— AdventHealth Sebring is pleased to announce the installation of the Siemens Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS). The ABVS is housed at AdventHealth Imaging, formerly Florida Hospital Seascape Imaging.
The ABVS cost $200,000 and the campaign to raise the money was led by the AdventHealth Sebring Foundation. The Foundation set a goal to raise the funds in two years, but with the help of generous Foundation donors and Highlands and Hardee community members, the campaign goal was achieved in less than a year.
The ABVS focuses on individuals who have been identified as having dense breast tissue (DBT). Many people don’t know that 50-65 percent of American women are recognized as having DBT. Both breast cancer and DBT appear white in a mammogram making detection difficult.
“Each time our organization begins a new campaign, we try to look at the larger picture. What can we do, what can we purchase, what can we bring in, that will make the largest impact and be the most beneficial for the needs of those in our community,” said AdventHealth Heartland Region CEO and President Randy Surber. “It takes the need of a community and the passion of our staff members to identify that need and not stop until it is obtained, and I feel that truly came full circle with this campaign of purchasing the ABVS.”
This piece of technology is a more efficient form of examination, as compared to a typical mammogram, and will find three to five missed or undiagnosed cases of breast cancer – for every 1,000 women it scans – whom have dense breast tissue.
“I feel more comfortable and relieved knowing that we now have this technology,” said Evelyn Colon, AdventHealth Ultrasound Technician of Diagnostic Imaging. “This gives a global view of the breast and eliminates the worry of missing something.”
This new technology can spot cancer smaller than a chocolate chip leading to earlier detection and a patient survival rate of 99 percent.
“This piece of equipment really allows for the doctor the get a whole picture of the breast, versus just pieces of a puzzle,” said Natalie Harrison, Siemens Clinical Sales Specialist.
To make an appointment, please call AdventHealth Sebring Imaging at
Call863-402-1266. For more information or questions, please contact Foundation Coordinator Kirsten Scarborough at
Call863-402-5525 or [email protected].
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(left to right): Maria Diminio – Siemens National Women’s Health Clinical Lead, Alicia Smith – AdventHealth Ultrasound Technician of Diagnostic Imaging, Natalie Harrison – Siemens Clinical Sales Specialist, and Evelyn Colon – AdventHealth Imaging Ultrasound Technician of Diagnostic Imaging. All four of these women participated in the inaugural use and examination of AdventHealth Imaging’s first ABVS patient.