GSA Supports DoD War on Breast Cancer

GSA #9377

January 2, 1997
Contact: Bill Bearden
202-501-1231
Internet: bill.bearden@gsa.gov

Did you know statistics show that one out of every nine women in America will develop breast cancer? And that every three minutes another woman in America is diagnosed with breast cancer?

The Department of Defense Telemedicine Test Bed is providing the leadership needed to address this critical need in women's health care.

In partnership with the Public Health Service's Office on Women's Health and the National Cancer Institute, DoD developed the concept of a Mobile Breast Cancer Center (MBCC) and asked the General Services Administration's Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) for support to make the MBCC a reality.

GSA's FEDSIM recently awarded a task order to the team of Signal Corporation and Mobile Medical International Corporation to integrate promising state-of-the-art technologies from the leading national academic, Government, and industrial laboratories into a Mobile Breast Cancer Center.

The MBCC offers a new line of defense in women's battle against breast cancer. This mobile unit is designed to bring new technologies in breast diagnosis, therapeutics, and clinical trials to under served and remote populations. Additionally, the MBCC will significantly advance technology transfer between the medical community and other Governmental agencies.

The MBCC will provide a comprehensive system for early diagnosis, patient education, counseling, and follow-up. In addition, the MBCC allows the integration of on-line multi-disciplinary academic expert clinical teleconsultation with local treatment providers. This mobile center will employ digital mammography, computer aided diagnosis, teleradiology, telepathology, and remote medical consultation. The Center will utilize extensive external communications capabilities including satellite links to provide connectivity between the Center and other medical facilities.

In a collaborative effort, the Department of Defense and Health and Human Services sponsored a breast cancer awareness and prevention program at the District of Columbia General Hospital. The program featured a mock up version of the MBCC and highlighted its role in breast cancer diagnosis and research. Prominent speakers included Stephen C. Joseph, M.D., M.P.H. - Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs), Sheila E. Widnall, Ph.D. - Secretary of the United States Air Force, Susan Blumenthal, M.D., P.A. M.P.A. - Assistant Surgeon General, and the Honorable Patrick Leahy - U.S. Senator, Vermont.

GSA's FEDSIM will provide technical oversight for integration of workstations, fiber optic Local Area Networks (LANs), and satellite links into the MBCC. FEDSIM will conduct periodic project status reviews as well as technical interchange meetings among Signal Corporation, Mobile Medical International Corporation, and the Army Medical Department to ensure the MBCC meets the Army's requirements. In addition, FEDSIM will provide contract and project management skills to assure that this high profile project remains on schedule, within budget, and becomes a resounding success.

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