3D elastography performs well in automated breast volume scanning

3D elastography can be applied to an automated breast volume scanner to analyze in vivo strain images, according to a study published December 15 in Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.  Researchers led by Gijs Hendriks from Radboud University Medical Center found that strain elastography could differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions when applied to the automated scanner, imaging these in three dimensions. “The results indicate that maximal principal strain ratios were significantly increased in malignant lesions compared with benign lesions including fibro-adenoma,” Hendriks and colleagues wrote.  Automated breast volume scanners have been employed in recent years to overcome the inherent limitation of ultrasound, user dependability. While previous reports have highlighted the high sensitivity and fair inter-observer agreement from these scanners, they also indicated that the scanners suffer from low specificity. This leads to higher recall rates, more follow-up exams, and unnecessary biopsies. Previous studies have demonstrated that adding 2D elastography to B-mode ultrasound improves specificity for malignant lesion detection. This is due to malignant lesions being stiffer with increased strain ratio compared to benign lesions. Still, this method is user-dependent. The Hendriks team investigated whether adding 3D quasi-static elastography to an automated breast volume scanner could help differentiate between malignant and benign breast lesions. ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Ultrasound Womens Imaging Source Type: news