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- Title
Breast vibro-acoustography: initial results show promise.
- Authors
Alizad, Azra; Whaley, Dana H; Urban, Matthew W; Carter, Rickey E; Kinnick, Randall R; Greenleaf, James F; Fatemi, Mostafa
- Abstract
<bold>Introduction: </bold>Vibro-acoustography (VA) is a recently developed imaging modality that is sensitive to the dynamic characteristics of tissue. It detects low-frequency harmonic vibrations in tissue that are induced by the radiation force of ultrasound. Here, we have investigated applications of VA for in vivo breast imaging.<bold>Methods: </bold>A recently developed combined mammography-VA system for in vivo breast imaging was tested on female volunteers, aged 25 years or older, with suspected breast lesions on their clinical examination. After mammography, a set of VA scans was acquired by the experimental device. In a masked assessment, VA images were evaluated independently by 3 reviewers who identified mass lesions and calcifications. The diagnostic accuracy of this imaging method was determined by comparing the reviewers' responses with clinical data.<bold>Results: </bold>We collected images from 57 participants: 7 were used for training and 48 for evaluation of diagnostic accuracy (images from 2 participants were excluded because of unexpected imaging artifacts). In total, 16 malignant and 32 benign lesions were examined. Specificity for diagnostic accuracy was 94% or higher for all 3 reviewers, but sensitivity varied (69% to 100%). All reviewers were able to detect 97% of masses, but sensitivity for detection of calcification was lower (≤ 72% for all reviewers).<bold>Conclusions: </bold>VA can be used to detect various breast abnormalities, including calcifications and benign and malignant masses, with relatively high specificity. VA technology may lead to a new clinical tool for breast imaging applications.
- Publication
Breast Cancer Research, 2012, Vol 14, Issue 5, pR128
- ISSN
1465-5411
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1186/bcr3323