An adjunctive ultrasound mammography system and associated methods are
described in which an ultrasound image being displayed near an x-ray
mammogram image may be superimposed thereon or thereunder by a user for
facilitating rapid comprehension of breast structures and detection of
abnormalities therein. In one preferred embodiment, the x-ray mammogram
image corresponds to a standard x-ray mammogram view, and the ultrasound
image is a thick-slice image representing a thick-slice or slab-like
portion of the breast volume substantially parallel to that standard
x-ray mammogram view. In another preferred embodiment, the user is
permitted to manually manipulate the registration of the ultrasound image
with the x-ray mammogram image. It has been found that the manual
registration process, which involves manual vernier adjustments
responsive to perceived registration differences, can rapidly increase
the radiologist's perception of the breast structures being displayed by
both component images. Even though ultrasound images tend to have
substantially different textures and feature emphases than x-ray images,
the bimodal thick-slice/x-ray image, alone or in conjunction with the
vernier registration process, can often expose or clarify tissue
structures hidden in the separate component images, and can often obviate
or explain certain noticed structures in the component images.