Electrical Impedance Tomography - Breast Imaging

Breast Imaging

EIT is being investigated in the field of breast imaging as an alternative/complementary technique to mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for breast cancer detection. The low specificity of mammography and of MRI result in a relatively high rate of false positive screenings, with high distress for the patient and cost for the healthcare structure. These shortcomings and concerns related to the use of ionizing radiation, for mammography, and with the nephrotoxicity of Gadolinium, the contrast agent used in breast MRI, make the development of alternative techniques highly desirable.

Literature shows that the electrical properties differ between normal and malignant breast tissues, setting the stage for cancer detection through determination of electrical properties.

A successful commercial development of non-tomographic electrical impedance imaging is the T-Scan device which has been demonstrated to improve sensitivity and specificity when used as an adjunct to screening mammography. A report to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes a study involving 504 subjects where the sensitivity of mammography was 82%, 62% for the T-Scan alone, and 88% for the two combined. The specificity was 39% for mammography, 47% for the T-Scan alone, and 51% for the two combined.

Several research groups are across the world are actively developing the technique.

Read more about this topic:  Electrical Impedance Tomography

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