Automated Breast Ultrasound

Abstract

Due to the growing number of breast cancer patients, an early diagnosis is important in order to reduce the mortality rate of those affected. Methods such as mammography, DBT, MRI, HHUS or ABUS are used in the detection of breast cancer. The aim of this article is to review the literature showing the basic principle of ABUS and to point out its advantages and disadvantages in relation to conventional methods of breast imaging. ABUS is a relatively new ultrasound method that performs well on patients with dense breast tissue. It reduces operator dependence and provides valuable diagnostic information with multiplanar reconstructions. Using evidence from reliable researches, studies have demonstrated that ABUS has a higher diagnostic accuracy compared to mammography, which remains the primary modality for early diagnosis of breast cancer. Applying ABUS as an adjunct to mammography during the screening test has proven effective and further confirmed the importance of their application in clinical practice. The disadvantage of the combination of ABUS and mammography was that in a large number of studies the specificity was lower compared to mammography itself. Compared to DBT, ABUS has demonstrated to have a higher diagnostic performance, with the exception that it lacks the ability to effectively detect calcifications. Although MRI seem to outperform ABUS, ABUS devices offer a cost-effective and easy to use imaging system, making it the best alternative. The HHUS technique, on the other hand, was perceived by many studies as less painful, with a shorter operative time compared to ABUS. However, the sensitivity and specificity of this screening method continues to remain inferior to ABUS. The use of artificial intelligence is becoming widely used today. As a result, the CAD software has been developed to be applied in conjunction with ABUS in order to improve the detection rate of breast cancer as well as its accuracy. The use of CAD significantly reduced image reading time and improved the overall diagnostic accuracy of ABUS. According to all the presented data, the use of ABUS medical devices in clinical practice continues to grow in importance and with the further development of technology and medicine, its full integration into healthcare systems around the world is expected.