MEDICATIONS: COMPUTER-AIDED ULTRASOUND PROVIDES IMMEDIATE SECOND OPINION FOR SOLID BREAST LUMPS

The computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) system offers effective breast lump diagnoses as well as an immediate second opinion, according to an article in the June issue of the American Medical Association's Archives of Surgery.

Researchers retrospectively reviewed 243 medical records of digital ultrasound images of the breast and compared the accuracy of the CAD system with the reading of an experienced radiologist. The system matched or exceeded the performance of the radiologists in categories including accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.

"(The CAD system) can easily be implemented on existing commercial diagnostic digital (ultrasound) machines," the researchers write. "For most available diagnostic digital (ultrasound) machines, all that would be required for the CAD system is only a personal computer loaded with CAD software."

According to background information cited by the authors, breast ultrasound has become an integral part of the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of breast disease, and is most useful in conjunction to mammography. Breast ultrasound helps differentiate between cystic and solid masses and assists in guiding interventional procedures, according to the article.

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