Dedicated spiral breast CT with photon-counting technology (“nu:view” system) shows to be “a promising new breast imaging modality for several reasons”, finds a team of radiology scientists at the University Hospital Erlangen, Germany.

Summarising on previously published scientific investigations and their own 3-year clinical experience with the system, the concepts of spiral breast CT and potential implications for patient care are outlined. According to the authors, two main application areas for spiral breast CT are emerging:

• Advanced diagnostics: Contrast-enhanced spiral breast CT can provide functional information and may become an alternative to breast MRI in certain clinical settings, including problem-solving and staging.
• Reaching out to women: Used without contrast media, spiral breast CT can be considered as an alternative to DBT and might become an alternative to screening mammography in cases where women would otherwise refuse or not be able to undergo breast compression.

Accurate 3D assessment of microcalcifications and non-mass enhancement at high isotropic resolutions are seen as one strength of spiral breast CT, suggesting a “high diagnostic potential for the work-up of DCIS and its benign mimicker.”

Read the full review article (open access) to learn more:

M. Wetzl, M. Dietzel, S. Ohlmeyer, M. Uder, E. Wenkel. „Spiral breast computed tomography with a photon-counting detector (SBCT): The future of breast imaging?“ In: European Journal of Radiology 157 (2022), p. 110605. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110605