The DIRANUK Mammography Screening Centre, based in Bielefeld, Germany, has been using the new premium SNP-M1 Screens, from Carestream Health. The screens are applying structured needle phosphor technology, which helps in better detection of breast cancer. The center carries out nearly 27,000 examinations per year.
Carestream’s screens provide images with high quality while using lower doses of radiation. The generated mammograms come with high contrast, limited noise and help in detecting micro calcifications and other lesions in the breast.
"Better definition and the much improved contrast to noise ratio as compared to earlier screens greatly enhance the detection of micro-calcifications and the detailed discrimination of architectural abnormalities. Spiculated opacities are also much easier to detect." said Dr. Ulrike Meyer-Johann, from DIRANUK Mammography Screening Centre.
The technology of the innovative screens is provided via the needle-shaped phosphor crystals. The crystals decrease the spread of light throughout the screen generating more uniform screen structure. Thanks to the high density of the needle phosphor, a very high level of X-ray absorption is achieved, decreasing the radiation dose needed for imaging.
"In studies conducted prior to introducing needle phosphor technologies, we have demonstrated that there is a significantly reduced noise level in the signal, which results in improved diagnostic detail," adding "We can see the sort of micro calcifications that are sometimes missed in conventional mammography systems. That means a more secure diagnosis, a more efficient screening program with fewer recalls and better productivity," said Tony Graule, European Sales and Development Manager, Carestream Health.
The DIRANUK Mammography Screening Centre has been using Carestream’s SNP-M1 screens since mid 2010. Digital mammograms are generated using DIRECTVIEW CR 975 system, and diagnosis is decided using a CARESTREAM PACS mammography workstation.
"Thanks to PACS there is a massive gain in speed and processing options. I cannot imagine how we would ever have managed this in the same time by analogue means" adding "For screening we depend on the speedy availability of images; as far as we are concerned uploading and opening the files can't be too quick. The PACS system very rapidly provides us with a display on the monitor of both the current images and corresponding comparison images," concluded Dr. Meyer-Johann.
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