Breast Lesion Tracking Developed for CAD Technology

Enhancements to a breast imaging computer-aided detection (CAD) system, called B-CAD versions 1.3 and 2.3, provide numerous improvements to a system for breast ultrasound imaging, which combines CAD with structured digital reporting. B-CAD increases efficiency and productivity to help the medical enterprise be more effective in its day-to-day practice.

The Medipattern Corp. (Toronto, ON, Canada), a developer of medical software solutions that help improve imaging workflow and productivity, introduces these versions installed in partner sites, including the Catholic Medical Center (CMC; Manchester, NH, USA), to validate the expanded workflow of versions 1.3/2.3 in many environments as part of Medipattern's beta test phase. The company expects to roll out the new products during the fourth quarter of 2008. Version 1.3 is available for sale in the United Sates and version 2.3 is available globally. The global versions are available in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish, as well as English.

"B-CAD uses the power of CAD to find the edge of the lesion and characterize it using the American College of Radiology BI-RADS lexicon, and then B-CAD takes it all to a whole new digital level giving the sonographer the ability to make a completely digital worksheet that is sent to PACS [picture archiving and communication system] and included in the electronic record with the images. Now the radiologist reads the information from the worksheet on the same workstation used to view the images. Everything is digital and all of the information is consistent. And because B-CAD renders a second opinion, we have been reimbursed for the procedure,” commented Michael Cloutier, manager, Technical Services and Imaging Informatics at CMC. "B-CAD is a win, win, win. It's great for the sonographer, radiologist, and for hospital administrators like me.”

CMC intensified its services for Women's Health when it opened a Comprehensive Breast Care Center in 2005. Other hospitals benefit from the experience that CMC shares with these technologies, making the transition to digital and CAD more efficient for the whole network.

These enhancements are the first breast ultrasound computer-aided detection (CAD) tools to provide sophisticated decision-making support for lesion analysis. Using B-CAD, radiologists are able to consistently document notes, patient history, and lesion information, resulting in a thorough diagnosis and efficient communication. B-CAD is part of a comprehensive product range that provides radiologists and sonographers with the timesaving tools they need to work effectively while maintaining consistent communication across the enterprise. B-CAD makes medical practices more efficient, productive, and effective.

"Breast ultrasound is used to track patients; B-CAD helps sonographers and radiologists follow lesions more easily with standardized reporting. Sonographers can view the prior exam in B-CAD, and then take all of the patient notes, describe images, and measurements in a digital format. This digital worksheet can be sent to radiologists to review in B-CAD or on their own PACS workstations. B-CAD is also very helpful to radiologists who perform their own scanning, enabling them to view prior images, note details on the current exam, score lesion severity and finalize reporting quickly and efficiently,” stated Jeff Collins, CEO of Medipattern. "The enhancement to B-CAD offers greater connectivity to PACS through DICOM [Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine] query/retrieve to view prior breast ultrasound studies while performing the current exam and the ability to send reports to PACS in DICOM format. The fusion of text and image information in the same consistent digital workflow provides a unified process that brings CAD beyond marking areas of an image or measuring image features. B-CAD organizes the process, from reviewing prior information to disseminating current status in a thorough and organized manner.”

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