Assessing the Impact of AI-Powered Slab Reconstruction on Reading Time for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis

Recently published research suggests that AI-powered slab reconstruction can significantly reduce average reading time for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) without detracting from detection accuracy.

For the study, published in Clinical Radiology, researchers evaluated the impact of the 3DQuorum software (3DQ, Hologic) in 391 cases with assessments from 15 reviewing radiologists. In comparison to standard-of-care DBT slices, the 6 mm slabs with the 3DQ software provided:

• a 13 percent reduction in average reading time (54.5 seconds vs. 61.9 seconds)’

• a non-inferior mean AUC (80.9 percent vs. 78.9 percent); and

• a non-inferior mean recall rate for calcification-only cancers (60.5 percent vs. 55.8 percent).

Can Slab Technology Bolster Earlier Detection of DCIS?

In a recent interview with Diagnostic Imaging, lead study author Carolynn DeBenedectis, MD, said that when DBT was first utilized, breast radiologists noted an initial decrease in detection for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Emphasizing that 90 percent of DCIS presents as subtle calcifications, Dr. DeBenedectis suggested that the slab technology may facilitate easier detection of these calcifications.

“One could hypothesize one of the reasons you don't lose the detection of calcifications is because the slab doesn't make those individual (calcifications) look like they're on individual slices. It makes them look more like a group of calcifications or cluster of calcifications like we look for,” posited Dr. DeBenedectis, a professor of radiology at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worchester, Mass.

What the Study Revealed About 3DQ Software and Reading Time Reduction for DBT

In light of the ongoing challenges with growing imaging volumes and workforce shortages in radiology, Dr. DeBenedectis said the study finding of a 13 percent reduction in reading time with use of the 3DQ software is particularly salient.

“This is the important stuff right now in radiology. We have staffing issues. We have patients waiting in breast imaging months and months for appointments. We have backlogs of screening mammograms. … If we can keep increasing our efficiency while not decreasing our accuracy and keeping our accuracy high, I think it's so important to patient care because we'll be able to see more patients, diagnose them faster and more accurately,” emphasized Dr. DeBenedectis, who is also affiliated with Mass General Brigham.