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We asked users about the usability and benefits of the AMULET SOPHINITY digital mammography system that has been introduced at the Medical Support Center, a provider of various types of complete personal and corporate health checkup services.
As a base hospital in the western Owari region of Aichi Prefecture, Ichinomiya Nishi Hospital provides a wide range of healthcare services, from local emergency and acute care to subacute rehabilitation, home care, and palliative care, including medical checkups, which are important for preventive care, under the philosophy of “May the city and its people stay healthy and happy.”
We asked users about the usability and benefits of the AMULET SOPHINITY digital mammography system that has been introduced at the Medical Support Center, a provider of various types of complete personal and corporate health checkup services.
Medical Support Center
Radiology Technoglogist
Rei Kojima
We aim to be safe and reliable hospital for the community, in line with our basic policies of “never rejecting any injury or illness, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” “providing up-to-date equipment and advanced medical technology,” and “practicing meticulous, patient-centered medical services.”
The current Medical Support Center, which is located in the hospital, was established as our Health Checkup Center in April 2011 and was renamed in July 2023 when it was relocated to the new Building B. Before the relocation, some tests needed to be carried out at various locations within the hospital. However, the newly relocated Health Checkup Center has triple the size of the previous center, allowing all tests to be performed on one floor. The previous mammography system had been regularly certified by the Image quality evaluation as a mammography facility of the Japan Central Organization on Quality Assurance of Breast Cancer Screening, and we are expecting that SOPHINITY will likewise be certified in the future. We have 9 certified technologists, all of whom females.
- How many mammography examinations are performed each year?
There were 4,811 in 2022.
- What is important to you in screening and mammography?
We aim to improve our imaging techniques, patient hospitality during imaging, and image quality, to reduce pain, hoping that the patients will want to return to us for their future checkups.
- What effects did you expect AMULET SOPHINITY to have?
What we expected from the system included the availability of the Comfort Comp*1 automatic decompression control function to improve image quality and reduce pain; easy positioning; and its compact size. In addition, since we use AMULET Innovality, which is the previous model, for outpatient care, it is easier for diagnosing doctors to compare images.
- What do you think about the usability of AMULET SOPHINITY?
In addition to the thinness of the exposure table, the breast is held firmly on the table, making positioning easier and making it easier to identify the greater pectoral muscle, especially in MLO view. Regarding image quality, we feel FADs and calcifications are clearly delineated and extramammary glands are quite visible. The overall rounded design of the system and its back being low and compact may help reduce the tightness the patient may feel.
- What do you think of the “Positioning MAP” projection function developed using AI technology?
In MLO view, for example, the use of dominant hand can cause certain effects. In such a situation, however, I find that it is good to use the easier projection for shooting the opposite side as a guideline, which makes it easier to understand how far the lens is inserted and whether it should go further. In addition, the use of the projection function is a good way to understand your own shooting habits, helping you to check the position to some extent before shooting, so I think it will be especially helpful for Technologist who have little experience in imaging. Although we currently use the projection function for right-side images after shooting the right side and when shooting the left side, in the future we would like to use past images to minimize differences in positioning from the previous image.
- What do you think about the Comfort Comp automatic decompression control function?
When I first saw it, I was surprised at how the pressure plate rises during decompression, but I heard that it has no effect on image quality, so I use it as appropriate while monitoring the paitient’s condition. Specifically, we may use it on the spot if the patient is in pain from compression, or we may use it only for CC and MLO views. For those who we know are very susceptible to pain, just telling them in advance“, now I’m going to use this function to reduce your pain” before applying the pressure often helps them feel less stressful. In fact, I explained Comfort Comp before shooting to an patient who had felt sick during the previous mammography examination. The examination was successfully completed, and the patient said“, I had no problem this time.” Since I think compression is also a psychological burden, the presence of Comfort Comp may help reduce the stress not only of patients but also of technologist.
- What do you think about the positioning analysis function?
During busy seasons, there were times when we did not have time to review the images that we took by ourselves. We now all make use of the positioning analysis function to perform a review after we finish our work. I would like to use the analysis function when selecting images during the Image quality evaluation as a mammography facility. I would also like to adjust the evaluation criteria for the analysis function to levels close to those of the Image quality evaluation as a mammography facility.
In addition to the evaluation, the system enables the user to record the ease of shooting, presence or absence of pain, and any freely provided comments, which allows the user to review the information about previous imaging examinations at the next examination, so I would like to continue to accumulate information for the future.
The “Positioning MAP” projection function, developed using AI technology*2, projects the image onto the exposure table using the skin line and nipple position in previous images of the same patient as a guide for positioning. This supports easy comparison with images taken in the past.
It also has a positioning analysis function using AI technology*2. This shows the results of analyzing the positioning status based on images taken, which is expected to be useful for improving positioning techniques.
- What changes have you seen in your workflow and shooting time since introducing AMULET SOPHINITY?
The changes we have seen include information used for shooting, such as compression pressure and breast thickness, being projected on the compression plate, as well as the Comfort Comp function being easily accessed for manipulation, allowing imaging to be performed with minimal movement and resulting in time reduction.
I believe that preventive care will become increasingly necessary in the future. We hope that Fujifilm will continue to actively incorporate the opinions of patients, and healthcare professionals to develop mammography systems and technology that help reduce mammography-related physical and psychological stress, including pain.
- *1 The function developed for the aim of reducing the pain.
- *2 The extraction of the reference point of the pectoralis major muscle and nipple position for positioning was designed using an AI technique called deep learning.
There is no automatic change in performance or accuracy of the system after installation
Medical Support Center
Dr. Yuko Asai
I felt that the high contrast, and especially the clear black color of the adipose tissue, makes the images easier to read, and the mammary gland density can now be evaluated more accurately.
In addition, the vessels are easy to recognize, making it easier to differentiate between vascular and linear calcifications, which helps the user to prevent from overselecting, we think. Furthermore, I’m expecting that distortion may also be easier to see, although I have not yet confirmed this in an actual case.
The image quality is completely satisfactory for reading for us. Some patients are concerned about the image quality, but many of them are pleased when I tell them that it does not affect the reading, and on the contrary, it is easier to see because it is the latest equipment.