SimonMed and Cox Business Bring Breast Tomosynthesis to Arizona

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SimonMed and Cox Business have partnered to make a new, diagnostically superior, FDA-approved mammogram called tomosynthesis available to patients in the Valley and across the state at the same cost as a traditional digital mammogram. This is the first dedicated outpatient offering of breast tomosynthesis in Arizona and it is offered at SimonMed's office in Scottsdale.

Sub-specialty trained radiologists at SimonMed can now see the breast through multi-slice images with:

• increased diagnostic accuracy in breast cancer detection
• reduced anxiety and less need for additional scans
• faster results for patients

"Tomosynthesis is the next generation of digital mammography that acquires three-dimensional images of a stationary compressed breast.  It's a revolutionary technology for a serious problem," says Dr. John Simon, founder of SimonMed describing tomosynthesis adding, "Patients don't always realize they have a choice when it comes to radiology centers and we offer superior technology."

Views of a breast with standard digital mammography are compromised due to shadows and tissue covering suspicious masses. Tomosynthesis provides more accurate imaging for patients and their physicians reduces the need for additional scans and decreases patient anxiety.

In order to make tomosynthesis available on an outpatient basis, SimonMed needed a business Internet provider that could transfer data sets 100 times the size of traditional digital mammography. Cox Business came to the table with multiple fiber rings connecting SimonMed's 33 offices with 100M circuits to its secure datacenter hub. The connection runs on "redundant paths" assuring that SimonMed is able to transmit and receive critical healthcare at all times.

Says Dr. Simon, "We're now able to increase the speed and accuracy with which we share images, allowing all of our referring physicians to instantaneously double their productivity while decreasing the time it takes to make critical healthcare decisions.

"Cox Business is pleased to provide our network as the platform enabling SimonMed to revolutionize the way breast cancer is detected in the Valley," says Hyman Sukiennik, Vice President, Cox Business.

The Cox Business network also provides SimonMed with scalability so that if one office needs more or less bandwidth for its operations, Cox Business can make a seamless adjustment on the network without any disruption to SimonMed.

SOURCE Cox Business