Jennifer Goldblatt, above, mammography technician at Blue Mountain Hospital in John Day, performs a routine test on the hospital's digital mammography machine.

Blue Mountain Hospital has a state-of-the-art digital mammogram machine.  It is a Lorad Selenia Full Field Digital Mammogram Machine by Holigic.  This new technology produces more detail on the images, faster exam, faster results, less patient exposure, and less patient discomfort.  A new compression paddle design lets the paddle pivot to match the contour of the breast, which means same amount of compression with a lot less discomfort.  About 95 percent of the patients have said that it feels like they were barely compressed.  The Selenias detail is so clear that we are seeing tissue that has been unable to be detected with other mammogram equipment.  With digital technology there are no films to be processed so the exam time is a lot shorter.  Since there are no films to be shipped to CORA the Radiologist can access the images online and patients get results a lot faster.  If you havent already had one, call Jennifer and schedule an appointment for your digital mammogram and see what all the talk is about.  Blue Mountain Hospital Mammography Department (541) 575-4163.