A new state-of-the-art breast cancer scanner has been installed at the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre.

The next-generation 3D digital mammography scanner will provide women with the highest standard of care available.

Rona Donawa, the chief technologist at BCHC, said the Senographe Pristina with Dueta offered “a more comfortable mammography experience, with gentle, rounded corners, comfortable armrests and the ability to compress the system themselves.”

She added: “Our goal is for all baseline patients to have their mammograms with this new technology with the intent that it will help to dismiss any preconceived fears and encourage more compliance with annual screening.”

It had been hoped to bring the machine online earlier, but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed its installation.

Lynne Woolridge, the CEO of BCHC, said: “We are committed to bringing screening and diagnostic technology to more women.

“We know that there are two key reasons women put off getting mammograms – fear of pain and not being able to afford the exam.”

She added the centre’s schedule was designed so women do not feel rushed and that “our compassionate technologist team is highly experienced and available to answer questions and walk patients through what to expect, which lowers women’s anxiety.”

Ms Woolridge said that inability to afford a mammogram did not prevent women from getting a once-a-year screening.

She added: “For women without health insurance and who are not able to afford the exam, the centre’s equal access fund will cover the cost so no woman goes without.

“We hope that as we continue to provide the latest technology and remove the cost barrier, that Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre will help more women get a screening exam and find cancer early, when it is most treatable.”

BCHC was the first healthcare centre to offer digital mammography in 2008 and in 2017 became the first to offer 3D technology.

The centre has been awarded several seals of approval from Canadian and American professional bodies, including gold accreditation in mammography from the American College of Radiology.

The ACR has also awarded the centre’s diagnostic imaging department the breast imaging centre of excellence designation.