A Computational Framework Enabling Virtual Imaging Trials of 3D Quantitative Optoacoustic Tomography Breast Imaging

摘要 光声断层扫描(OAT)，也称为光声计算机断层扫描，是一种非侵入性的 正在积极开发用于乳腺癌成像和其他生物医学应用的成像方式。一个 OAT的独特功能是能够基于相关的内源光学对比度生成图像 在没有电离辐射和没有电离辐射的情况下，组织内的血红蛋白的浓度和氧化状态 空间分辨率的损失通常与纯光学技术有关，例如光学扩散 体层摄影术。因为侵袭性生长的恶性乳腺肿瘤往往处于缺氧和减少状态 与健康组织相比，由于代谢活动显著增加而导致的血氧饱和度，以及 经过优化和验证的OAT系统通过评估可以成为乳腺癌管理的有力工具 肿瘤微血管密度及其血氧含量。 目前，还没有一种经过验证的OAT方法能够足够准确地用于广泛的临床成像 乳房；重要问题，如最佳硬件和图像重建设计，解决 深部的病变和定量成像仍未解决。由于光的相互竞争的要求 对于乳房燕麦片的交付和声音检测，已经提出了各种不同的系统设计； 与x射线乳房X光摄影、乳房mri和乳房超声不同，在这些领域中有非常相似的实现。 使用每种医疗设备。考虑到涉及的参数众多，不可能系统地 由于时间和成本的限制以及伦理方面的考虑，通过人体试验优化乳房燕麦片。然而， 虚拟成像试验(VITs)，其中成像研究是通过使用具有代表性的数字 幻影和成像模型可以提供一种快速且经济高效的方法来评估和优化新的 成像概念和技术，如OAT。目前缺乏进行3D OAT的VIT的能力。 本项目的主要目标是开发、验证和演示用于 进行VIT，可以为临床上可行和有效的3D乳房OAT技术的发展提供信息。 这将为研究人员在建模和验证定量燕麦片方面提供前所未有的控制水平 评估乳腺癌所需的肿瘤和组织氧饱和度分布的成像。这个 结果将是对审查处基于任务的优点和能力以及知识的第一次评估 在这些研究中所能达到的是将这项技术转化为临床的关键。 该项目的具体目标是：目标1.开发用于In Silico的多物理模拟工具 三维乳房OAT中真实感测量数据的模拟；目标2.系统地开发和完善 定量燕麦图像重建方法；目标3。进行物理实验，将用于 验证计算模型；目的4.进行VITS，探索定量的燕麦系统优化。

ABSTRACT Optoacoustic tomography (OAT), also known as photoacoustic computed tomography, is a non-invasive imaging modality actively being developed for breast cancer imaging and other biomedical applications. A unique feature of OAT is the ability to produce an image based on the endogenous optical contrast associated with the concentration and oxygenation state of hemoglobin within tissue, without ionizing radiation and without the loss of spatial resolution typically associated with purely optical techniques such as optical diffusion tomography. Because aggressively growing malignant breast tumors tend to be under hypoxia and decreased blood oxygen saturation due to substantially increased metabolic activity in comparison to healthy tissue, an optimized and validated OAT system can be a powerful tool for the management of breast cancer by assessing density of the tumor microvasculature and its blood oxygenation. Currently, there is no validated OAT method that is sufficiently accurate for widespread clinical imaging of the breast; important issues such as optimal hardware and image reconstruction designs, the ability to resolve lesions at depth, and quantitative imaging remain unresolved. Due to the competing requirements of light delivery and acoustic detection, a variety of different system designs for breast OAT have been proposed; this is unlike in x-ray mammography, breast MRI and breast ultrasound, where very similar implementations are in use per modality. Considering the large number of parameters involved, it is infeasible to systematically optimize breast OAT through human trials due to time- and cost-constraints and ethical concerns. However, virtual imaging trials (VITs), where an imaging study is conducted in silico by use of representative numerical phantoms and imaging models, can offer a rapid and cost-efficient means of assessing and optimizing new imaging concepts and technologies such as OAT. The ability to conduct VITs for 3D OAT is currently lacking. The broad objective of this project is to develop, validate, and demonstrate computational tools for performing VITs that can inform the development of clinically viable and effective 3D breast OAT technologies. This will afford researchers an unprecedented level of control in modeling and validating quantitative OAT imaging of the tumor and tissue oxygen saturation distributions necessary for assessing breast cancer. The results will be the first of their kind evaluating the task-based merits and capabilities of OAT and the knowledge attainable in these studies is critical for translating this technology to the clinic. The Specific Aims of the project are: Aim 1. To develop multi-physics simulation tools for the in silico simulation of realistic measurement data in 3D breast OAT; Aim 2. To systematically develop and refine quantitative OAT image reconstruction methods; Aim 3. To conduct physical experiments that will be used to validate the computational models; Aim 4. To conduct VITs to explore quantitative OAT system optimization.