Philips Healthcare has launched a new package for ultrasound breast imaging that combines hardware and software into a single offering.
The package is available on the company's Epiq and Affiniti ultrasound scanners and combines the firm's PureWave eL18-4 ultrabroadband linear-array transducer with what Philips calls "anatomical intelligence" automated software. The package supports advanced imaging, elastography, screening, and biopsy, and it is Philips first dedicated offering in breast ultrasound.
Philips noted that ultrasound is being used as an adjunctive modality in cases where x-ray mammography is equivocal, such as for women with dense breast tissue. The new package is designed to enable breast centers to conduct ultrasound more efficiently.
The package's anatomical intelligence component is designed to improve the reproducibility of breast ultrasound studies while streamlining workflow and preserving image quality. The component provides visual mapping and annotation of breast anatomy during screening, with minimal user interaction, according to the company.
Among advanced applications, Philips' ElastQ Imaging shear-wave elastography and strain elastography protocols allow clinicians to assess a wide array of breast lesions. By combining both wave methods, ElastQ Imaging offers more definitive information on tissue stiffness in the breast.
The package has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance, as well as the CE Mark.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
