Patient-controlled mammography system
Senographe Pristina features an option to use a first-in-industry patient-assisted compression remote control to enable the patient, with the help of a technologist, to set the compression that feels right for her.
The handheld wireless remote control, called Pristina Dueta, allows patients to adjust the compression force after breast positioning. The technologist then guides the patient while she operates the remote control to adjust compression until she reaches an adequate compression level. The design strives to minimize women’s perceived pain and discomfort by giving them an active role in the application of compression.
In a patient survey conducted with 160 patients in two sites in Europe, 4 out of 5 patients who received their mammogram on the Pristina coupled with Pristina Dueta found it improved the comfort of their exam. Pristina has other design enhancements to improve exam comfort. The gentle, rounded corners of the image receptor or “bucky”, where the woman places her breasts, helps reduce discomfort and anxiety. It is also thinner so there’s less hard metal pushing into the patients’ ribs. The design also changes the way the patient is standing: Instead of requiring patients to grab conventional handgrips, which may cause tensing of pectoral muscles and therefore make it harder for the technologist to acquire clear images, patients can instead lean comfortably on armrests and relax their muscles to simplify positioning, compression and image acquisition.
By improving patient comfort, technologists can focus on precise positioning, potentially making the exam easier and faster. Poor positioning is a leading cause of retakes, and the lack of proper positioning may decrease mammography sensitivity. Pristina also includes the latest in 3D digital mammography technology, also known as digital breast tomosynthesis, which delivers superior diagnostic accuracy at the same low dose as a 2D mammography exam – and the lowest patient dose of all FDA-approved 3D mammography systems.
