THE NEXT WAVE: FRESH INSIGHTS, EMERGING PRACTICES ISSUE
Georgie McGuire, QLD Your session explores the ‘quiet clues’ in breast imaging, those subtle details that can easily be overlooked. What inspired you to explore this topic? I’ve seen a few cases in my career that have changed the way I look at the typical categorisation of benign versus malignant features. There have been times when we have performed biopsies on lesions that I was confident were benign, yet were confirmed malignant. While this instilled a fear in me and made me question previous cases, it also inspired me to be more thorough and to interrogate each lesion more closely and with a more flexible lens. I wanted to explore the research around benign and malignant categorisation and seek gaps in the literature to spotlight areas that require more attention and inspire other sonographers to use the same thoroughness and flexibility in their breast imaging.
Breast imaging is changing rapidly, from advanced transducer technology to new AI‑supported workflows. How do you see these developments shaping the future of the 10
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sonographer’s role, particularly for early‑career clinicians like yourself? I can foresee AI becoming more commonplace in the future. It would not surprise me if AI were used more regularly by sonographers and radiologists 5 years from now in detecting features that may not be easily perceptible to the human eye. I do, however, believe that we are still a long way off from AI negating the need for sonographers entirely. The dynamic nature of ultrasound imaging, as well as the massive anatomical variability across the population, especially in breast imaging, makes the role of the sonographer critical. At this point in time, I am not concerned about being out of work in the near future!
Recognising nuanced patterns often comes with time and lived clinical experience. As someone still early in your journey, how have you built your confidence in identifying subtle or unexpected breast findings, and who or what has guided you in developing that skill? Practice and repetition have been crucial in developing the fundamental skills and building my confidence. In saying this, I believe you can never be too confident in breast imaging, as there will always be a case that shocks you and brings you back down to earth. This has been true for me, and while it’s knocked my confidence at times, it’s important to acknowledge that these situations have been conducive to professional