Related Experiment Video For Virtual Touch tissue imaging
Updated: Apr 8, 2026
Using Computer-based Image Analysis to Improve Quantification of Lung Metastasis in the 4T1 Breast Cancer Model
Published on: October 2, 2020
Combination of Virtual Touch Tissue Imaging and Virtual Touch Tissue Quantification for Differential Diagnosis of
Memik Teke1, Cemil Göya2, Fatma Teke2
1Departments of Radiology (M.T., G.G., C.H., M.G.Ç., S.H., B.A., G.T.), Radiation Oncology (F.T.), and General Surgery (Ö.U.), Dicle University, Medical School, Diyarbakır, Turkey. memikteke@gmail.com.
Objectives:
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in women, and early detection is the key to successful treatment. Unfortunately, even with technological advances, the specificity of imaging modalities is still low. Therefore, we evaluated the value of a newly developed noninvasive technique, acoustic radiation force impulse imaging, for differentiating benign versus malignant breast lesions.
Methods:
We prospectively examined 141 breast lesions in 122 patients. All lesions were classified according to the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) for mammography, BI-RADS for sonography, and Virtual Touch tissue imaging (VTI; Siemens Medical Solutions, Mountain View, CA) pattern. Internal and marginal shear wave velocity (SWV) values for the lesions were noted. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and positive and negative predictive values for VTI and Virtual Touch tissue quantification (VTQ; Siemens Medical Solutions) were calculated.
Results:
The marginal SWV values were statistically higher in malignant lesions (mean ± SD, 5.41 ± 1.37 m/s) than benign lesions (2.91 ± 0.88 m/s; P < .001). When the SWV cutoff level was set at 4.07 m/s, and the higher of the internal and marginal values was adopted, the combination of VTI and VTQ showed 95.1% sensitivity, 99.0% specificity, and 97.8% accuracy.
Conclusions:
Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category 4 lesions are the main focus of research for early detection of breast cancer. Unfortunately, BI-RADS category 4 assessment covers a wide range of likelihood of malignancy (2%-95%). This wide range reflects the necessity for a more specific imaging modality. The combination of VTI and VTQ could increase the diagnostic performance of conventional sonography.
