Forte S, Dellas S, Stieltjes B, Bongartz B
University of Basel Hospital, Clinic for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Petersgraben 4, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
Eur Radiol Exp. 2017;1(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s41747-017-0029-y. Epub 2017 Dec 22.
To describe the clinical set-up and evaluate the feasibility of multimodal ultrasound tomography (MUT) for breast imaging.
Thirty-two consecutive patients referred for breast imaging and 24 healthy volunteers underwent MUT. In the 32 patients, the examination discomfort was compared to that of mammography (n = 31), handheld ultrasound (HUS) (n = 27) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n = 4) on a scale from 1 (lowest discomfort) to 10 (highest discomfort). MUT investigation time was recorded. Findings automatically detected by MUT were correlated with conventional imaging and biopsy results.
Breast MUT was well tolerated by all 56 participants; 55 bilateral exams were uneventful. During one exam, the digitalisation card failed and the exam was successfully repeated within three days. Mean examination discomfort was 1.6 (range = 1-5) for MUT, 1.5 (range = 1-5) for HUS, 5.3 (range = 3-7) for MRI, and 6.3 (range = 1-10) for mammography. MUT examination time was 38 ± 6 min (mean ± standard deviation). In the patients referred for breast imaging, MUT detected four lesions and indicated malignancy in three of these cases. These findings were confirmed by additional imaging and biopsy.
MUT is feasible in a clinical context considering examination time and patient acceptance. These interesting initial diagnostic findings warrant further studies.
描述临床设置并评估多模态超声断层扫描（MUT）用于乳腺成像的可行性。
32例连续转诊进行乳腺成像的患者和24名健康志愿者接受了MUT检查。在这32例患者中，将MUT检查的不适感与乳腺X线摄影（n = 31）、手持超声（HUS）（n = 27）和磁共振成像（MRI）（n = 4）的不适感进行比较，范围从1（最低不适感）到10（最高不适感）。记录MUT检查时间。MUT自动检测到的结果与传统成像和活检结果相关。
所有56名参与者对乳腺MUT的耐受性良好；55例双侧检查均顺利。在一次检查中，数字化卡出现故障，该检查在三天内成功重复进行。MUT的平均检查不适感为1.6（范围 = 1 - 5），HUS为1.5（范围 = 1 - 5），MRI为5.3（范围 = 3 - 7），乳腺X线摄影为6.3（范围 = 1 - 10）。MUT检查时间为38±6分钟（平均值±标准差）。在转诊进行乳腺成像的患者中，MUT检测到4个病变，其中3例提示为恶性。这些结果通过额外的成像和活检得到证实。
考虑到检查时间和患者接受度，MUT在临床环境中是可行的。这些有趣的初步诊断结果值得进一步研究。
