El Camino Hospital Adopts Objective Breast Density Measurement to Improve Early Detection in Women with Dense Breasts
Mountain View, CA - October 8, 2012 - El Camino Hospital today announced that it is the first facility in the San Francisco Bay Area to adopt Volpara breast density measurement software from Matakina International. The hospital's Breast Health Center is among the latest California breast imaging facilities that have adopted the objective breast density assessment tool designed to improve early detection among women with dense breasts, including Sutter Health Foundation Women's Center in Santa Rosa and North Valley Breast Clinic in Redding.
"It is critical for physicians and patients to have as many resources available as possible to detect breast cancer, especially among women for whom the traditional mammogram may not be enough," said Imtiaz Qureshi, MD, medical director and chief of radiology at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. "Volpara, when used in concert with advanced imaging technology, can increase the chances for an accurate diagnosis leading to early treatment and a greater possibility for long-term survival."
Cleared by the FDA, HealthCanada, the TGA and CE-marked, Volpara is in use at sites across the globe helping radiologists assess breast density more objectively and helping them better consider who might benefit from additional screening. Volpara is a reliable tool which automatically generates objective, automatic measurement of volumetric breast density values under the Volpara Density Grade (VDG®) – a refined grading system which correlates with the American College of Radiology BIRADS Density Grading Classifications. Volpara is FDA cleared for all digital mammography units, and integration with other digital mammography systems, CAD systems and mammography reporting system are also underway.
"El Camino Hospital is well known as an early adopter of innovative technology to help them deliver better care to their patients. Coming on the heels of California becoming the fifth state to enact density inform legislation, El Camino continues to demonstrate this leadership with the implementation of the Volpara breast imaging software which provides an accurate, objective breast density measurement designed to improve radiologists' understanding of breast density and help them in guiding patients to make appropriate screening decisions," said Ralph Highnam, CEO of Matakina International.
To promote education and awareness of breast health, El Camino Hospital will be hosting a panel discussion on Monday, October 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the hospital in Conference Rooms E, F and G. The panel will feature State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), who drafted and helped pass the recent dense breast legislation in the California Legislature. Participants will also include Peter Naruns, MD, chair of the high risk breast program, Imtiaz Quershi, MD, medical director and chief of radiology and Katherine Sutherland, MD, director of the Genomic Medicine Institute. The event is open to the public. For more information or to register please call 800-216-5556.
About Matakina
Founded to enable radiologists to give women the most accurate information possible regarding their breast health, Matakina International, Limited is the wholly owned sales and marketing arm of Matakina Technology Limited of New Zealand. Volpara's founders and Board of Directors includes John Hood, PhD, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, UK, Ralph Highnam, PhD, former CEO of Mirada Solutions, one of the University of Oxford's most successful spin-outs of recent times and co-author of the seminal book Mammographic Image Analysis; and Professor Sir Michael Brady, a serial entrepreneur who recently retired from the University of Oxford where he was Professor of Information Technology for 25 years. For more information visit the Matakina website.