Effect of image post-processing on interpretation, version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An investigation into the immediate effect of digital mammography image post-processing on image interpretation.
IRAS ID
177361
Contact name
Jessica Eades
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 29 days
Research summary
Breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women worldwide accounting for 30% of all cancer diagnoses in the UK each year. Advances in treatment and detection have led to a continual decline in breast cancer related death rates including advances in breast imaging with digital mammography. Mammography is a continuously progressing modality and advances in technology should be utilised in order to improve breast pathology detection and interpretation. One aspect of digital mammography shown to effect interpretation is digital image post-processing and is recommended by manufacturers to improve reporting accuracy.
A new post-processing method has recently been introduced at Basildon Hospital Breast unit producing an image of higher contrast.
This research therefore aims to identify if image post-processing used in full-field digital mammography has an effect on breast pathology detection and interpretation.
Women attending the one-stop symptomatic breast clinic undergoing bilateral mammography shall be involved in the study. The patient will be imaged once following which the resultant mammograms will be reported in both the original and post-processed form. The radiologist shall then complete a piloted data collection sheet for each set of images, recording the abnormalities detected and grading each based on their level of suspicion. The royal College of Radiologists Breast Group breast imaging classification system shall be used, grading the abnormalities 1-5, a technique advocated by the department of health and currently practiced at Basildon Hospital. The results of the two images shall then be compared with each other and the final results (combined imaging results and histology results if biopsy performed) to identify the most diagnostic post-processing method.
Results from this research shall then be used to recomment future practice at Basildon Hospital Breast Unit.REC name
North East - Newcastle & North Tyneside 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NE/0196
Date of REC Opinion
29 May 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion