Why a mammogram designed by women, for women may help reduce breast cancer

We know the statistics. We often talk about them: one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime and that breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women, causing 40,000 deaths a year in the U.S.* We also know that regular mammograms can help reduce a woman’s risk of dying from the disease and that early detection helps save lives.** But here’s something we know and rarely talk about: nearly half of all women and 30 percent of women 50 and older skip their regular mammograms in part because they believe the exam is too painful, even if they know it can be life-saving.***

As a woman, as a daughter, as a mother and as a friend, these statistics scare me. That’s why, at GE Healthcare, we asked women – not clinicians – why they avoid their mammograms. “What would it take to ensure you kept that important appointment? How can we reduce your anxiety and fear and make the mammography experience more comfortable?” Because why wouldn’t we consult with patients on comfort the same way we go to clinicians to discuss image quality?

A team of female engineers, designers and marketers in my business used their unique insights and empathy as women to design a whole new, more comfortable mammography system. These women inspire me. They were on a mission for all the women in their lives – and women all over the world – to make something special.

And their passion shows in the Senographe Pristina. Pristina was designed to completely transform the patient experience and redefine technology leadership. After talking to patients and clinicians, we realized if we really want to help save more lives from breast cancer, we need to put as much importance on the patient experience as we do image quality. 

I’ve spent the last three months traveling the world and talking to both healthcare providers and the media about the more comfortable mammography experience we are bringing to patients with Pristina. (You can read an interview I did with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here: http://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/health-care/2017/10/14/heres-what-happens-when-women-design-new-system-mammography/763007001/.) The feedback has been incredibly positive. I’m excited for the next big opportunity to show off Pristina and the entire breast health portfolio at the annual Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago starting this Sunday. Like any industry-first, I imagine there will be a lot of curiosity about what makes this technology so unique.

For starters, it looks different. Rounded edges and elegant lighting soften the appearance of the system, which resembles a piece of art rather than a cold piece of medical equipment. But Pristina is much more than how she looks. The gentle corners of the image detector, where the patient places her breasts, enable the patient to lean her hands comfortably on the armrests rather than hand grips, which causes tension in the pectoral muscles making it difficult for the technologist to position the patient and acquire pristine images. The image detector is also thinner compared to prior systems, so there’s less cold metal jabbing into the patient’s ribs and underarms, a common complaint we heard from many women and technologists.

But the coolest part is a new option that allows patients to use the industry’s first wireless remote control – Pristina Dueta – to control their breast compression during their mammogram, with the help of the technologist. The way it works is the technologist positions the patient, initiates compression and then works with the patient, who operates the remote, to adjust compression until she reaches adequate compression. We had the idea to give patients the option to use this remote so they can be active participants in their healthcare and hopefully change the perceived pain and discomfort by giving them an active role in the exam.

Putting aesthetics aside, Pristina offers a clinical benefit for women and their doctors by offering the lowest dose of all FDA-approved mammography systems.****

What really excites me is hearing what radiologists, technologists and patients are saying about Pristina and Pristina Dueta. Patients are telling me that their mammogram on Pristina feels fast and far more comfortable than mammograms on other systems. They are saying they will get their mammogram on Pristina next year. One technologist told me that because her patients are more relaxed during a Pristina exam, she can image more breast tissue and therefore acquire a better image. Radiologists are saying they can visibly see their patients become more relaxed because we are distracting them by stimulating their senses. They are also saying more patients are making their mammography appointments AND keeping them. After all, what good does it do to have advanced mammography technology if women don’t come in the door?

In a recent patient survey done in Europe with 315 women, when patients received a mammogram on Pristina while using Pristina Dueta, 4 out of 5 women who used the patient-assisted compression device found it improved the comfort of their exam.***** But even without using the remote control, 83 percent of patients scanned on Pristina rated their experience as better than with traditional mammography systems, 70 percent noted it was more comfortable and 66 percent perceived the exam was shorter.******

These statistics are so important. We believe reduced pain and anxiety could improve women’s compliance to the doctors’ recommended screening guidelines and lead to earlier breast cancer detection. Women shouldn’t view mammograms as something to be feared – and that’s why we set out to humanize the exam so women are less anxious… so we can engage more women in breast cancer screening. This is the purpose of Pristina.

I am so honored to be part of this journey. No woman should miss out on the potentially life-saving benefits of regular mammograms out of fear or anxiety. This is why I love working at GE Healthcare – we get to help patients every day by designing technology that can help save lives.

We are all on this journey together to tackle breast cancer. I am in it for my mother, my daughters, my nieces, my friends and myself. I know that with Pristina and Pristina Dueta, we can make this experience better for all women around the world.

Sources:

*http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics

**Løberg M, Lousdal ML, Bretthauer M, Kalager M. Benefits and harms of mammography screening. Breast Cancer Research : BCR. 2015;17(1):63.

***Elwood M1, McNoe B, Smith T, et al. Once is enough--why some women do not continue to participate in a breast cancer screening programme. N Z Med J. 1998; 22;111(1066):180-3.

****GE screening protocol consists of 3D CC/MLO + V-Preview CC/MLO, V-Preview is the 2D synthesized image generated by GE Seno Iris mammography software from GE DBT images. FDA PMA P130020. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfpma/pma.cfm?id=P130020, Data on file. Average glandular dose in digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis: comparison of phantom and patient data. Bouwman, R. W. and al., et. 2015, Physics in Medicine & Biology, pp. 7893-7907

*****IPSOS Patient Satisfaction Study sponsored by GE Healthcare, conducted with 160 patients who used patient assisted compression across 2 sites in Europe, February 2017. Data on file.

******IPSOS Patient Satisfaction Study sponsored by GE Healthcare, conducted with 315 patients across 2 sites in Europe, February 2017.