JOHN DAY – Need a few good reasons to get that annual mammogram done?

How about faster results? Clearer, more accurate images? A little more comfort?

Blue Mountain Hospital’s new digital mammography machine, on duty since May, has already been making a potentially life-saving procedure, more efficient and comfortable.

Jennifer Goldblatt, Blue Mountain Hospital’s mammography technician, explained the features and upsides to the new digital technology, compared to the previous film-based machines.

“The digital processing creates much higher-definition images than film,” she said. “The technician can see through the breast tissue much better, can brighten or darken an image, or zoom in on specific areas if necessary.”

It’s also a much faster procedure, Goldblatt said. The film method took at least several minutes to process the pictures to even make sure that the images were good enough quality to use.

Goldblatt said that with the digital processing, it takes no more than 10 seconds to bring up the images.

There are comfort features for the patient, too. “Mammo pads” provide not only a soft cushion, but serve as a barrier against the cold surface of the machine. There’s also a pivoting feature on the new machine to fit the curve of the breast, providing even more comfort as well as accurate imaging.

And on top of all that, there’s about 25 percent less radiation.

As with film-based mammography machines, the digital ones still use compression methods and X-ray images. Goldblatt said that it is also still necessary to get pictures from four viewpoints, in order to get images of all areas and overlapping tissues.

Acquisition of the new digital mammography machine was the result of months of community-supported fundraising events led by Blue Mountain Healthcare Foundation.

Goldblatt, who previously worked in radiation therapy for 10 years, has been doing the mammograms at BMH for almost three years and is very happy with the new machine.

“The detail we get is fabulous. We can see all the way out to the skin line now,” she said.

“It’s a lot more comfortable for our patients, too,” she added. She said that the vast majority of patients – 90 percent – have been pleasantly surprised and have commented very favorably on the faster, less painful procedure.

Goldblatt also demonstrated a “Phantom” testing tool she uses to check on the machine’s performance. “It (the phantom) has the same properties as breast tissue and allows us to see the things that you’d see in a breast,” she said.

Mammograms are generally done Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at BMH, Goldblatt said. Thursday is the day she tests the machine, processes films and takes care of paperwork. Mammograms are also done on one or two Saturdays each month. A radiologist is on site on Tuesdays.

For more information or to make an appointment for a mammogram, call Blue Mountain Hospital at 575-1331.