West Suffolk Hospital offers adaptable breast ultrasound
West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, has installed an Acuson Sequoia ultrasound system from Siemens Healthineers. The system is an addition to West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s breast screening service, which operates across west Suffolk and parts of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, with tests offered locally using mobile screening centres, in addition to the facilities at West Suffolk Hospital.
“To help overcome the challenges posed by installing the system during the COVID-19 pandemic, Siemens Healthineers offered remote service and applications support through its Smart Remote Services, helping to minimise downtime during implementation,” explained consultant radiographer Ann Hills.
“The remote support and user-friendly interface have helped the team to rapidly familiarise itself with the Acuson Sequoia, and patient-focused features like the gel warmer are a welcome addition.”
Before COVID-19, the service saw around 13,000 women every year but, like many breast screening services, the trust has seen a drop in attendance. According to Breast Cancer Now, nearly one million women across the UK have missed potentially lifesaving NHS breast screening due to the pandemic.
The Acuson Sequoia supports accurate, reproducible diagnoses. It uses BioAcoustic technology that adapts to the patient’s size and charac- teristics in order to provide a bespoke approach to scanning. The sensitive single crystal transducers provide optimal axial resolution and breast-specific adaptations, facilitating accurate differentiation, clear needle visualisation and reliable measurements of depth for biopsy and fine needle aspiration.
“We are pleased to see the Acuson Sequoia supporting staff and patients at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s breast department,” said Siemens Healthineers GB&I ultrasound business lead Harshal Vadera.
“The system will help reduce the effects of ultrasound variability between users, patients and technology, and will help deliver effective clinical insights to medical practitioners.”
Picture: Siemens Healthineers GB&I imaging sales specialist Iain Lecky, consultant radiographer Lisa Shepherd, consultant radiologist Dr Anita Lazarevska, consultant radiographer Ann Hills and consultant radiologist Dr Emma Senior.
Published on the front page of the April 2021 issue of RAD Magazine.