Potential Usefulness a Coronal View using an Automated Breast Ultrasound System in Detecting Breast Lesions

An automated breast ultrasound system (ABUS) combined with screening mammography has increased cancer detection rates; however, supplemental ABUS use has increased recall rates. In this study, we aimed to identify an accurate and efficient method of ABUS interpretation and evaluate the potential usefulness of its coronal view versus the conventional transverse view.

This retrospective observer study included comprised 114 ABUS cases (40 normal, 35 benign, 39 malignant). Ten physicians from multiple institutions interpreted the anonymized coronal and transverse views independently. The observers scored their confidence in the lesion detection for each case using a continuous scale and recorded reading times for each coronal and transverse view interpretation. Free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis was employed to compare detection accuracies between views; a paired t-test was used to compare the average reading times.

Detection accuracy did not differ significantly between the coronal and transverse views (figure of merit=0.740 and 0.745, respectively; p = 0.72). However, the average reading time for the coronal view was significantly shorter than that for the transverse view (149.7 vs. 200.3 seconds per case, p = 0.003).

The coronal view obtained with the ABUS was useful for interpretation and associated with significantly shorter reading times compared with the conventional transverse view while maintaining breast lesion detection accuracy.