Volumetric Quantification of Breast Tissue Composition Using Transmission Ultrasound: A Validation Study Against MRI

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biomarkers
• Radiology

Background:

• Accurate quantification of fibroglandular tissue volume (FGV) and fibroglandular ratio (FGR) is crucial for breast cancer risk assessment and personalized screening.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard but faces limitations in cost, availability, and contraindications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the capability of quantitative transmission (QT) imaging technology to measure FGV and FGR.
• To compare QT-derived metrics with MRI-derived metrics and establish quantitative equivalence.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 53 breasts from 29 women imaged with both QT and MRI.
• QT data reconstructed into 3D speed-of-sound and reflection maps; FGV and FGR computed using fuzzy c-means segmentation.
• MRI datasets segmented using a validated template-based method; statistical comparisons included correlation and Bland-Altman analysis.

Main Results:

• Strong correlations observed between QT and MRI for both FGV (r=0.893) and FGR (r=0.915).
• Mean biases were -13.2 cm³ for FGV and +12.7% for FGR, with significant proportional bias.
• Stable, predictable bias supports quantitative concordance between QT and MRI modalities.

Conclusions:

• QT technology provides accurate, reproducible volumetric quantification of breast fibroglandular tissue.
• QT demonstrates strong concordance with MRI, establishing it as a validated quantitative imaging biomarker.
• Results supported FDA clearance of the QT FGR feature for clinical breast density assessment.