Maj. of comm. facilities performing breast MRI exams meet ACRIN and EUSOBI technical requirements

An overwhelming majority of Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) facilities performing breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the U.S. are up-to-par with American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) technical standards and requirements, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). The BCSC is a collaborative effort to improve breast cancer research. It consists of five mammography registries and two affiliated sites with linkages to pathology and/or tumor registries. As its use has expanded, breast MRI has been adopted by community practice facilities, where most women undergo breast imaging in the U.S. However, little is known about the technical quality of MRI performed at these facilities.

"The purpose of our study was to evaluate breast MRI equipment and acquisition techniques currently used among a variety of community practice facilities across the U.S., using data from the BCSC, and to determine the compliance with current minimum standards specified by the ACRIN Trial 6667 and the EUSOBI," said Wendy B. DeMartini, MD, lead author of the study.

BCSC facilities performing breast MRI were identified and queried by survey regarding breast MRI equipment and technical parameters. Results tallied and percentages of facilities meeting ACRIN and EUSOBI standards were calculated. From 23 facilities performing breast MRI, results were obtained from 14 facilities. "Adherence to minimum standards for breast MRI equipment across community practice facilities was excellent. Compliance with equipment recommendations of 1.5T field strength MRI scanners was 94 percent and all scanners employed a dedicated breast coil, as recommended by both ACRIN and the EUSOBI," said DeMartini.

"Breast MRI is highly sensitive, but is a complex tool for which appropriate use requires optimization of multiple technical parameters which can be a tedious process. However, we found that nearly all facilities surveyed in the U.S. met ACRIN and EUSOBI standards for breast MRI equipment," said DeMartini.

Source: American College of Radiology / American Roentgen Ray Society