Breast ultrasound scanner debuts in Siemens RSNA booth

Siemens Healthcare unveiled a breast ultrasound system at RSNA 2008 whose automated exams could help women’s health practitioners achieve the potential of ultrasound as a complement to mammography. The Acuson S2000 Automated Breast Volume Scanner, for which FDA clearance is pending, uses a block-like transducer mounted on the end of an articulated arm. The transducer mechanically sweeps the slightly compressed breast, gathering volumetric data that can be accurately and reproducibly reconstructed, according to the company, regardless of the operator doing the study. In the process, the scanner captures the coronal plane of the breast, which is not seen with conventional ultrasound, according to Siemens. The ABVS also generates values indicating the relative stiffness of breast tissues, providing practitioners another metric for distinguishing tissue.