Time saver

Imagine staring at a face drawn with a flat charcoal pencil. Then imagine the same face drawn with a finely sharpened mechanical pencil.

There is a noticeable difference between the depth of detail in each. And this disparity is similar to that separating Auburn Memorial Hospital's new digital mammography facility from its previous film mammography technology.

Since opening three weeks ago, a $330,000 Hologic Selenia mammography unit has helped the hospital's radiology department spot potential signals of breast cancer development and other health concerns for women. The unit was purchased with a $500,000 state grant secured by state Sen. Michael F. Nozzolio. With it, Auburn Memorial Hospital has joined the 8 percent of breast imaging institutions in the country that offer digital mammography.