[Automated breast volume scanner (ABVS) : a new approach for breast imaging]

The automated breast ultrasound technique has been known for a long time but did not play an important role in diagnostics due to its inferior sensitivity for small solid lesions with low frequency transducers and its uncomfortable examination technique with the patients in a supine position and the breast immersed in water. The automated breast volume scanner (AVBS) is a high-end ultrasound scanner which employs frequencies of 5-14 MHz and consists of a flexible arm with the transducer at the end, a touchscreen and a 3D workstation. The scan is performed with the patient in the prone position. Depending on the breast size, various presettings are available from which the examiner may select the most appropriate. AVBS has various major advantages, such as being independent from the experience of the operator as well as supplying consistent and reproducible results. Additionally, for the first time it became possible to obtain coronal images of the complete breast, which greatly assists the planning of surgical interventions. In this article the ABVS technique will be described and results will be illustrated by means of clinical examples.