Remote Navajo Reservation Gets Digital Mammography and Satellite Link

A Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona is getting the latest in digital breast mammography equipment and a satellite system for relaying mammography images back to radiologists at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

The equipment, being brought to the reservation on an 18-wheeler, is part of a high-tech initiative to show that mammography screening and diagnosis can be made available to women who are in traditionally underserved regions, and to determine the feasibility of extending the service to other underserved groups of women.

The advantage of using digital mammography in this setting is that technologies can relay the results immediately to radiological experts rather than having to wait to have film developed. Women can be informed if they need additional screening while they are still at the center.

"The key to success is the immediacy of reporting the results of the examinations to the patients," said Lillie Shockney, director of Hopkins' Breast Cancer Outreach Program. "Immediate reports allow a woman to get counseling from experts who are there with her and to ask questions about getting treatment.

"This is especially important for many of these women, because they often don't have telephones and primary care physicians and tend to move frequently," said Shockney. "The chances of a patient getting the appropriate care are greatly increased if she receives a report and counseling before she leaves the Mobile Breast Care Center."

The Mobile Breast Care Center will fill a major health care gap for Native American women, who often have limited access to breast cancer screening. A recent NIH survey reported that 4.9 percent of Native American women have suspicious finds in their breast at the time of their first mammography screening.

The initial phase of the project has been funded by a $250,000 grant from the Susan Komen Foundation.

Other sources: Johns Hopkins