Breast Idea Volume Estimator (BIVE) - A new tool for breast volume estimation - presentation and validation for women.

Breast volume assessment is crucial in a breast surgeon's clinical practice. The aim of this study was to present and validate a new web application BreastIdea Volume Estimator (BIVE), a module for breast estimation of the already validated BreastIdea (BI) application. 40 breasts in 20 women were scanned using a three-dimensional (3D) scanner. They were then photographed in non-standardized conditions and volume estimations were calculated using BIVE. Accuracy as well as relative and absolute reliability of BIVE measurements were investigated. What is more, breast volume differences were analyzed. Breast volume estimation using BIVE yielded satisfactory accuracy and presented precision of the level of clinical measures. Mean absolute difference (MAD) for both observers was 4.33 ± 3.79 cc and 6.78 ± 4.66 cc, which correspond to 1.87 ± 1.89 % and 2.75 ± 2.05 % errors of measurement. Similar relations were found for breast volume differences measurements. BIVE is a clinically oriented, reliable tool for breast volume evaluation. It provides results of appropriate accuracy regardless of chest pathology and photograph standardization.