Automated breast volume scanning: a case demonstration of a breast invasive ductal carcinoma

Automated breast volume scan (ABVS) ultrasound is one of the first representatives of automated ultrasound systems which is developed to help identify potential pathologies by acquiring full-field volume of the breast automatically. The system utilizes a high-frequency 14 MHz transducer to automatically sweep over the breast, producing a 15.4 cm × 16.8 cm × 6 cm field of view volume. This technique can image the breast lesions from coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes, providing all the information needed for precise documentation and depiction of the lesion. Furthermore, ABVS provides high-resolution 3D-Ultrasound images of breast lesions, multiplanar correlation facilitates lesion assessment. Especially, the coronal plane provides physicians (especially surgeons) a comprehensive view of the breast from the skin line to chest wall in a series of images. This view has an additional value for surgical planning, and provides a more understandable representation of the breast’s global anatomy and architecture. Additionally, the automated procedure is operator-independent, standardized and time-saving. This helps to make a quick and confident diagnosis. An ABVS ultrasound demonstration of a breast invasive ductal carcinoma is demonstrated as below (Figures 1,2, Videos 1,2).

Figure 1 ABVS image of a right breast invasive ductal carcinoma case in three orthogonal planes, transverse (above), coronal (bottom left) and sagittal (bottom right). Three views of the breast demonstrates the location of carcinoma (yellow arrow) in relation to the nipple (red X). An irregular, spiculated, hypoechoic mass is present

Figure 2 Same case as Figure 1, multi-slice display of coronal reconstruction image at 0.5 mm slice interval shows the tumor at various depth levels. Typical retraction phenomenon of the mass is demonstrated in the coronal planes

Acknowledgements

Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest.