"Our ability to find lesions in the breast has increased significantly over the last 10 years but at the expense of an increased number of biopsies," Dr. Barr said. "This technique could significantly reduce the number of biopsies and increase the confidence of women that a detected lesion is truly benign."

He anticipates that elasticity imaging will also help in detecting cancers, but did not evaluate that capability for this study. Dr. Barr and colleagues are planning to expand their research in an international, multicenter trial beginning in January 2007.


RSNA is an association of more than 40,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists committed to promoting excellence in radiology through education and by fostering research, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill.

Full Caption:
Biopsy Proven Simple Breast Cyst. The image on the left is a conventional ultrasound image. The image on the right was acquired at the same time with the same signals and is the elasticity image. The Elasticity image has a "bull's eye" appearance with the lesion black (yellow arrows) with a bright spot in the center (green arrow) and a bright spot behind the cyst (red arrow). We have found that both simple cysts and benign complex cysts have this appearance. Also note the size of the cyst is smaller on the elasticity image which are results suggest this is a benign lesion.

Back to HCB News

More Industry Headlines