Field trial of mobile digital telemammography: Phase I—installation and testing of equipment

Abstract

This report on the first phase of an evaluation and demonstration project to provide high quality mammography services to women in remote and underserved areas appears at a time of considerable controversy regarding the efficacy of screening mammography. The objectives of the first phase were focused on the technical feasibility of utilizing digital mammography in a mobile setting, transmitting the images via satellite for immediate interpretation at centers of excellence, and providing the results to the patient before she left the examination site. The next phase, a field trial on a Native American reservation, will include baseline data and operational measures to address patient participation, compliance with follow-up recommendations, and the costs and benefits of the program. With the support of the Komen Foundation, the project team was able to complete the initial phase of the project to evaluate a new method of providing real-time, expert mammography interpretations to rural and underserved women. In this phase, the project team tested the feasibility of using a mobile breast care center, equipped with a digital mammography unit, and a satellite telecommunication link to medical centers for image interpretation on an electronic review workstation. The satisfactory completion of this first phase supports the recommendation that a field trial using the methods described in this report be conducted with a remote rural population to determine the clinical efficacy and economic viability of this concept in delivering breast cancer detection services.