Future of breast elastography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics

Background:

• Strain elastography and shear wave elastography demonstrate high accuracy in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions.
• Effective interpretation relies on adequate training for both elastography techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current applications and diagnostic capabilities of breast elastography.
• To discuss emerging elastography techniques and their potential clinical impact.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on strain and shear wave elastography for breast lesion characterization.
• Analysis of key elastographic features, including size discrepancies between elastography and B-mode imaging.

Main Results:

• Elastography shows high sensitivity and specificity for breast lesion characterization.
• Benign lesions typically appear smaller, while malignant lesions appear larger on elastography compared to B-mode imaging.
• Artifacts in elastography can provide diagnostic clues or indicate technical issues.

Conclusions:

• Breast elastography is a valuable tool for characterizing breast masses.
• Ongoing advancements in elastography techniques are expected to further improve diagnostic performance and clinical application.