Siemens to Give Away a MAMMOMAT Inspiration in “Who Inspires You?” Video Contest

Malvern, Pa., Jan. 6, 2011– In celebration of the launch of the MAMMOMAT® Inspiration, Siemens new full-field digital mammography system, the company announces the “Who Inspires You?” contest. The winning hospital or imaging center will receive a brand new MAMMOMAT Inspiration and five runners-up will receive a $10,000 voucher toward the purchase of a new Inspiration.

“Siemens conducted customer workshops around the world, in which they gave us their vision for a new mammography system. We listened to them and the MAMMOMAT Inspiration is a direct result of that customer feedback. They inspired us…now we want to know who inspires them. That is what this contest is about,” explained Gerhard Schmiedel, vice president, X-ray Products, Siemens Healthcare.

By going to www.whoinspiresyoucontest.com, healthcare facilities can submit brief videos nominating up to three clinical staff members that regularly inspire colleagues and/or patients in the battle against breast cancer. Candidates can include breast surgeons, oncologists, radiology technologists, radiologists, breast care patient coordinators, OB-GYNs or any other healthcare professional who goes above and beyond his or her responsibilities to provide exceptional patient care in the area of breast cancer.

source: Siemens Medical

Preoperative Breast MRI Suggests High Cancer Yield and Positive Predictive Value in Newly Diagnosed Patients, Study Finds

The use of preoperative Breast MRI detects otherwise occult cancer with a relatively high degree of accuracy when applied to a diverse population of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The study was performed at the University of Washington and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle, WA. The review initiated with 592 patients who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent staging with preoperative breast MRI. The analysis set was comprised of 570 patients, whose biopsy rates, positive predictive values (PPVs) of biopsy, and overall cancer yields were calculated and compared using the chi-square test across patient age, breast density, index tumor type, receptor status and lymph node status.

“Our data add to the growing body of literature that documents breast MRI's ability to detect otherwise occult additional disease in patients who have been newly diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Robert Gutierrez, MD, lead author of the study.

“We found that use of preoperative breast MRI in newly diagnosed cancer patients resulted in an added cancer yield of 12%.This is much higher than the added cancer yield of .08 to 6.7% seen with high risk screening breast MRI, a more widely accepted indication for breast MRI,” said Gutierrez.


source: ARRS