Monday, December 10, 2007 Latest tech on cancer detection launched here By Joy Romares-Sevilla
THE MacKay Eastern Medical Group based in Makati City launched in Davao City the Biofield Diagnostic System (BDS), the latest technology on breast cancer detection, which costs P1.2 million.
Fernando Martinez, chair and chief executive officer (CEO) of the MacKay Eastern Medical Group, said in a press briefing at Marco Polo Hotel, the BDS is developed and tested by world's leading breast cancer specialists and medical institutions.
"The technology is 30 percent more accurate than traditional biopsies. It objectively determines whether tumor is malignant or benign within 15 minutes," Martinez said, adding that the technology is non-invasive, radiation-free, and pain and compression free.
He further said the BDS cost is also 30 percent lower than the current mammography, the common machine that most hospitals use in the Philippines to detect breast cancer.
"The standard rate of the BDS is only P1.2 million. We hope that hospitals in Davao will adopt the technology," he said.
Martinez said the BDS was tested by the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) two years ago.
PGH claimed the technology has 95 percent accuracy because it was able to discover 20 percent more malignant cysts.
"We already launched the BDS in General Santos City and medical practitioners are very excited about it. It picks up the more accurate diagnosis and it helps the medical practitioners a lot since they will be properly guided," he said.
"We don't want Davao and General Santos to be left behind from the hospitals in Manila. Our motive is to bring the technology down in Mindanao because hospitals here also need the access to the latest technology," Martinez said.
He also claimed that two hospitals in General Santos City -- St. Elizabeth Hospital and the Baptist Hospital--have signified their interest to adopt the BDS.
"Early detection is the best key for survival and we are very happy to announce that we already have the most advance breast cancer screening methodology," Martinez said.
