A new study by scientists at Cancer Research UK suggests that using computers to read mammograms may be helpful in the quick detection of breast cancer. The study, published in the journal Radiology said that using a computer as well as a radiologist to read the mammograms was just as successful as having them read by two clinicians.
The computer uses software called Computer Aided Detection, or CAD to read the mammograms. CAD scans the mammograms for the presence of any irregularities in the breast tissue and highlights the same on the screen. The technology is already in use in US and Europe, but has not been cleared for use in the UK. Usually two clinicians read a mammogram. In order to test the efficiency of the new software, scientists fed 10,000 mammograms taken in 1996 into the new software. These mammograms had already been assessed by two clinicians.
These X-rays were "read" by the computer as well as a radiologist. Researchers found that this method was just as successful in detecting breast irregularities as the traditional methods. "The results of this trial are very encouraging. We have now embarked on a new study to confirm that the CAD result is still as good when used in real day-to-day decision-making about breast cancer diagnosis," observed lead researcher Professor Fiona Gilbert, a radiologist from Aberdeen University.
The new study will examine 30,000 women from 3 screening centers across the UK. Reacting to the study, Professor Stephen Duffy of the Cancer Research UK said the new technology was promising, "The CAD system would free-up hundreds of radiologists to work on more mammograms as only one instead of two would be required to work on each X-ray," he added.
