New 3D Breast Imaging System Installed At Belfast City Hospital

A new 3D breast imaging system, the first of its kind available to NHS patients in Northern Ireland, has been installed at the Belfast City Hospital.

Funded by charity Friends of the Cancer Centre the state-of-the-art model is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

Colleen Shaw, Chief Executive of Friends of the Cancer Centre, said: "Friends of the Cancer Centre strives to ensure that people affected by cancer locally have the best treatment and services available and we know that this new piece of equipment will greatly benefit women across Northern Ireland.

"Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Northern Ireland and many of these women will be faced with the possibility of undergoing reconstructive surgery. For any woman faced with this prospect it is an extremely difficult decision, but we hope that the new technology will help women through this process as it will give each patient a better idea of what they will look like post-op, allowing them to make an informed decision on what is best for them. The new system will also make the imaging and photographing process, which is a vital step, a little less intimidating and scary which is a really important factor in making a difficult time a little easier for the patient."

Mr Stuart McIntosh, Consultant Breast Surgeon at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and Senior Clinical Lecturer at Queen's University, said: "This new technology is very exciting for us as a surgical team as it allows us to enhance the breast surgery services provided at Belfast City Hospital. Before the introduction of the new 3D system, surgical staff would have relied on a traditional camera to take several individual 2D images of the patient. The new imaging system will allow us to generate one complete, high quality, 3D image of each individual patient which we can then use to discuss options with the patient and also plan for any procedures in a much more precise way.

"The particular model that we have is actually the first of its kind anywhere in the world, so we are offering our patients the very latest and very best new technology available globally. This has all been possible thanks to the support and backing of Friends of the Cancer."

The equipment is part of the Medical Illustration Department at Belfast City Hospital and will play a vital role in the patient pathway by providing the surgical team optimal pre-operative assessment and surgical planning for women considering reconstructive surgery after undergoing a mastectomy.

The new imaging technology will also be used by researchers from Queen's University's Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, where Mr McIntosh is a Senior Clinical Lecturer, and Ulster University in a collaborative approach to investigate further development and applications of 3D surface imaging which could benefit more breast cancer patients in the future, as well as those suffering from other diseases.

(CD)