BREAST cancer treatment has been given a boost after a state-of-the-art mammography unit was installed at Poole Hospital.

The new digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with biopsy facility is an innovative development in mammography technology, with only ten currently accessible across the UK.

The equipment produces 3D images which will allow cancer specialists to pinpoint the location of tumours with greater accuracy than ever.

It can be used to aid accurate biopsy and is better equipped for scanning breasts containing high quantities of glandular breast tissue, with studies showing that DBT used with the traditional 2D mammography could detect cancer faster.

Consultant radiographer Stella Campbell described the addition to the Dorset Breast Screening Unit as “fantastic”.

“It is great to be one of the few places in the UK to be able to offer scanning with this particular type of machine,” she added. “Earlier diagnosis can mean more successful treatment and a greater chance of survival.

“The use of 3D technology is an innovative approach to breast screening and supports us in our aims of offering the very best experience possible under difficult circumstances.”

Up to 40,000 women every year receive screening mammograms at Poole’s Dorset Breast Screening Unit and six per cent of these patients are recalled for second stage screening.