The June issue of Diagnostic Imaging Europe was published earlier this week and featured numerous articles on breast imaging. The magazine, which is distributed worldwide to more than 25,000 radiologists and medical imaging specialists, includes articles written by experts. Four years ago, the editor of DIEurope invited CapeRay’s CEO Kit Vaughan to contribute a review describing the company’s dual-modality Aceso system. Today we focus on six breast imaging articles: click here to download the issue.

Kathy Schilling, director of a breast imaging facility in Florida, USA, described her clinical experience with a breast compression system from the Dutch company SigmaScreening. An instrumented paddle monitored the amount of pressure on the breast, leading her team to find an improved experience for patients, and a significant reduction in glandular dose and mean breast thickness. Ritse Mann from Radboud University in the Netherlands evaluated the AI package from Dutch company ScreenPoint and provided an example of a spiculated mass identified by the algorithm but missed by the radiologist (see below left, © DIEurope).

Andreas Boss from Zurich in Switzerland gave an account of how the breast computer tomography system from AB-CT could be applied to detect malignant lesions in women with silicone breast implants. It has been shown that monochromatic X-rays reduce radiation dose while increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of image features. Eric Silver, CEO of Imagine Scientific, presented a prototype system with images of breast phantoms, suggesting the technology could add substantial benefit when screening dense breasts.

Kristen Johnson from Malmö in Sweden conducted a prospective screening trial with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and reported a reduction in the rate of interval cancers – cancers that arise between routine screenings – when compared to screening with full-field digital mammography (FFDM). This was an important finding because interval cancers are typically more aggressive than cancers detected during a screening exam. Johnson commented, “This means that the prognosis is less favourable for interval cancers compared to screen-detected cancers,” which is an added benefit of DBT screening.

Laura Heacock from New York City provided an introduction to, and a literature review of abbreviated MRI for breast cancer screening. While MRI has better sensitivity than FFDM or DBT (see right, © Elsevier), the cost and patient tolerance of the exam are significant drawbacks. Abbreviated MRI – which uses fewer sequences and reduces image acquisition time – has the potential to increase patient tolerance, while decreasing cost. And this is an important consideration for women who have a high lifetime risk of breast cancer.