INUVIK
A new mammography machine at the Inuvik Regional Hospital means medical services are keeping abreast of the times.

Sally Vergeer, application specialist with the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority, poses with the Inuvik Regional Hospital's new mammography unit April 17. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The $264,000 unit was officially unveiled April 17 at a well-attended open house. Members of the public and hospital staff vied for a look at the new digital unit that improves services at the facility.

The new machine can handle twice the number of patients in the hospital, said Sally Vergeer, application specialist with the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority. It's also significantly more comfortable than the older unit, which dated back to the late 1990s.

Most of the women hearing that at the unveiling perked up their ears, since mammograms are notoriously uncomfortable.

"No more squish squish," said Margaret Miller enthusiastically as the technicians smiled.

The paddle is larger, distributing the pressure more evenly and comfortably.

"We had several women coming in this week for tests, and they were nervous coming in and they were pleasantly surprised."

"Breast cancer, by the time you can feel a lump in your breast, it's been there for several years, and the prognosis isn't as good, and the treatment has to be more aggressive."

Instant transmission

The images can be transmitted instantly to medical staff in Calgary for examination, and Inuvik technicians can look at them on the spot to see if more imaging needs to be done, said Vergeer.

"They can pick up the phone and the results are there immediately," she said.

"It's state of the art, and it's digital. It's pretty much the best one on the market. It gives top quality mammography exams. The ladies of the North are going to get a really nice mammogram, with a top and side view done on each breast and they're able to keep breathing while the machine takes the pictures."

The machine also reduces the radiation levels per test by about half, Vergeer said.

Older machines used traditional film technology, while the new machine uses digital technology. It's akin to the difference between a film and a digital camera, Vergeer said.

Twice as many patients can be seen in a day with the new machine, she said. "And since we don't have to bring people back for more pictures, it's saving costs."

The clinic has been seeing as many as 40 patients a day in its first operational week.

Mammography clinics run three times a year for two weeks or so at a time.

Dr. Roohina Virk, the acting chief of staff at the hospital, said "we're pleased to provide cutting edge care to the females in the region."

"And there's certainly less tension for results," she said.

Owen Partridge, the president and chief executive officer for the Beaufort Delta Health and Social Services Authority, said he was also pleased to be able to offer the improved services.

The old machine is still quite workable, he added, but doesn't afford the better quality of care of the new mammography unit. The old unit will likely be decommissioned and scrapped, said Partridge.