On March 4, Florida Hospital Flagler hosted an Open House for the recently remodeled Women’s Health Center. More than 60 local ladies came out to tour the new facility, meet the technologists and learn about the new equipment and services provided by the facility.
“We recently added digital mammography to our Women’s Health Center,” said Denise Stein, Florida Hospital Flagler Imaging Services Director. “The biggest benefit of digital mammograms is that the x-rays are converted into electrical signals that are sent to a computer. The images produced can be enhanced, magnified or manipulated on a computer screen, which can help the radiologist see specific areas of the breasts more clearly.”
Both digital and film mammograms can often detect breast cancer at an early stage. However, according to the National Cancer Institute, digital mammography is better than film mammography at finding cancers in women with dense breasts; women younger than 50, regardless of breast density; and women who had their last menstrual periods within 12 months of their mammograms.
“In addition, we’ve added a Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) program to our mammography services,” Stein said. “In essence, the CAD technology works like a ‘spell-checker.’ The computer marks abnormalities on the digitized films similar to the way a computer program might alert a writer to a misspelled word. The radiologist can then decide whether the marked area is indeed an abnormality that needs follow-up or if the computer has indicated a normal area, such as a blood vessel, that is no cause for concern.”
Along with this new technology, Florida Hospital Flagler has added MR/Ultrasound Guided biopsy and Stereotactic biopsy capabilities. These Image-Guided Biopsies guide the biopsy needle as it approaches the target area within the patient’s body. This significantly shortens procedure times and increases diagnostic accuracy.
“The open house celebrated the long process it took to truly create a completely comprehensive Women’s Health Center,” Stein said. “Now there is no need to leave the community when all of your breast health issues can be addressed locally at Florida Hospital Flagler.”