The Dallas-based Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation will fund a digital breast imaging field trial at the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation encompasses portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, and is more than 25,000 square miles in area. The trial, which starts this month in Tuba City, AZ, will test digital breast imaging, storage, and long-distance data transmission.
The digital imaging equipment is housed in a van equipped with a mobile breast care center. The system was designed at the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory in Baltimore. During the 15-month field trial to remote locations within the Nation, an estimated 2,000 Native American women are expected to undergo screening.
Radiologists at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, MD will receive the images and provide readings. Quality assurance readings will be performed at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The interpretation will then be transmitted back to the van and shared with the patient.
Navajo Health and Social Services personnel will ensure that appropriate follow-up is provided for women with positive results or suspected breast tissue abnormalities, according to Albert Descheny of Navajo Health and Social Services.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersJune 8, 2001
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