AI and Ultrasound: A Needed Combination in Breast Cancer Screening
Mammography is the most common screening tool for breast cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends that women get their first mammogram when they turn 40. While mammography is the initial screening test, ultrasound plays a role in patient follow-up after an abnormal finding is identified. This week’s Domain Knowledge looks at the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and ultrasound in early breast cancer detection.
When an abnormal finding is identified during a mammogram, MRI, or physical exam, the next step is to diagnose the abnormality to determine if it is cancerous or non-cancerous. Ultrasound can play a role in further understanding the abnormality and can also be used if a biopsy is needed.
Mammography and ultrasound are used together in the detection of breast cancer, and both can benefit from the recent advancements in AI. A recent retrospective analysis looked at combining the strengths of radiologists and AI in breast cancer screening. The findings suggest we should continue on the path of widespread clinical adoption of AI-based tools for breast cancer screening.
Two such tools include MammoScreen from Therapixel and BU-CAD from TaiHao Medical.
- MammoScreen provides AI-guided support to assist radiologists in confirming breast cancer and also helps reduce mammography false-positive recalls
- Radiologists and breast surgeons improve diagnostic performance in detecting and diagnosing breast lesions on breast ultrasound images with the assistance of BU-CAD
That’s a wrap for this week’s review of news and happenings in the healthcare AI space. In closing, I’ll leave you with an invitation to learn more about the benefits of using an AI Hub to manage multiple applications across your clinical needs and offer you a personal demo of Ferrum’s platform and growing AI catalog.
If you have AI tips, suggestions, or resources you’d like to share, leave us a note below, and please feel free to suggest topics you would like to see covered in future posts.
Kathleen Poulos
Kathleen is a registered nurse with a digital marketing background, a love for using technology to solve healthcare challenges and a passion for improving patient care.