Hillsdale Hospital is the owner of a new state-of-the-art mammography system that could lead to earlier cancer diagnoses.
The new system, the Senographe Pristina 3D Mammography System, produces sharper images of breast tissue, allowing doctors to see potential cancer masses sooner, according to Molly Craig, an R.N. at Hillsdale Hospital. She added that the process is easier and more comfortable for patients.
Craig, a diagnostic imaging nurse navigator, said the system also allows patients to control the compression of their breast tissue using the system’s hand-held device.
“It’s designed to serve a wider range of patients who might have mobility challenges, or maybe are shorter than someone else, because of how you can stand or sit and be positioned for your mammogram,” said Rachel Lott, director of marketing and development for Hillsdale Hospital. “This machine just has a lot more variability in how the mammogram tech can work with the patient and make them as comfortable as possible with the positioning.”
According to the system’s creator, GE Healthcare, 97% of participants in a survey reported less or no anxiety about the procedure. 83% of participants reported that their experience with the Senographe Pristina was better than with previous systems.
Lott said Hillsdale Hospital patients’ experiences have agreed with these data.
“The feedback we’ve received so far from the community has been very positive,” Lott said. “We’ve heard from several patients who have had mammograms on the new machine that it was so much more comfortable than what they’ve experienced before. It’s a much more comfortable process and really just eases their mind and also gives them that additional physical comfort as well with this new system.”
The Senographe Pristina also exposes patients to fewer X-rays than a typical 3D mammography system, thus reducing harm to living tissues, according to GE Healthcare.
The system delivers X-rays at “the lowest patient dose of all FDA approved systems,” according to the company’s website.
Lott said that even though Hillsdale is a small rural community, the Hillsdale Hospital often provides care at the highest level. She added that the hospital recently became one of the first in the nation to possess a thulium laser lithotripsy machine, which uses new methods for kidney stone treatment.
“We really set that standard for ourselves of having the latest and greatest,” Lott said, “because we want to bring the best care possible to our community and to our patients and really take care of our own.”
According to Craig, the new technology will help smaller hospitals like Hillsdale’s to continue to provide top-notch care.
“This was an attempt for rural hospitals to stay up to date, and to have the very best for our community because many of our patients are family,” Craig said. “So, we want the best for our family, for our rural community.”
