April 4, 2007

JAMESON HOSPITAL INSTALLS NEW IMAGECHECKER^® COMPUTER-AIDED DETECTION (CAD) SYSTEM FOR EARLY BREAST CANCER DETECTION

New Castle , PA –  This year, approximately 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and studies show that up to 23.4 percent of breast cancers could be detected sooner.  Regular screening mammograms are the best way to detect breast cancer and early diagnosis is the key to survival.  Recently, Jameson Hospital acquired the new ImageChecker® Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system for use in breast cancer screening to assist radiologists in minimizing false negative readings during mammograms.

The ImageChecker System from R2 Technology is the first U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved CAD system for use with screening, diagnostic, and digital mammography..  Studies show use of the ImageChecker could result in earlier detection of up to 23.4 percent of the cancers currently detected with screening mammography in those women who had a prior screening mammogram 9-24 months earlier.

The ImageChecker CAD system is currently used in conjunction with film- based and digital mammography. After acquiring a digital image or digitizing a film mammogram, the system’s specialized processing software analyzes the image and draws the radiologist’s attention to suspicious features that may be indicative of cancer. The radiologist typically reviews the entire mammogram first and then activates the ImageChecker monitor to see if any areas have been highlighted for additional review. If an image is marked, the radiologist goes back to the original mammogram to review this area of the image in more detail.

Mammography screenings with the benefit of the ImageChecker CAD system could prevent thousands of breast cancer deaths each year in the United States alone.   With the addition of the Computer Aided Detection ImageChecker System at Jameson, physicians can more confidently identify abnormalities and can therefore increase the detection rate of invasive cancers.

            “Our dedication to winning the fight against breast disease and the benefits of screening mammography is further enhanced by the use of the ImageChecker,” said Jane Beight, Administrative Director of the Medical Imaging Department. “This new CAD system will allow us to provide our patients all the benefits of early detection and improve overall management and treatment.”

                According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), if breast cancer is identified early, or in Stage 0 or I, when it is confined to the duct or local area of the breast, the patient's chances for survival are dramatically higher. The five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients decreases from approximately 95 percent for cancers detected and treated at an early stage, to 36 percent for stage III cancers (where the cancer has spread to surrounding tissue) to just 7 percent for late stage cancers that have spread to distant organs.

Last year, the American Cancer Society reported over 12,000 new breast cancer cases in Pennsylvania .

For more information about ImageChecker, please contact Jane Beight at 724-656-4122.

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