Assigning Breast Density: Enter the Robots
“You just can’t differentiate between a robot and the very best of humans.”
― Isaac Asimov, I, Robot
BREAST DENSITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH BREAST CANCER RISK. Denser breasts are also more challenging to image; I often allude to trying to find cancer as “looking for a snowball in a snow field.”
There are breast cancer risk implications, too. For example, if a woman has extremely dense breasts, she may have a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer.
We have a new report in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence describing artificial intelligence (AI) tools that can accurately classify breast density on mammograms.
Breast anatomy
A mammogram demonstrates breast density. If you have this imaging test, you may learn if your breasts have low or high density.
Breasts have three main tissue types:
- Fibrous tissue holds breast tissue in place.
- Glandular tissue is the breast part that makes milk, known as the lobes. The tubes carrying milk to the nipple are ducts. Together, fibrous and glandular tissue are fibroglandular tissue.
- Fatty tissue fills the spaces in-between the fibrous tissue, ducts, and lobes. The fatty tissue gives the…
