MRI method could personalize breast prosthesis sizing after mastectomy
Preoperative breast MRI could help personalize external breast prosthesis selection for patients undergoing mastectomy, according to a new analysis.
Published in Clinical Imaging, the paper details the development of a reconstruction technique that could improve prosthesis fitting while reducing the need for postoperative measurements and physical exposure. Using publicly available breast MRI data and open-source software to reconstruct breast anatomy and calculate individual breast volumes, experts were able to improve upon conventional prosthesis selection methods, which can be complicated and often require postoperative fitting, to offer women more precise measurements.
“Current prosthesis selection still faces prominent ergonomic and practical limitations," Zhiyuan Hu, with the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College in China, and colleagues noted. "First, standardized sizing cannot meet individual anatomical differences, resulting in poor fitting, local discomfort and unbalanced physical support. Second, conventional measurement methods such as 3D scanning require partial bodily exposure, causing strong privacy concerns and low acceptance among psychologically sensitive postoperative patients. Third, scanning based on loose postoperative soft tissue often leads to morphological distortion, failing to restore the natural and esthetic breast appearance under daily wearing conditions.”
The group hypothesized that the use of MRI could help provide a feasible pathway for assessing tissue volume in an accurate and noninvasive way. For their study, investigators analyzed three breast MRI cases representing a range of tissue volumes and symmetry. Using the open-source 3D Slicer platform, they segmented breast tissue, generated 3D models and calculated breast volume using voxel-based measurements. Volumes ranged from approximately 507 to 1,228 mL per breast, allowing the researchers to assess the method across different anatomical variations. They also compared two volume-measurement approaches: voxel-based label mapping and closed-surface fitting.
The resulting 3D models were used to determine target volumes for unilateral and bilateral mastectomy scenarios and establish a map between individual breast-volume measurements and commercially available prosthesis sizes. Across all three cases, the measurements differed by less than 0.5%, supporting the proposed method's consistency.
The approach is based on a "volume conservation with morphological assessment" principle, in which individual breast volume is considered alongside anatomical characteristics when selecting a prosthesis. Because the measurements are obtained from preoperative MRI, the method does not require postoperative physical examination or exposure and is independent of changes in posture during measurement.
The study authors believe their privacy-preserving approach could help reduce psychological discomfort associated with conventional fitting while providing a more individualized starting point for prosthesis selection. However, the method still requires prospective evaluation.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.