An advanced breast magnetic resonance imaging system has been installed at the Queen's Medical Center as “;a powerful new tool”; for cancer detection and treatment management, says Dr. John Pearce, director of breast imaging.

The system isn't approved for screening and doesn't replace routine mammography, but it is valuable for certain women at high risk for breast cancer, he said.

He said the American Cancer Society has recommended MRI imaging for women with a significant family history or genetic predisposition for breast cancer and to assess the extent of the disease for better operative and treatment planning.

“;It produces some of the best images I have ever seen in my long experience of breast imaging,”; said Pearce, who was in charge of breast imaging for many years at the University of Southern California and at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown, Pa. He has been at Queen's since 2005 and is a professor of radiology at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Darlena Chadwick, Queen's vice president for patient care, said the technology “;utilizes a revolutionary prone biopsy system, allowing the radiologist 360-degree independent access to each breast.”;

Pearce said the table is designed “;for creature comforts,”; with padding so a patient can lie comfortably on her stomach as the table advances into the magnet for scanning, which takes about 40 minutes.

The program began with volunteers, including staff members, “;to make sure all the calculations were correct,”; Chadwick said.

Among them was her secretary, Kimi Valdez, 35, who said she had never had a mammogram because she “;got scared.”; She said she had a cousin on the mainland who died at a young age from breast cancer after a mammogram “;that missed something.”;

When volunteers were invited to test Queen's new MRI system, she said, “;I figured it was my opportunity to check without the pain”; of a mammogram squeezing her breasts.

She said she was so comfortable lying face down on the ergonomically designed table with memory foam conforming to her body that “;if it wasn't for the loud noise, I could probably fall asleep.”;

She also got some good news from the images, she said.

Pearce noted Queen's was one of just 1 percent of more than 5,700 registered hospitals in the country that recently received national accreditation for its breast center. Its patient navigation program also recently received a national award from the American Cancer Society.

Because of the high cost and high demand for MRI scanning, Pearce said national studies are developing clinical criteria for its use for breast cancer diagnosis and breast care management.

He said mammograms and ultrasound records are needed to individualize MRI imaging, which requires integration of all other breast imaging for proper analysis.