Establishment of seminars to improve the diagnostic accuracy and effectiveness of breast ultrasound

Purpose To improve the ability of technicians and physicians to find and diagnose breast lesions in breast ultrasound screening. Methods Seminars were organized for technicians and physicians engaged in breast ultrasound screening, and tests were carried out to evaluate the usefulness of the seminars. Each seminar lasted 2 days and comprised lectures and group activities. Pretests and post-tests conducted before and after each seminar, respectively, consisted of 100 questions: 50 about animated images, and 50 about static images. The tests required the participant to find lesions in animated images and estimate the probability of malignancy from static images. Results In the animated image tests, sensitivity was greater after the seminar, although specificity did not change significantly. In the static image tests, sensitivity increased, and a significant increase was also observed in the receiver operating curve analysis for degree of certainty in diagnosing cancer. Conclusion The seminars improved the participants' ability to find and diagnose breast lesions during ultrasound screening.