DEVELOPING OF ULTRASONIC TISSUE CHARACTERIZATION METHODS

该项目旨在提高诊断能力， 超声成像来检测和表征人类肿瘤。以来 超声成像广泛用于许多医学专业，并且是非医学的。 电离，任何使其更有用的改进都会有一个 对药物的有益影响。肿瘤学的进步 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， 采取不同的方法来寻找最佳的处理方法， 回波数据从当前的仪器形成图像。2.物理学项目 寻求推进成像的当前状态并提供更好的数据， to the imaging成像efforts努力.结合这两种类型的项目， 集团之间的沟通和协作。 成像工作是基于统计方法，这在很大程度上是新的 并且不重复信号处理的类型 使用在该领域中已被广泛研究的功率谱。我们 方法除了依赖于幅度之外还依赖于相位信息 功率谱中的信息。在未来，这些新的和 具有功率谱方法的现有方法可以提供很多 改善组织表征。 物理项目正在寻求开发更宽的带宽 成像器所需的换能器，以及开发改进的 对比材料。 我们提供实验室和临床核心，让每个项目访问 到原始的射频。数据、活检结果和协调支持 他们的努力。此外，临床合作者还提供了 基于组织结构和功能， 常规超声和其他成像模式。核心工作 密切合作，以保持在以下条件下收集临床数据的能力 议定书，并提供咨询意见。一个主要的核心工作包括 通过使用接收器评估成像的可能改进 工作特征（ROC）方法分析的结果， 不同的成像项目。这是核心之间的合作努力 涉及所有的成像项目。我们目前正在调查 通过使用 从成像项目的特征的最佳组合。该研究可 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.