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Conference News |Dubai |
Staff Reporter | Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tawam Hospital launches first mobile breast cancer
screening unit in UAE
(Dubai Health & News)
Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with
Johns Hopkins Medicine, has launched the first mobile mammography
screening unit of its kind in the UAE, during an unveiling ceremony at
the Arab Health exhibition (28-31 January, 2008) in the Dubai
International Exhibition Centre.
The all female operated mobile service
is totally self-contained benefiting from high-end, cutting edge digital
technology. Images can be transmitted to the Tawam hospital for instant
diagnosis. If lesions are suspected, further analysis can be carried out
and a decision on whether treatment is required can be made within
hours. Should treatment be necessary, Tawam has a complete support team
at their dedicated state-of-the-art Breast Care Center in Al Ain - a
regional first.
"While breast screening could be
provided in the large hospital-based centres such as Tawam, it is
important to reach out to the remainder of the female population.
Developing a mobile screening programme to provide screening mammograms
and breast health education to rural women in their own communities is
the ideal solution, reflecting the needs of the local population whilst
maintaining cultural deference," commented Michael E. Heindel CEO
of Tawam Hospital.
Initially the pilot project will
operate in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, with plans to expand the program to
include six or more units. With the new mobile service Tawam is aiming
to screen up to 20 patients per day, a significant increase on those who
actually visit traditional hospital centers. Women aged over 40 years
are deemed to be most at risk, and are the targeted demographic for
Tawam.
One of the barriers women face when
choosing to attend a mammography session, is the distance and time
required to reach a fixed centre in a large town or city. Due to the
extensive geography of the UAE and the location of regional centres and
rural communities, a mobile screening unit is a viable proposition
compared to building numerous permanent clinics and also offsets the
possibility of much more expensive hospital treatment if symptoms go
undiagnosed.
"The mobile unit creates a win-win
situation. The mobile mammography service will not only save lives, it
will also save the health service millions of Dirhams by screening more
women, more regularly and thereby reducing the number of potentially
fatal or advanced cases. It is a sad fact that 90 per cent of cases
referred to us are already in the advanced stages," added Heindel.
Hologic the US-based medical
technologies company who specialise in diagnostic imaging products and
interventional devices dedicated to women's health have developed the
technology to be used in the mobile unit.
Mark Duerst, Senior Vice President,
Hologic, said, "The Selenia digital mammography platform combines
the latest advances in digital imaging technology with sophisticated
information management capabilities in a remarkably small
footprint."
Mammography has the capacity to detect
lesions at an early stage on asymptomatic women, much earlier in fact
than is possible through breast self-examination or clinical
examination. It provides the best possible means for reducing breast
cancer mortality and morbidity which can improve the chances of
successful treatment and recovery, especially for women in the 50-69 age
group.
The health issues surrounding breast
cancer in the UAE were highlighted over twelve months ago with the
launch of the US-UAE Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and
Research, under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak.
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Unveiling ceremony at the Arab Health
Exhibition in Dubai.
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