European Diploma in Breast Imaging (EDBI)
Next examination: NOV 5, 2024 / ONLINE
Application deadline: JULY 8, 2024
General Information
The European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) introduced an European Diploma in Breast Imaging (EDBI) in 2012. The European Diploma in Breast Imaging is a common European qualification for breast imagers and helps to standardise training and expertise in breast imaging across Europe. The European Diploma in Breast Imaging is endorsed by the European Society of Radiology (ESR).
The EDBI confirms specific competence of radiologists to perform, interpret and report mammography, ultrasound, MRI and breast intervention. The EBDI will assist breast imagers in the promotion of their skills and experience in breast imaging when dealing with other clinical colleagues and with the general public.
The European Diploma in Breast Imaging is endorsed by the European Society of Radiology (ESR). The European Diploma in Breast Imaging will be a common European qualification for breast imagers and will help to standardise training and expertise in breast imaging across Europe. The EDBI confirms specific competence of radiologists to perform, interpret and report mammography, ultrasound, MRI and breast intervention.
EDBI Chairperson
Dr. Eva M. Fallenberg
- The European Diploma in Breast Imaging is acquired in 2 steps.
- Step I comprises the application to the European Diploma in Breast Imaging with providing required documentation as mentioned below in detail.
- Step II comprises written and oral components and can be taken twice a year.
- Only a limited number of candidates can be accepted for Step II at each occasion. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis – date of receipt of application form and required documentation! Early application is therefore recommended.
- After the examination (Step II), an examiners meeting will be held. At this meeting, the results of both components of the exam will be added together to produce a total score for the examination for each candidate.
- The scores for each candidate will be reviewed and potential fail candidates will be discussed. At the end of the meeting, a list of pass and fail candidates will be produced and candidates informed accordingly by email.
- Successful candidates will be awarded the European Diploma in Breast Imaging (EDBI) and may add EBBI (European Board of Breast Imaging) to their name.
Eligibility criteria
Step I
A) Application form
The completed application form must be submitted to the EUSOBI Office.
B) Training in radiology / Certificate of completed training
The training of candidates has to be in line with previously established basic principles of radiology training as laid out in the ESR European Training Curriculum for Radiology. Applicants have to prove at least five years of radiology training. A certificate of completed training needs to be provided. For candidates with less than five years of training only, a proof of experience as a supervised staff radiologist is required.
C) Subspecialty training
At least two years of subspecialty training following radiology certification is required.
D) Proof of practice
Diplomas may only be awarded to fully-trained, licensed and practising radiologists, therefore a proof of practice must be provided. Specialists from other fields and radiologists no longer in practice are specifically excluded from being granted the ESR-endorsed EUSOBI diploma.
E) RIS documentation or Logbook
All candidates must present a RIS documentation or logbook with a total record of their breast radiology experience of the last 24 months. This should present the candidate’s breast related experience in mammography, ultrasound, MRI and interventional procedures. The RIS documentation or logbook should be countersigned by candidate’s breast imaging programme director. Preferably provided as an excel sheet, the RIS documentation/logbook should be sorted by modalities with clearly identified and anonymous information.
The minimum qualifications required for entry to the examination are the following:
- The candidate should have reported at least 800 mammograms per year
- 500 breast ultrasounds per year,
- 50 breast MR studies per year and
- performed 25 breast interventional procedures per year.
The candidate should have reached these figures within each of the last two years prior to the application for the application date.
F) Letter of support
The application must be accompanied by a letter of support from the candidate’s breast imaging programme director or head of department. This letter has to confirm, that the candidate was trained in breast imaging for a cumulative duration of at least two years after board certification.
G) CME credits in breast imaging
At least 50 CME credits (or equivalent national credits) in breast imaging are required within the last three years.
EUSOBI recommends to attend its events and the annually organised European Congress of Radiology to get continuous education and training for the diploma.
H) Attendance of EUSOBI & ECR
Candidates have to attend a minimum of two (2) EUSOBI events (EUSOBI Annual Scientific Meeting and/or EUSOBI educational courses – whereas attendance of one event can be replaced by three live-attended EUSOBI Educational Webinars/Journal Clubs) and minimum one (1) ECR – European Congress of Radiology (live or online) within the last three (3) years prior to the application.
I) Curriculum Vitae
The requested information should be provided within the documentation form (in English) and includes a record of previous training posts in general and breast radiology. Kindly note, if an additional CV is provided it has to be submitted in English language and European format.
J) EUSOBI and ESR Membership
Proofs must be provided.
The status of an active EUSOBI member and full ESR member in good standing or an associate EUSOBI member and a corresponding ESR member in good standing are required for the application to the European Diploma in Breast Imaging.
K) Documentation form
Please use the following form to provide a clear overview of the requested information: CV, CME credits, RIS documentation/logbook. Kindly return the completed form via PDF format to the EUSOBI Office.
Required documents
Please make sure to provide the EUSOBI Office with the following documents (in additon to original documentation – if not available in English laguage – an English translation must be provided):
- Application form
- Certificate of completed training (proof of at least 5 years of radiology training) if not applicable: refer to eligibility criteria – point B
- Proof of practice
- RIS documentation/logbook – refer to required numbers provided under eligibility criteria – point E
- Letter of support (incl. proof of at least 2 years of subspecialty training)
- CME certificates – refer to required credits under eligibility criteria – point G
- Documentation form (includes CV, overview chart of CME credits, overview chart of achieved numbers according to provided RIS documentation/logbook)
- EUSOBI/ESR Membership proofs
! IMPORTANT ! Naming of application documents
Application documents must be provided with the correct naming in order to be accepted by the EUSOBI Office. Therefore, please make sure to use the following document names:
- Application form: SURNAME_Application form
- Certificate of completed training: SURNAME_CCT
- Proof of practice: SURNAME_Proof of practice
- RIS documentation/logbook: SURNAME_RIS (if separated by year, additionally use _YEAR; if separated by modality, additionally use _MODALITY)
- Letter of support: SURNAME_Letter of support
- CME certificates: SURNAME_CME01; SURNAME_CME02; SURNAME_CME03; … (the order of the numbered CME certificates should refer to the order used within the overview chart of the documentation form)
- Documentation form: SURNAME_Documentation form
- EUSOBI/ESR Membership proofs: SURNAME_EUSOBI/ESR Membership
Application
For your application kindly complete the application & documentation form and return it together with all required documents to the EUSOBI Office for approval by the EUSOBI Diploma Committee.
The EUSOBI Office will confirm the receipt of the candidates application only if all required documents are provided. If a candidate cannot fulfil the eligibility criteria by the stated deadline his/her registration for the exam will be cancelled. Candidates judged to have satisfied the entry criteria will be eligible to take the examination and informed accordingly by the EUSOBI Office. After confirmation from the respective applicant, the handling fee for the diploma examination is charged accordingly.
Please consider that diplomas may only be awarded to fully-trained, licensed and practicing radiologists.
Upcoming deadline & exam
NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE: MONDAY, JULY 8, 2024
NEXT ONLINE EXAM: TUESDAY, NOV 5, 2024
In case of any questions regarding the European Diploma in Breast Imaging or its examination, please do not hesitate to contact the EUSOBI Office: office@eusobi.org
Fee
The following handling fee is charged upon acceptance of your application by the Diploma Committee:
Active/full member: € 430.00
Associate/corresponding member: € 630.00
Examination
Step II: Written and oral exam
(Candidates judged to have satisfied step 1 are invited from EUSOBI to take step 2. This comprises written and oral components.)
Written exam
The written part of the examination runs via the new EDiR platform.
- 30 multiple choice questions.
- MCQs – five answer options, 1 or more of the given answer options are correct.
- No negative marking for incorrect answers.
- 15 pictorial multiple choice questions – five answer options, 1 or more of the given answer options are correct.
- No negative marking for incorrect answers.
- The exam lasts 80 minutes.
- Candidates will be tested in all aspects relevant to breast imaging such as clinical practice, pathology, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, intervention.
Oral exam
This consists of a 20 minute oral examination by EUSOBI/EDBI representatives in English language. The examiners will show each candidate a series of cases. The examiners will test the candidate’s knowledge of all aspects of the cases under discussion – indication, clinical background, diagnosis, technical parameters, limitations, etc.
Knowledge
The EDBI will test knowledge which is based on the subspecialty breast interest component of the ESR European Training Curriculum for Subspecialisation in Radiology (Level III). However candidates will not be expected to have in depth knowledge of management of screening programmes or extramammary staging.
Online Exam
REQUIREMENTS
What do I need to take my test?
You will need: a computer/laptop, smartphone, ID verification documents, strong internet connection.
What operating system do I need?
You can use ProctorExam on Windows 8 and higher, Mac OS X and higher, ChromeOS and most Linux distributions (64-bit Ubuntu 14.04+, Debian 8+, openSUSE 13.3+, or Fedora Linux 24+. Check your operating system here.
Do I need a specific browser?
The ProctorExam platform requires you to use the latest version of Google Chrome. Check your browser here.
What mobile phone should I use?
Android 5.1+ and iOS 10.0+ smart devices – smartphone or tablet – with a camera are supported. Check your operating system here by using your mobile phone. Note: Huawei P30, Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), Google Pixel 3 and newer are not compatible with our app. During the examination, the phone should be connected to the power supply and in airplane mode but connected to Wi-Fi. The proctors may contact you through WhatsApp if any technical problem may occur.
What about my internet connection?
A good internet connection is required and we recommend you use an ethernet cable to ensure a more stable connection. We recommend a minimum of 1,5 Mbps upload, ping under 25 ms. Check your internet speed here.
How can I check if my webcam is working?
Simply visit this page and follow the instructions. If you see your image, you’re all set!
How can I check if my microphone is working?
Simply visit this page and follow the instructions If you can see a wave, you’re all set!
Re-examination
In case a candidate did not pass the European Diploma in Breast Imaging he/she has the possibility to retake the examination one year later. A reduced fee of € 200.00 will be granted for a re-examination.
Cancellation
No refunds can be provided if the applicant withdraws his/her application after acceptance of the same. If applying again for the next examination, only 50% of the respective handling fee will be charged.
Terminology
Successful candidates will be awarded the European Diploma in Breast Imaging and may add EBBI (European Board of Breast Imaging) to their name.
Maintenance
Breast imaging is rapidly evolving thus requiring continuous medical education. EUSOBI will renew the European Diploma in Breast Imaging every five years for EUSOBI and ESR members in good standing upon proof of at least 20 CME credits in breast imaging or equivalent national credits (recognised by EUSOBI) per year. Diploma renewals may only be awarded to fully-trained, licensed and practising radiologists, therefore a proof of practice must be provided.
EBBI holders need to provide the EUSOBI Office with the proof of 20 CME credits/year (attendance certificates) together with a completed maintenance form and a proof of practice. Furthermore, a renewal fee of € 50.00 will be due.
For those who miss to renew the diploma or do not fulfil the maintencance requirements, the examination must be repeated.
Examples
(MCQs – written examination)
With regards imaging of DCIS with mammography:
- Normal mammography and non-calcified abnoramilies are more commonly seen in low grade than high grade DCIS
- Punctate calcifications are more commonly seen in low grade DCIS than high grade DCIS
- Extent of calcifications is a factor used to predict coexistent invasive cancer
- Low grade DCIS size estimation is more accurate than high grade DCIS size estimation
- FFDM is less sensitive than film screen mammography for the detection of DCIS
Regarding MRI of the breast:
- It is more accurate than mammography and US at assessing tumour size
- Tumour grade can be reliably established using MRI
- US is more accurate than MRI for detecting multifocal disease
- A type 3 contrast curve is very specific for malignancy
- It is most appropriately performed between days 1 to 5 of the patient’s menstrual cycle
The typical pathological findings of invasive lobular carcinoma are:
- Low nuclear grade
- Decrease or absence of E-Cadherin
- Small, uniform tumour cells growing in indian file
- ERB B2/HER2 overexpression
- Association with DCIS
EDBI Holders
CLICK HERE to view the list of diploma holders.