Volpara Solutions Welcomes ACR BIRADS 5th Edition Breast Density Category Changes
Wellington, New Zealand (PRWEB) February 19, 2014 -- The changes in the breast density reporting categories included in the Fifth Edition of Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) Atlas recently issued by the American College of Radiology (ACR) represent a significant step towards the provision of accurate breast density measurements to women by the renewed emphasis on volumetric assessments, according to Volpara Solutions, pioneers of the breakthrough VolparaDensity™ software.
“We commend the ACR for proactively working to improve breast density assessment, which is critical to the identification of women who may benefit from supplemental imaging to improve the early detection of cancer. First, through the repeated assertion that breast composition measurement is about the volume of attenuating tissue in the breast, and second, by removing the old area-based percentage thresholds which have been proven to be subjective and imprecise. Not only does this help clarify what breast density assessment should be, but the Fifth Edition also helps distinguish density from other BI-RADs assessments,” said Ralph Highnam, Ph.D., CEO of Volpara Solutions.
The new Breast Composition Categories are: a. The breasts are almost entirely fatty; b. There are scattered areas of fibroglandular density; c. The breasts are heterogeneously dense, which may obscure small masses; and d. The breasts are extremely dense, which lowers the sensitivity of mammography.
“To demonstrate the accuracy of volumetric measurement of breast density using VolparaDensity, three validation studies have been published comparing volumetric breast density estimated from FFDM to volumetric measurements estimated from breast MRI. All three studies showed high correlation to breast MRI, highlighting the accuracy of the software in measuring volumetric breast density as per the BI-RADS 5th Edition recommendations,” added Highnam.
Studies estimate 35-50% of breast cancers are missed by using mammography alone (Boyd, Pisano and Berg), with women with dense breasts disproportionately impacted as cancers are masked by fibroglandular tissue. Cleared by the FDA, HealthCanada, the TGA and CE-marked, Volpara is in use at sites across the globe helping radiologists assess breast density more objectively and helping them better consider who might benefit from additional screening. Highly correlated to breast MRI assessments, Volpara generates an objective, automatic measurement of volumetric breast density and a FDA cleared BI-RADS breast density category. Volpara supports most of the major digital mammography systems, can be displayed on digital mammography and PACS workstations and be integrated into mammography reporting systems.
About Volpara Solutions
Founded to enable radiologists to give women the most accurate information possible regarding their breast health, Volpara Solutions is the wholly owned sales and marketing arm of Matakina Technology Limited of New Zealand. Matakina’s founders and Board of Directors includes John Hood, PhD, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, UK; Ralph Highnam, PhD, former CEO of Mirada Solutions, one of the University of Oxford’s most successful spin-outs of recent times and co-author of the seminal book Mammographic Image Analysis; and Professor Sir Michael Brady, a serial entrepreneur who recently retired from the University of Oxford where he was Professor of Information Technology for 25 years.
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Chris K Joseph, Volpara Solutions, http://www.volparasolutions.com, +1 (510) 435-4031, [email protected]
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