Purpose: To develop and evaluate the accuracy of a three-dimensional (3D) US method for assessing unilateral breast reconstruction and discuss the feasibility of breast ultrasound 3D reconstruction of the unilateral breast compared with 3D MRI.
Methods: Sixty-four breast lesions were collected for surgical resection. (1) MRI and US imaging were used to reconstruct the 3D models of the breast neoplasm. The diameters for maximum length, width, and depth of the negative tumor margins were used as the primary standards for comparison. (2) The measurement direction was determined by the largest gravity change between the two body positions. (3) The vertical distance from the midpoint of breast neoplasm to the ipsilateral nipple was calculated via MRI and US reconstruction.
Results: (1) Comparison of the measured size and histopathology of the breast neoplasm showed that US, MRI, and histopathology were highly correlated (p < 0.001). (2) When compared with the other two vertical directions, the direction with the largest gravity change had the greatest difference between MRI and US measurements. (3) The vertical distance from the breast neoplasm to the ipsilateral nipple and skin junction was significantly different (p > 0.05).
Conclusions: We have presented a novel US 3D reconstruction method for evaluating tumor size, which can provide a basis for investigated advanced visualization techniques for assessing breast tissue such as holographic presentation of 3D image data. These methods can provide physicians with a novel approach for making accurate surgical plans, for better communication with patients, and for more effective navigating throughout the operation.
Keywords: Breast neoplasm; Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); Tumor size; Ultrasound (US).