DEVELOPING OF ULTRASONIC TISSUE CHARACTERIZATION METHODS

该计划项目旨在提高诊断能力 超声波成像技术，用于检测和鉴定人体肿瘤。自.以来 超声成像在许多医学专业中得到了广泛的应用，是一种非 电离，任何使其更有用的改进都会有一个 对药物的有利影响。肿瘤学的进步将在 检测、诊断和治疗监测。 该计划包括两种类型的项目：1.成像工作 采取不同的方法来找到处理 从现有仪器回波数据以形成图像。2.物理专题 寻求推进成像的当前状态并提供更好的数据 为了成像的努力。结合这两种类型的项目可以直接 小组之间的沟通和协同。 成像工作基于统计方法，这些方法在很大程度上是新的 在医学上下文中，不重复信号处理的类型 使用这一领域已被广泛研究的功率谱。我们的 除幅度外，方法还依赖于相位信息 功率谱中的信息。在未来，这些新的和 现有的功率谱方法可以提供更多的 改善组织特色化。 物理项目正在寻求开发更宽的带宽 成像仪所需的传感器，以及开发改进的 对比剂。 我们提供实验室和临床核心，使每个项目都可以访问 为生食的R.F.数据、活组织检查结果和协调支持 他们的努力。此外，临床合作者提供了洞察力 根据组织结构和功能，以及 常规超声和其他成像方式。内核工作正常 密切合作，以保持收集临床数据的能力 商定的协议，并提供咨询意见。一项主要的核心工作包括 通过使用接收器评估成像可能的改进 运行特性(ROC)方法用于分析测试结果 不同的成像项目。这是核心之间的合作努力 并涉及到所有的成像项目。我们目前正在调查 在诊断准确率方面可能的改进，通过使用 来自成像项目的功能的最佳组合。这项研究可以 在未来将扩展到包括功率谱方法。

This Program Project is designed to enhance the ability of diagnostic ultrasound imaging to detect and to characterize tumors in humans. Since ultrasonic imaging is widely used in many medical specialties, and is non- ionizing, any improvement that makes it more useful would have a beneficial impact on medicines. The improvements in oncology would be in detection, diagnosis and treatment monitoring. The program consists of two types of projects: 1. Imaging efforts that take different approaches to finding optimum methods of processing the echo data from current instruments to form images. 2. Physics projects seeking to advance the current state of imaging and to provide better data to the imaging efforts. Combing these two types of project allows direct communication and synergy between the groups. The imaging efforts are based on statistical methods that are largely new in the medical context and do not duplicate the types of signal processing using power spectra that have been widely investigated in this field. Our methods depend on phase information in addition to the amplitude information in power spectra. In future the combination of these new and the existing methods with the power spectrum methods may provide much improve tissue characterization. The physics projects are seeking to develop the wider bandwidth transducers desired by the imagers, as well as to develop improved contrast materials. We provide for laboratory and clinical cores to give each project access to the raw r.f. data, results of biopsy, and support in coordination of their efforts. In addition, the clinical collaborators provide insight based on tissue structure and function, and on the results from conventional ultrasound and other imaging modalities. The cores work together closely in maintaining the ability to collect clinical data under agreed protocols, and in providing advice. A major core effort consists of assessing the possible improvement in imaging by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) method for analysis of the results of the different imaging projects. This is a cooperative effort between the cores and involves all of the imaging projects. We are currently investigating the possible improvements in diagnostic accuracy that is possible by using optimum combinations of features from the imaging projects. The study can be expanded to include power spectral methods in future.