “DR.” It is also networked within the radiology department for viewing on a high-resolution video monitor. The prior machine was a computed radiography, or “CR,” machine that utilized imaging plates coated with a phosphoric substance.

“With the old version, we had to shoot onto cassettes that were then converted by a computer into an image we could see,” Kramer added. “Whenever you have to go through a conversion step to view an image, it degrades that next generation, so this new machine’s images are much clearer.”

As with all mammography machines, a certain level of discomfort will be present in the new unit as it will require the breast to be compressed downward for the machine to fully capture the X-ray image.

“There are maybe one out of five people that will say it is very uncomfortable to go through the process,” she said. “Some say it’s tight and stretches the skin, but the bottom line is that this will save your life.”

According to the American Cancer Association, annual mammograms are recommended for women starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as she is in good health, while clinical breast exams should be about every 3 years for women in their 20s and 30s – and yearly for women 40 and over.

The machine isn’t up and running yet, however.

“Our physicist will be here on June 22 to inspect the equipment and make sure it is running properly and that the X-ray tube is generating the proper doses of radiation. GE’s applications manager will be on-site as well for 3 days and we will have a few, specially selected patients run through it,” Kramer added.

The unit is tentatively set to go into full operation on July 1.

Funding for the machine, which cost $99,999, came from a number of funding sources – including a Denali grant that kicked off the hospital’s effort to buy it.

“We had a machine that had sorely outlived its lifetime and usefulness, so we decided to go out and get a much better model with this GE unit,” said Mari Selle-Rea, WMC’s Director of Quality and Development. “We feel very fortunate to have gotten it without any expense to the facility.”