History of mammography: analysis of breast imaging diagnostic achievements over the last century

Breast cancer is the most common forms of cancer and a leading cause of mortality in women. Early and correct diagnosis is, therefore, essential to save lives. The development of diagnostic imaging applied to the breast has been impressive in recent years and the most used diagnostic test in the world is mammography, a low-dose X-ray technique used for imaging the breast. In the first half of the 20th century, the diagnosis was in practice only clinical, with consequent diagnostic delay and an unfavorable prognosis in the short term. The rise of organized mammography screening has led to a remarkable reduction in mortality through the early detection of breast malignancies. This historical review aims to offer a complete panorama of the development of mammography and breast imaging during the last century. Through this study, we want to understand the foundations of the pillar of radiology applied to the breast through to the most modern applications such as contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM), artificial intelligence, and radiomics. Understanding the history of the development of diagnostic imaging applied to the breast can help us understand how to better direct our efforts toward an increasingly personalized and effective diagnostic approach. The ultimate goal of imaging applied to the detection of breast malignancies should be to reduce mortality from this type of disease as much as possible. With this paper, we want to provide detailed documentation of the main steps in the evolution of breast imaging for the diagnosis of breast neoplasms; we also want to open up new scenarios where the possible current and future applications of imaging are aimed at being more precise and personalized

Dedicated Breast Computed Tomography With a Photon-Counting Detector: Initial Results of Clinical In Vivo Imaging

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this work is to present the data obtained from the first clinical in vivo application of a new dedicated spiral breast computed tomography (B-CT) equipped with a photon-counting detector. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. Twelve women referred for breast cancer screening were included and underwent bilateral spiral B-CT acquired in prone position. Additional sonography was performed in case of dense breast tissue or any B-CT findings. In 3 women, previous mammography was available for comparison. Soft tissue (ST) and high-resolution (HR) images were reconstructed. Two independent radiologists performed separately the readout for subjective image quality and for imaging findings detection. Objective image quality evaluation was performed in consensus and included spatial resolution, contrast resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio. All women were asked to report about positioning comfort and overall comfort during data acquisition. RESULTS: The major pectoral muscle was included in 15 breast CT scans (62.5%); glandular component was partially missing in 2 (8.3%) of the 24 scanned breasts. A thin "ring artifact" was present in all scans but had no influence on image interpretations; no other artifacts were present. Subjective image quality assessment showed excellent agreement between the 2 readers (κ = 1). Three masses were depicted in B-CT and were confirmed as simple cysts in sonography. Additional 5 simple cysts and 2 solid benign lesions were identified only in sonography. A total of 12 calcifications were depicted with a median size of 1.1 mm (interquartile range, 0.7-1.7 mm) on HR and 1.4 mm (interquartile range, 1.1-1.8 mm) on ST images. Median SNRgl, SNRfat, and contrast-to-noise ratio were significantly higher in ST than in HR reconstructions (each, P < 0.001). A mild discomfort due to positioning of the rib cage on the table was reported by 2 women (16.7%); otherwise, no discomfort was reported. CONCLUSIONS: The new dedicated B-CT equipped with a photon-counting detector provides high-quality images with potential for screening of breast cancer along with minor patient discomfort

Virtual clinical trials in medical imaging: a review

The accelerating complexity and variety of medical imaging devices and methods have outpaced the ability to evaluate and optimize their design and clinical use. This is a significant and increasing challenge for both scientific investigations and clinical applications. Evaluations would ideally be done using clinical imaging trials. These experiments, however, are often not practical due to ethical limitations, expense, time requirements, or lack of ground truth. Virtual clinical trials (VCTs) (also known as in silico imaging trials or virtual imaging trials) offer an alternative means to efficiently evaluate medical imaging technologies virtually. They do so by simulating the patients, imaging systems, and interpreters. The field of VCTs has been constantly advanced over the past decades in multiple areas. We summarize the major developments and current status of the field of VCTs in medical imaging. We review the core components of a VCT: computational phantoms, simulators of different imaging modalities, and interpretation models. We also highlight some of the applications of VCTs across various imaging modalities