The establishment of a 3D breast photography service in medical illustration

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the development of a 3D breast photography service managed by the Medical Illustration Department, in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland. Dedicated 3D breast photography equipment was installed in Medical Illustration for 18 months. Women were referred for a variety of indications including pre- and post-surgical assessment. A dedicated 3D breast photography protocol was developed locally and this requires further refinement to allow reproducibility in other centres. There are image/data artefacts associated with this technology and special techniques are required to reduce these. Specialist software is necessary for clinicians and scientists to use 3D breast photography data in surgical planning and measurement of surgical outcome.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by a grant from the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Research and Development Office Knowledge Transfer Scheme, Reference RES/4393/10.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.