August 18, 2015 — Grey Bruce Health Services’ regional hospital in Owen Sound, Canada, has adopted Carestream’s Vue PACS (picture archiving and communication system) and Vue Mammo workstations as part of its breast imaging program. The total solution includes Carestream’s digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) module, full-field digital mammography (FFDM), breast ultrasound, breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), stereotactic biopsies and screening mammograms.
As one of the leaders in the Ontario Breast Screening Program, the Owen Sound hospital conducts more than 8,000 screening exams and up to 5,000 diagnostic breast exams annually. It was the first hospital in Ontario to become a satellite of the Ontario Breast Screening program in the Southwest Local Health Integration Network (LHIN).
“DBT is becoming the preferred technology for diagnostic exams of patients who are called back due to areas of concern in a screening exam. This technology provides enhanced visualization of breast nodules and lesions, which helps our radiologists make a more confident diagnosis,” said Scott Thomson, M.D., chief mammographic radiologist, Grey Bruce Health Services. “Carestream’s fully featured DBT module is easy to use and offers reading times of one minute to one and a half minutes for a single breast exam.”
Due to high breast imaging volumes, one of the nine radiologists at Grey Bruce Medical Center is dedicated to reading mammography exams. Reports are usually available to referring physicians from Carestream's PACS system within hours. In most cases, biopsy results are also reported the same day as the exam.
“As a leader in breast screening and breast cancer care in Ontario, we have created an efficient workflow to ensure that physicians and patients have access to the results of diagnostic procedures as quickly as possible,” said Anne Robertson, the hospital’s director of diagnostic imaging. “If a radiologist detects a suspicious area, they notify our staff and we immediately schedule an appointment for a specialty consultation. We make the process as smooth and convenient as we can for our patients.”
Carestream’s Vue PACS supports reading of diagnostic and mammography exams from any workstation. Radiologists at Grey Bruce Medical Center use a Vue Mammo workstation with a 5-megapixel monitor for FFDM, MRI and DBT breast exams.
The Web-based Carestream Vue Mammo Workstation supports a single, fully featured desktop that enables streamlined reading of all breast imaging procedures as well as delivering advanced 3-D breast tomosynthesis tools. The DBT module can display exams side-by-side with other types of mammography procedures, and allows viewing of DBT exams in cine mode or by scrolling through images. Comparison tools enable radiologists to use personalized hanging protocols for DBT exams along with other procedures.
For more information: www.carestream.com
April 18, 2024 
