Mr. Kevin Allen, Chief Executive Officer University Hospital of the West Indies

Mr. Kevin Allen, Chief Executive Officer University Hospital of the West Indies 

The UHWI recently acquired a state-of-the-art Tomosynthesis 3D mammography machine. Mr. Kevin Allen, Chief Executive Officer states, "It will be the only mammography unit functional in the government system, so we are taking great care in looking at women's health."  He said,” The Hospital hopes to make the service available to the public on the 4th February 2019. Also, we will be rolling out other state of the art equipment in the first quarter of this year.”

Dr Derria Cornwall, Head of the Mammography Unit said that “The Tomosynthesis machine is one of the latest technologies in screening for breast cancer because it gives three-dimensional images of the breast and allows for better interpretation of mammographic features,”

Dr. Derria Cornwall, Head Mammography Unit 

According to Dr. Cormwall, “Every woman who comes for a mammogram just wants to know one thing..... Is cancer hiding in my breasts? If so, have I caught it early?”

"Over the years, there have been challenges with mammography producing 2D images, especially for  the patients with dense breast, as there are areas on the mammogram that are questionable because of overlapping shadows,"  noted Cornwall.

“What the woman needs is a new way for the physician and herself to be surer sooner. The Tomosynthesis 3D machine is expected to address the issue of overlapping shadows which is a limitation of the 2D mammography machines,” noted Cornwall.

"It is expected to reduce the number of call backs to do additional views and additional studies, remove unnecessary anxiety to the patient and also consequently incur less medical cost to the patient when there are fewer call backs," noted Cornwall.

Even where mammograms can be uncomfortable, Cornwall said they are "almost painless" with the use of this latest technology.

“The future is here” at University Hospital of the West Indies. 

Breast Cancer now has nowhere to hide. 

This surer way has now arrived at the University Hospital of the West Indies with the installation of a 3 D mammogram machine called Tomosynthesis.  “The future is here”.

TOMOSYNTHESIS is here.

We encourage women over 40 years and those with a family history of Breast Cancer to come take advantage of TOMOSYNTHESIS.