Chilton Medical Center will celebrate the installation of a new mammography system Friday that hospital officials say will help physicians detect and diagnose breast cancer early and accurately.

This system, called the GE Senograph 200D full-field digital mammography (FFDM) system, is designed and manufactured by GE Healthcare to provide physicians with all-digital images rather than on X-ray film.

“Now patients in Clanton have a new and powerful tool in the detection and fight against breast cancer,” said Anne Taddicken, CMC marketing representative. “This new system will revolutionize breast care. It allows us to offer our patients mammograms that are fast and easy. It also gives our referring physicians accurate images to use in diagnosis.”

In Alabama, more than 3,450 new breast cancer cases were diagnosed in 2010, resulting in 690 deaths, according to Taddicken.

“This new digital technology will help us provide advanced care for our patients,” said Taddicken. “A precise diagnosis is the first step toward getting a patient treatment and on the plan to good health.”

Taddicken said there are several advantages to the digital machine: “The images are clear and easy to read and offer a clear view of the breast, especially near the skin line, chest wall and in women with dense breast tissue. The image is ready to read within 10 seconds, and there is no longer the wait for films to be developed to be sure the images are usable. The digital mammogram takes as little as half the time of a film mammogram. If a second opinion is needed, the image can be sent electronically to a second doctor and can then be printed on film for review.”

The hospital will have a ribbon cutting for the new mammography system Friday at 11:30 a.m. at CMC. The Chilton County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the event.

For more information about the technology, contact Shanon Hamilton, CMC’s director of radiology, at (205) 755-2500.