AI-driven platform to drive early cancer detection in dense breasts

GE HealthCare has launched the Invenia Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) Premium, a 3D ultrasound offering advanced AI features to drive faster, reproducible screening and streamline exam readings on patients with dense breasts.

Approximately 71 per cent of cancers occur in dense breasts. According to studies across the U.S. and Europe, 40 per cent of women and 70 per cent of Asian women have dense breast tissue, making them four to six times more likely to receive a breast cancer diagnosis.

Early detection of breast cancer is critical, yet about one-third of cancers in dense breasts may go undetected by a mammogram, as the cancer can be masked within the dense tissue.

ABUS has been designed to detect cancer in dense breasts, providing clearer and more detailed images. So far, it has been shown to improve the sensitivity of detecting invasive cancer in dense breasts when added to mammography.

“Women with dense breasts often face poorer outcomes due to malignancies detected at later, more advanced stages. Invenia ABUS Premium equipped with AI has the potential to optimise clinicians’ screening capabilities, enabling them to detect even small, early-stage cancers with a high degree of confidence in women with dense breasts,” said Karley Yoder, CEO of Comprehensive Care Ultrasound, GE HealthCare.

“Invenia ABUS Premium is designed to help deliver the best possible outcomes for patients while also prioritising the patient experience with features to improve scan speed and enhance comfort during an exam.”

Invenia ABUS Premium is designed to manage high patient volumes and the new Verisound AI tools support clinicians, featuring Scan Quality Assessment for immediate qualitative evaluation during the exam for proper breast coverage and positioning, and Auto Nipple Detection for consistent nipple marker positions.

The new Fast Scan tool increases scan speed by up to 40 per cent, while cSound Imageformer capabilities automatically create focus at every pixel.

The ABUS technology also has the potential to reduce unnecessary biopsies by providing specific image features to distinguish and detect malignant tumours, enabling clinicians to escalate care sooner.

Further, it reduces patient exposure to radiation or contrast injection as it doesn’t use any iodinated contrast agent or ionizing radiation.

“As an early adopter of ABUS, I’ve experienced the entire evolution of this technology. The Invenia ABUS Premium is superior* with its special AI features, which ensure the breast volume is captured and offer automatic nipple annotation, reducing scanning time and streamlining clinical workflow,” said Athina Vourtsis, chief director and founder of Athena Medical, Athens, Greece.

“The new Reverse Curve transducer makes the examination more patient friendly, and it is much more comfortable. There has been great improvement in image quality with less shadowing, and the structures behind the area of the nipple are seen more clearly, providing radiologists with greater diagnostic confidence.”