Full-Field Digital Mammography Implemented in Brazil

The Unidade Radiológica Paulista (URP) Diagnósticos Medicos (São Paulo, Brazil) has chosen to adopt Hologic's (Bedford, MA, USA) Selenia full-field digital (FFD) mammography system at their facility. Having seen Hologic's direct capture detector technology before the first machines were actually built, Dr. Aron Belfer, medical director at URP, watched its development closely. When we saw the physics behind it and the idea of direct imaging, we thought that this would be much better than any other detector, he explained.

Rather than investing immediately in the technology, Dr. Belfer waited until he felt it had matured enough to surpass others on the market. There is a huge difference between what I refer to as first-generation digital and second-generation digital, he added.

After the first Selenia system was installed, the URP team temporarily kept one of the screen film machines as backup, but as Dr. Belfer pointed out, the technologic sophistication of patients in the area created an immediate demand for the full-field digital equipment. The difference in image quality is readily apparent to URP's patients, as well. Unlike the in the U.S. medical system, the Brazilian medical system requires patients to keep their radiology films. Many patients compare films from exam to exam, and the approach is proving to be helpful in explaining the difference in image quality, according to Dr. Belfer.

The protocols for image reading in Brazil differ from those in the United States and some other countries because there is no official screening program. At URP, immediately after images are taken, a physician reads them, consults the patient's history, and will often talk to the patient or perform any additional physical exam that is needed all in the same visit. In a city the size of São Paulo, callbacks for second readings can be extremely inconvenient. Fortunately, Selenia has helped URP lower their mammogram callback rate to less than 1-2%.

Dr. Belfer continues to utilize the picture archiving communications system (PACS) system he developed in 1994 as a practice builder. In addition to scanning previous films, digital records will also be kept in the PACS.


Related Links:
Unidade Radiológica Paulista Medical Diagnostics
Hologic