Head radiologist provides feedback on department’s three-year use of the Hologic Selenia® Dimensions® 3D Mammography™ System
Having heard about the vital research that Hologic had put into providing mammography with much less radiation while still providing accurate results, I didn’t want anything less than this for my clinic. I was very keen to implement the Selenia® Dimensions® 3D Mammography™system. The whole department was eager to get started with the new digital system, so we installed it in April 2015, and we have been more than delighted with the results.
Catching more small cancers
I was very excited to try out the Selenia® Dimensions® 3DMammography™ Systems as it offered the first breast tomosynthesis technology with proven superior clinical performance to 2D mammography—much more detailed, with less radiation.I was particularly keen to use it since it was designed to clearly reveal subtle lesions and fine calcifications to help pinpoint cancers early. The outcome? The system has helped me tremendously in characterising lesions, and I can find more cancers—more small cancers that could have been missed with conventional mammography. I found a cancer of about 2.5mm, which could have been missed if I didn’t have the 3D mammography unit. The resolution is fantastic, so it is very easy for me to interpret a mammogram using this equipment.

At our clinic, the implementation of the system went smoothly because we did it in stages. Hologic's 3D Mammography™ system is powered by C-View™ software.We installed the C-View™—the synthetic view—from the beginning, and we used 2D mammography in parallel with tomosynthesis and the C-View™ to begin with, to become familiarised. After six months we turned to tomosynthesis only with the C-View™ 2D synthetic view. We can lower the radiation dose delivered to the woman by about 40 percent using C-View™ with tomosynthesis, while getting very accurate results.
Increased workload and efficiency
We perform around 3000 mammograms a year in our private clinic. Since we installed the Selenia® Dimensions® 3D Mammography™ System our workload has increased 50 percent as many more women have chosen to be screened at our clinic. However, due to well-trained technicians and a faster and more accurate mammography system we have been able to absorb increased patient numbers into our workflow.
We hope to get more patients, and our intention now is to install Hologic’s Selenia® Dimensions® I-View software contrast enhanced imaging software, in which a contrast agent is given to patients to provide more contrasting mammography images for detection of suspicious lesions. This will help us a lot in decision making as well as in increasing our workflow even more and providing more income for the department.
A revolution for mammography
