New ultrasound method improves diagnosis of breast masses ^{CEFR B2}

Health providers recommend mammograms and often follow up with ultrasound when a breast mass is found. Ultrasound can be less reliable in women with dense breast tissue because scattering produces "acoustic clutter." This effect can turn the black appearance of a fluid-filled cyst into gray, making the cyst resemble a solid mass and increasing false positives.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins report a new coherence-based ultrasound signal-processing method that evaluates how similar recorded signals are to their neighbors, rather than relying only on signal amplitude. The innovation does not change how ultrasound sound waves are produced; it changes how the recorded signals are processed. The result is cleaner images and fewer false appearances caused by acoustic clutter. The system also gives each mass a numeric score, with a set threshold to mark worrisome cases. Combining the visual image with the score produced the largest improvement.

In initial tests with 132 patients, doctors identified masses correctly 96% of the time using the new method, compared with 67% using conventional ultrasound tools. Senior author Muyinatu "Bisi" Bell said the advance could make radiologists more confident and reduce unnecessary biopsies and invasive procedures. Coauthor Eniola Oluyemi noted the technique may cut false positives and follow-up exams. The authors suggest combining the method with existing artificial intelligence for quicker decisions, and they hope it could one day be used at home. The study appears in Radiology Advances and was supported by the National Institutes of Health.