Recent Advances and Application of Breast Imaging in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Breast imaging is an essential cornerstone in the management of breast cancer. It serves not only as breast cancer screening, but also in diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of patients with breast disease. Attempts to enhance the current imaging modalities and development of new technology are underway. We provide a short overview of the existing imaging modalities including mammography, tomosynthesis, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging, and recent technological advances including positron emission mammography, contrast digital mammography, elastography, three-dimensional / contrast-enhanced ultrasound and automated wholebreast ultrasound screening. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, new state-of-the-art applications in optical imaging, cone-beam computed tomography, magnetic resonance-ultrasound navigation, and molecular imaging techniques are also briefly discussed.