Volunteer Services purchases R2 ImageChecker
by Veronica Bullard

This year, the American Cancer Society reports that approximately 3000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Kentucky. Six hundred of those women will die. There’s a group of volunteers at Baptist Regional Medical Center who want to see more of those women live.

A group of women and men that make up the Auxiliary at Baptist Regional Medical Center have purchased the R2 ImageChecker. With a hefty price tag of a quarter of a million dollars, the Auxiliary hope that this new technology will provide "earlier detection and save more lives," Sue Hubbs, office manager of volunteer services says.

The R2 ImageChecker, by R2 Technology, is the leader in computer aided detection (CAD), according to Sue Hawley, applications specialist for R2 Technology. "The R2 ImageChecker System is like a ‘spell checker’ for medical images. It is designed to assist radiologists in reducing the number of false negative readings by drawing attention to areas that warrant a second look," Hawley says.

The R2 ImageChecker assists the radiologists by seeking out and highlighting areas that need to be given a closer look. The computer-aided detection system digitizes a mammogram and analyzes it. Then the areas that contain features associated with breast cancer are highlighted. After the radiologist views the mammogram conventionally, he or she then reviews the R2 markers displayed on a video monitor.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved the R2 claim that "using the ImageChecker could result in earlier detection of up to 23.4% of the cancers currently detected with mammography in those women who had a prior screening mammogram 9-24 months earlier." This means that with the ImageChecker, of the 200,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer in America in 2002, 46,000 women could have been diagnosed 9-24 months earlier. The R2 ImageChecker could have given 46,000 more women a better chance at beating breast cancer.

Sue Hubbs, and a few of the other Auxiliary members at Baptist Regional Medical Center, had read articles touting the success of the R2 ImageChecker and immediately knew that BRMC had to have this cutting-edge technology. "I lost my grandmother to breast cancer and a lot of the other volunteers have had friends and family die of breast cancer. We are hoping that the R2 will diagnose more breast cancer cases earlier, allowing for less aggressive treatment," Hubbs says. "I think that most everyone has been touched in some way by breast cancer. I know this machine will save more lives," she adds.

Delisa Shaw, a Woodbine resident who has just received her second mammogram, will be one of the first patients to have her mammogram films read by the R2 ImageChecker. "If it (the R2) helps women, then its great!" Shaw says. "With these latest advances in early detection, the possibility of detecting previously undetectable breast cancers will give Shaw and others like her a fighting chance. An opportunity to beat this disease," BRMC Radiology Coordinator Mark Steely says.

Baptist Regional Medical Center is the only hospital in the area to have this cutting-edge technology. To have mammograms read with the R2 ImageChecker, women would have to travel to Knoxville or Lexington. "We are the only facility in about a 200 mile radius to have this technology," Steely says. "I believe this is a necessary service for women. It will give them additional peace of mind, more than just a normal mammogram," he added.

Steely adds that Baptist Regional Medical Center’s radiologists are highly trained professionals who have an excellent track record when it comes to diagnosing breast cancer. "Now they have a new tool, the R2 ImageChecker and the possibilities are astounding," Steely says.

BRMC radiologist Dr. Harold Reedy, who recently received training on the R2 ImageChecker said, "(With this) cutting edge technology, we (Baptist Regional Medical Center) will become the new standard of care in early breast cancer detection. We are very appreciative of our volunteers," Reedy concludes.

To schedule a mammogram at Baptist Regional Medical Center, call Centralized Scheduling at 606-523-8602. BRMC can make a difference.

BRMC Auxiliary to raise $250,000 for R2 ImageChecker

Baptist Regional Medical Center’s Auxiliary is a group of volunteers who assist the hospital through fundraising activities in order to purchase much needed equipment.

Recently, the Auxiliary went out on a limb by agreeing to purchase the R2 ImageChecker. This $250,000 piece of equipment will be used by radiologists at Baptist Regional Medical Center to read mammogram films.

The Auxiliary has yet to raise the entire amount needed to pay off the equipment. To date, the Auxiliary has raised $44,000. This leaves the group owing approximately $200,000 on the R2 ImageChecker. "Our goal is to have the equipment paid for within the next three years," Chaplain Wayne Sibley, Auxiliary spokesperson said. "We are hoping for individual and business contributions from our community members and area doctors. We are also planning to apply for grant funding and will conduct our usual fundraising events," Sibley concluded.

If you would like to make a contribution to this fundraising effort, contact Chaplain Wayne Sibley at 606-528-1212.

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