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A ground-breaking invention to speed up breast biopsies has won a Teesside radiology team national recognition Clinical lead in radiography, Hilary Harris, and consultant radiologist Dr Geof Naisby from The James Cook University Hospital were namedoverall winners in the Allied Health Professionals & Healthcare Scientists UK Awards 2009.

The team received the accolade for the invention of device – the HILINA – to speed up breast biopsies and took the overall title after winning the ‘Innovation inpatient care or clinical services’ category.

The device, which is attached to a mammogram machine, is already making a realdifference to patient comfort by speeding up biopsy time during investigation of breast cancer.

Previously tissue samples were taken under local anaesthetic and had to be transported to another room for inspection. Samples then had to undergo severalstages of process lasting five to eight minutes, while the patient with their breast compressed remained in position in the mammogram biopsy machine.

The new HILINA device allows a direct digital image of the cores of tissue to betaken and viewed in the same biopsy room within ten seconds.A clinical trial* has shown the device not only provides a much quicker service but also improves accuracy because there is less chance of patient movement. It is likelyto vastly improve patient experience of breast biopsies in the next few years.

Source: Southtees