ULTRASONIC ELASTICITY IMAGING OF THE BREAST

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DESCRIPTION (Adapted from Applicant's Abstract): Check ThisThe objective of this project is the development of elasticity imaging as a new approach to medical imaging for detection of cancer and monitoring for recurrence. In this research, images are formed by comparing ultrasonic echoes recorded before and after a small physical compression of the tissue. The comparison provides a determination of local tissue displacement that is used to estimate longitudinal strain along the axis of the sound beam. Strain imaging in this way is a kind of palpation technique that reveals stiffness variations in tissues with higher sensitivity and spatial resolution than manual palpation. The proposed approach, which builds on four years of previous research, has six specific aims: 1) Develop robust image formation algorithms for breast imaging. 2) Work with industry to design instrumentation for strain imaging of the breast. 3) Use phantoms to develop breast-tissue-restraining devices. 4) Conduct preliminary clinical trials on human subjects. 5) Examine the diagnostic potential of other elasticity parameters. 6) Assess the performance of developing techniques for the important clinical problem of diagnosing and managing breast disease.