3D Automated Breast Ultrasound System: Comparison of Interpretation Time of Senior Versus Junior Radiologist

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to compare the automated breast ultrasound system (ABUS) reading time of breast radiologist to a radiology resident independent of the clinical outcomes. Materials and Methods: One hundred women who underwent screening ABUS between July and August 2017 were reviewed retrospectively. Each study was examined sequentially by a breast radiologist who has more than 20 years of experience in breast radiology and third year resident who has 6 months of experience in breast radiology. Data were analyzed with Spearman' correlation, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test and was recorded. Results: The mean age of patients was 42.02 +/- 11.423 years (age range16-66). The average time for senior radiologist was 223.36 +/- 84.334 seconds (min 118 max 500 seconds). The average time for junior radiologist was 269.48 +/- 82.895 seconds (min 150 max 628 seconds). There was a significant difference between the mean time of two radiologists (p=0.00001). There was a significant difference regarding the decrease in the reading time throughout study with the increase of number of cases read by the breast radiologist (p<0.05)

but not with the resident radiologist (p=0.687). There was a correlation between BI-RADS category and reading time for both the breast radiologist and the resident (p=0.002, p=0.00043 respectively) indicating that patients who had findings caused longer reading times. Conclusion: ABUS reading time may differ according to the experience of the user, however the times of an experienced and non-experienced user is comparable.