Manufacturing a customized mastectomy bra, using medical images obtained for breast cancer treatment, could be suggested as an alternative instead of the anthropometric method. However, the breast shape of a medical image is deformed from the anthropometric method as the measurement posture is different between the anthropometric method for making clothes and the medical image. As a breast consists of adipose tissues and a few muscles without bones, there is a possibility that a bra can be manufactured if the volume is constant. Therefore, a hypothesis was established that the volume of the breast would be constant, even if the measurement methods were different. As a result of the comparison of 3D-SIM and PPM by MRI, 18 items could be measured simultaneously. Nine items showed differences according to the measurement method. The next step in the case of 3D-SIM was calculating the volume by separating the breast shape into a cone and a hemispherical shape; in the case of MRI, an ellipsoidal volume formula was applied. A t-test was performed on the results obtained, showing no significant difference. Therefore, it was proven that the volume of the breast does not change despite the difference in the measurement and the measurement method.
Keywords: MRI; anthropometry; bra; breast volume; mastectomy.