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The Trust installed five new 3D mammography systems from Siemens Healthineers across its points of care in the Portsmouth area. With a mobile mammography suite, two community diagnostic centres, and the breast department at the hospital itself, the Trust is able to offer the full range of diagnostic services to the patients. Sourcing the entire fleet from a single provider, Siemens Healthineers, with its highly responsive customer service, greatly facilitates the management of multiple pieces of equipment across several sites. It also makes it easy for staff to transition between units, as the same trusted, familiar brand awaits them at every site.

The new systems not only empower the network to overcome diagnostic challenges, but also offer greater accessibility to all demographics of women, in particular patients with restricted movement, who now have new clinics with extended-time appointments at their disposal. This increased and improved screening capacity, in addition to the greater convenience offered by MAMMOMAT Revelation device, the Trust hopes to increase its screening volume to 48 non-symptomatic as well as symptomatic patients per day.

Rebecca Church, Consultant Radiographer at the Queen Alexandra Hospital, appreciates the speed that MAMMOMAT Revelation offers. Prior to adopting breast tomosynthesis, the hospital often had to recall women and perform multiple retakes. This was time-consuming and a critical factor in a disease where delays can have severe medical consequences for patients: Each month of delayed treatment can increase a patient’s mortality risk by about 10%.¹

MAMMOMAT Revelation offers the Trust the benefit of excellent image quality: The 50° Wide-Angle Tomosynthesis supports to overcome diagnostic challenges like overlapping tissue. With a narrower angle, tissue is often hidden behind other layers. Wide-angle tomosynthesis offers a depth resolution that is up to 3.5 times higher than the narrow-angle system.² The tissues are better separated and overlapping objects are clearly delineated with less superimposition, better contrast resolution, and less noise. The machine uses the same wide angle both in tomosynthesis and for the biopsy, which ensures that the targeted lesion during the biopsy is exactly the same as the lesion viewed during assessment. The staff also appreciates the ability to choose their own image “flavour” for mammograms. They can adapt the images at each site to create a familiar look, making it easier for users to transition to the new systems.

If a biopsy is necessary, the procedure is made easier by intuitive one-click targeting. Rebecca describes the process of targeting a lesion for a tomosynthesis biopsy: From a series of tomosynthesis slices, she identifies the one that best shows the lesion or calcification, allowing her to complete the targeting “literally just by clicking once”. The dual screen enables the staff to compare to previous imaging whilst targeting for a stereotactic procedure. The equipment itself is very light and easy to set up, which makes it especially user-friendly and further accelerates the process. Not only the exam, but the entire assessment process has been streamlined.

Once the biopsy sample is taken, the mammographers need to answer a vital question: Does the removed tissue contain a sufficient amount of altered cells for laboratory analysis? With the specimen scanner InSpect, the team at the Queen Alexandra Hospital no longer needs an additional scan device. The radiographer x-rays the tissue sample within 20 seconds at MAMMOMAT Revelation, while the patient remains in the biopsy position. The scan appears almost instantaneously, enabling the mammographer or radiologist to immediately gauge if a sufficient amount of calcifications or lesion tissue is present in the sample. If that is not the case, the patient is still in position for another attempt. Less need for retargeting means less stress on the patient.

Rebecca feels that InSpect offers massive safety benefits. In the past, staff had to leave the room to check specimen images. Rebecca felt that this was an unsafe process step because the mammographer had to leave the patient unattended with the needle still in the breast. With InSpect, the staff can stay with the patient throughout the entire process.

Rebecca Church has also found that 50° Wide-Angle Tomosynthesis has improved their detection rate of invasive cancer.  In the past, they used to perform a spot compression view just of the area of concern. Today, tomosynthesis allows them to image the whole breast, enabling them to detect cancers that would have been missed before.

The updated fleet at the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust is a game changer for staff and patients alike. In a healthcare system that is under mounting pressure from all sides, MAMMOMAT Revelation offers the Queen Alexandria Hospital and its satellite sites much needed and welcome support to fulfill its ambitious mission: to provide the best care to the greatest number of patients. And since retaining a motivated, competent workforce is absolutely critical, offering your staff a cutting-edge, streamlined system to work with is also an acknowledgment of their professionalism and skill – as is evident from the radiographers’ enthusiastic responses to the new technology.